Five Constitutional Amendments are on the May 16 ballot. One Acadiana has taken positions of support on two of them, Amendment 3 on teacher pay and Amendment 4 on the business inventory tax. Below is a breakdown of both amendments, including what they would do, why One Acadiana supports them, and a brief note on the other three measures on the ballot.
For a comprehensive, nonpartisan review of all five amendments, we recommend PAR’s Guide to the 2026 Constitutional Amendments, available at parlouisiana.org.
Amendment 3: A Path to Permanent Teacher Pay Raises
Louisiana’s teachers have received temporary state stipends of $2,000 per year for the past three years, but those stipends have never been guaranteed to continue. Amendment 3 would change that by creating a path to making teacher pay raises permanent, without raising taxes.
Here’s how it works: the amendment would dissolve three existing state education trust funds — the Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund, the Louisiana Quality Education Support Fund, and the Education Excellence Fund — and use their combined balance of roughly $2 billion to pay down debt in the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana. Paying down that debt reduces the annual retirement contributions school districts are required to make, freeing up recurring savings that would be used to fund permanent pay raises of $2,250 for teachers and $1,125 for support staff.
The fiscal case for this approach is compelling. The Legislative Fiscal Office estimates the debt paydown would reduce annual retirement costs for K-12 school systems and public colleges by approximately $283 million. By comparison, the three trust funds generated roughly $68 million in annual investment earnings for education programs in the most recent budget year, according to PAR. The annual savings from paying down the debt would significantly exceed what the trust funds were producing each year. In total, the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana estimates the move would save approximately $1 billion in interest payments over time.
It is worth noting that the three trust funds being dissolved have provided meaningful, ongoing support for early childhood education, K-12 programs, and higher education research and professorships over many years. Companion legislation requires an annual $11 million deposit to a new fund to maintain early childhood education support. The governor and legislative leaders have committed to maintaining the other programs at current funding levels, though that commitment is not guaranteed in law.
On balance, One Acadiana supports Amendment 3. Paying down debt and converting temporary stipends into permanent raises is a fiscally responsible approach — and a well-compensated, stable teacher workforce is foundational to the talent pipeline Louisiana businesses depend on.
Amendment 4: Local Choice on the Business Inventory Tax
Louisiana is one of only seven states that fully taxes business inventory — a distinction that puts the state at a competitive disadvantage when companies evaluate where to locate and invest. For industries like manufacturing, retail, and logistics that rely on large inventories, this tax adds a cost that businesses in most other states simply don’t face.
Amendment 4 would give local governments the option to reduce or eliminate the property tax on business inventory. This is a local choice, not a statewide mandate. Before any change could take effect, the sheriff, school board, and parish governing authority would all have to agree — and once reduced or eliminated, the tax cannot be raised back to prior levels.
Parishes that choose to eliminate the inventory tax before July 2027 would receive a one-time payment from the state’s Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund to help offset lost revenue — ranging from $1 million to $15 million for immediate elimination, or $500,000 to $10 million for a phase-out over five years.
It’s also worth noting that the inventory tax credit that has historically offset this tax for many businesses is expiring for C corporations as of July 1, making Amendment 4’s timing particularly relevant for businesses that have relied on that credit.
One Acadiana supports Amendment 4. Louisiana needs every tool available to compete for jobs and investment, and giving parishes the flexibility to address the inventory tax — on their own terms — is smart economic development policy.
Amendments 1, 2, and 5: No Position
One Acadiana has not taken a position on Amendments 1, 2, or 5. Briefly:
Amendment 1 would give the Louisiana Legislature the authority to move state jobs from the classified civil service system to unclassified status without Civil Service Commission approval. This is primarily a state personnel question outside One Acadiana’s legislative priority areas.
Amendment 2 would allow the City of St. George in East Baton Rouge Parish to form its own school district, separate from the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. This is a local governance issue specific to East Baton Rouge Parish.
Amendment 5 would raise the mandatory retirement age for Louisiana judges from 70 to 75. This is a judicial governance question outside One Acadiana’s legislative priority areas.
For a full, nonpartisan breakdown of all five amendments, we encourage members to review PAR’s Guide to the 2026 Constitutional Amendments at parlouisiana.org.
Election Day is Saturday, May 16. Please remember to Geaux Vote!