All four amendments on the March 29 ballot, including the most consequential in decades, deserve voter approval. Here’s why:

Amendment #1 – Disciplining Out-of-State Lawyers & Multi-Parish Specialty Courts

This amendment would close a loophole that limits disciplinary action against out-of-state attorneys practicing in Louisiana. It would also allow the creation of multi-parish specialty courts, which currently exist only at the parish or judicial district level for areas like drug cases, family matters, and veterans’ issues. Proponents say a regional approach could help in matters such as these and for potentially new kinds of courts, such as a business court, which exists in most states. One downside is the addition of more elected judges in a state that already seats a surplus of judges, but on the whole there are more plusses than minuses. Vote YES.

Amendment #2 – Major Fiscal Reform

This complex but critical amendment would do the following:

• Reduce the maximum state income tax rate
• Double tax deductions for residents 65 and older
• Slow down a governmental growth limit
• Merge significant constitutional funds while moving lesser ones into statute
• Give parishes more severance tax dollars
• Provide incentive to prevent state taxpayers from subsidizing local taxpayers
• Move some tax breaks into statute
• Prompt a salary increase for teachers while paring unfunded mandates

Failure to pass it not only would keep in the Constitution certain undesirable inflexibilities that hamper economic development through counterproductive tax code provisions and overly burdensome regulation, but also would trigger a substantial overall tax increase, as the statutory changes that raised sales taxes were predicted on being matched with constitutional changes that have the effect of lowering income taxation. Overall, it promises the constraint of the size of government while setting up a revenue collection structure that traded some of revenue acquisition through confiscation of wealth with the bounty of increased economic activity.

Critics have sniped at this at the margins, in a broad sense opposing changes that would make less punitive income taxation on the highest earners and in the more specific cases objecting to items that may make it less difficult to change certain things that favor them in the tax code. For example, with those exemptions being moved into statute now only a two-thirds vote in the Legislature could eliminate these as opposed to that supermajority and a majority of voters if these remained in the Constitution. As well, the amendment would force a three-quarters supermajority to create a property tax break in statute, as opposed to the simple majority at present.

Crucially, major items such as the homestead exemption, Minimum Foundation Program for education, and a new beefed-up Budget Stabilization Fund as a savings account will continue unweakened. As unwieldy as the state’s fiscal system was prior to the statutory changes, after that it would be worse without this amendment. Vote YES.

Amendment #3 – Trying Juveniles as Adults

Currently, 16 specific crimes require that juveniles be tried as adults, restricting the Legislature’s ability to adjust for changing societal conditions. Moving this into statute allows lawmakers to add, remove, or modify the list as needed. This increases flexibility without preventing tough-on-crime policies when necessary. Vote YES.

Amendment #4 – Filling Supreme Court Vacancies

With last year’s switch to partially closed primaries, Louisiana now risks requiring extra elections due to the current restrictions on when special elections can be held. This amendment loosens those constraints, making it easier to fill Supreme Court vacancies with more than a year remaining on the ten-year term. While such situations will be rare, this minor technical fix is worth supporting. Vote YES.

Final Point

Amendment #2 is particularly crucial—its passage will streamline Louisiana’s tax code and reduce the need for a popular vote for future constitutional amendments. A YES vote is strongly recommended.