Constitutional Amendment Positions for November 3 Election
Homeownership Is on Louisiana's November Ballot
When Louisianans go to the polls on November 3, they will face a long ballot. Ten proposed constitutional amendments are on it, and the fine print can make even the most engaged voter's eyes glaze over. But seven of those amendments speak directly to something nearly every family in this state cares about: buying a home, keeping it and passing on a stronger neighborhood than the one they found.
Louisiana REALTORS® recommends a YES vote on Amendments 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10. Here is why:
Help the people at most risk of being taxed out of their homes. Louisiana already freezes the taxable value of homes owned by qualifying seniors and disabled homeowners, so a rising market does not translate into a rising tax bill they cannot afford. But the income limit to qualify has not kept pace with the cost of living. AMENDMENT 9 raises that limit from $100,000 to $150,000. It protects more retirees and disabled homeowners on fixed incomes from losing the very homes they spent their working lives paying for. REALTORS® supported this measure in the Legislature, and we support it now. AMENDMENT 6 builds on Amendment 9's protections. It lets parishes and municipalities offer an additional property-tax exemption to qualifying homeowners age 65 and older, but only if local voters approve it. No community is forced to do anything. Each one decides for itself whether helping its seniors age in place is worth it. That is how local control should work.
Honor the families of those who served. Surviving spouses of disabled veterans already receive a property-tax exemption. Under current law, they lose it if they move. AMENDMENT 1 lets them carry it to a new home one time. A widow who needs to downsize or move closer to her grandchildren should not have to give up a benefit earned through her spouse's service. REALTORS® backed up this bill, and the Legislature passed it with broad support.
Fix a quirk in our tax code that works against taxpayers. Today, if a local government lowers its property-tax rate, it can lose the ability to return to the rate of voters originally approved. That creates a perverse incentive to keep rates at the maximum, even when a cut is affordable. AMENDMENT 2 removes the penalty. It doesn't raise anyone's taxes, and it doesn't let a rate exceed what voters already approved. It simply makes tax cuts possible without punishing the governments that make them.
Turn blight into homes. Every parish in Louisiana has them: the collapsing house on the corner, the overgrown lot, the shuttered building that drags down the value of every property around it. AMENDMENT 10 allows property-tax exemptions for blighted or derelict properties that have been rehabilitated, with the Legislature setting out the rules. It rewards the people willing to invest in neglected property and bring it back to life. We believe incentives are the right way to fight blight while protecting landowners' property rights. This measure, which REALTORS® also supported in the Legislature, adds housing without adding sprawl and eventually puts abandoned property back on the tax rolls at a higher value.
Protect what belongs to Louisianans. AMENDMENT 8 prohibits foreign adversaries and their agents from using Louisiana's expropriation process to force the sale or seizure of private property. Secure property rights are the foundation of homeownership and of a functioning economy. This amendment ensures hostile governments cannot exploit that foundation.
Keep the water safe. AMENDMENT 7 allows local governments to use public funds to replace lead water service lines on the homeowner's side of the property line, not just the public side. Federal rules already require these replacements, and federal dollars can cover much of the work. Letting that money reach the pipe in the yard means safer water, fewer costly surprises at inspection, and homes that stay marketable.
These amendments aren't a silver bullet for housing affordability, but together they reflect a simple set of principles that Louisiana REALTORS® has carried into the Capitol for years: property taxes should be predictable, property rights should be secure and public policy should make it easier, not harder, for families to own a home and stay in it.
Early voting runs October 20 through 27, and Election Day is November 3. Find your polling place and sample ballot at GeauxVote.
Read the amendments, talk with your neighbors and when you reach the bottom of the ballot, remember that homeownership is on it too.
VOTE YES ON 1, 2, 6, 7, 8, 9 AND 10.
