Louisiana 2020 ballot measures

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2020 Louisiana
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Seven statewide ballot measures were certified to appear on the ballot in Louisiana on November 3, 2020, and one statewide ballot measure was certified to appear on the ballot on December 5, 2020. Of the eight 2020 measures, voters approved five and rejected three.

HIGHLIGHTS
  • The legislature also passed a bill that referred a measure to each of the state's 64 parishes designed to legalize sports betting if voters are in favor.
  • During a special legislative session in October, the state legislature referred a constitutional amendment to the December 5 ballot that would allow at-large members of the board of supervisors for the public university system to be from out-of-state.
  • On the ballot[edit]

    November 3:

    Type Title Subject Description Result
    LRCA Amendment 1 Abortion States that there is no right to abortion or abortion funding in the state constitution
    Approveda
    LRCA Amendment 2 Taxes and Natural resources Allows the presence or production of oil or gas to be taken into account when assessing the fair market value of an oil or gas well for ad valorem property tax purposes
    Approveda
    LRCA Amendment 3 State gov't finance Allows the Louisiana State Legislature, through a two-thirds vote in each chamber, to use up to one-third of the revenue in the Budget Stabilization Fund to cover the state's costs associated with a federally-declared disaster
    Approveda
    LRCA Amendment 4 State gov't finance Changes the state's expenditures limit growth formula
    Defeatedd
    LRCA Amendment 5 Taxes Authorizes a property tax exemption for property that is subject to an agreement with local government; allows certain property owners to make payments instead of paying property taxes
    Defeatedd
    LRCA Amendment 6 Taxes Increases the income limit from $50,000 to $100,000 for those who qualify for the special assessment level for residential property receiving the homestead exemption
    Approveda
    LRCA Amendment 7 State gov't finance Creates the Unclaimed Property Permanent Trust Fund and allocates investment revenue to the general fund
    Approveda

    In addition to statewide constitutional amendments, measures legalizing sports betting on a parish-by-parish basis were on the ballot in each of Louisiana's 64 parishes on November 3.

    December 5:

    Type Title Subject Description Result
    LRCA Amendment 1 Education Allows the governor to appoint an at-large member to the board of supervisors for the University of Louisiana System from out-of-state
    Defeatedd


    Summary of campaign contributions[edit]

    See also: Ballot measure campaign finance, 2020

    The following chart illustrates how much support and opposition committees received in campaign contributions for each measure on the ballot:

    Ballot Measure Support Contributions Oppose Contributions Outcome
    Louisiana Amendment 1, Allow for Out-of-State Members to the University Board of Supervisors Amendment (December 2020) $0.00 $0.00 Defeated
    Louisiana Amendment 1, No Right to Abortion in Constitution Amendment (2020) $681,191.75 $428,824.22 Approved
    Louisiana Amendment 2, Include Oil and Gas Value in Tax Assessment of Wells Amendment (2020) $0.00 $0.00 Approved
    Louisiana Amendment 3, Use of Budget Stabilization Fund for Declared Disasters Amendment (2020) $0.00 $0.00 Approved
    Louisiana Amendment 4, Expenditures Limit Growth Formula Amendment (2020) $0.00 $0.00 Defeated
    Louisiana Amendment 5, Payments in Lieu of Property Taxes Option Amendment (2020) $0.00 $922,803.35 Defeated
    Louisiana Amendment 6, Homestead Exemption Special Assessment Income Limit Amendment (2020) $0.00 $0.00 Approved
    Louisiana Amendment 7, Unclaimed Property Permanent Trust Fund Amendment (2020) $0.00 $0.00 Approved

    Getting measures on the ballot[edit]

    Citizens[edit]

    In Louisiana, citizens do not have the power to initiate statewide initiatives or referendums. As of 2019, voters of Louisiana had never voted on a ballot measure to authorize a statewide initiative and referendum process.

    Legislature[edit]

    The Louisiana State Legislature can refer statewide ballot measures, in the form of constitutional amendments, to the ballot in odd-numbered years and even-numbered years. The Louisiana Constitution requires a two-thirds vote in each legislative chamber during one legislative session to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 70 votes in the Louisiana House of Representatives and 26 votes in the Louisiana State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot.


    Referral of 2020 constitutional amendment[edit]

    The following table illustrates the vote requirements for the constitutional amendment certified for the ballot, the votes the amendment received, and how Democrats and Republicans voted on the amendment in each legislative chamber:

    Louisiana Amendment 4, Expenditures Limit Growth Formula AmendmentDemocratsRepublicans
    Senate:Required: 26Yes votes: 34 (87.18%)No votes: 0 (0.00%)Yes: 9; No: 0Yes: 25; No: 0
    House:Required: 70Yes votes: 101 (97.11%)No votes: 0 (0.00%)Yes: 32; No: 0Yes: 67; No: 0

    Historical facts[edit]

    See also: List of Louisiana ballot measures

    The following statistics are based on legislatively referred constitutional amendments between 1995 and 2019 in Louisiana:

    • Ballots featured 189 constitutional amendments.
      • Even-year ballots featured 121 constitutional amendments.
    • An average of 10 measures appeared on even-year statewide ballots.
    • The number of ballot measures on even-year statewide ballots ranged from four to 21.
    • Voters approved 75 percent (141 of 189) and rejected 25 percent (48 of 189) of the constitutional amendments.
    Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1995-2018
    Total number Approved Percent approved Defeated Percent defeated Even-year average Even-year median Even-year minimum Even-year maximum
    189 141 74.6% 48 25.4% 10.1 8.0 4 21

    Not on the ballot[edit]

    Type Title Subject Description Result
    LRCA Require Two-Thirds Vote of Legislature to Create or Alter Special Funds Amendment (HB 465) State gov't finance Would have required a two-thirds supermajority vote in the state legislature to create a special fund, increase or decrease the amount of money dedicated to the fund, or alter the purposes for which special fund money may be used Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot
    LRCA Capital Investment Projects Property Tax Exemption Amendment (HB 36) Taxes Would have authorized standard, local, and executive property tax exemptions for capital investment projects and requires laws passed to administer exemptions receive a two-thirds supermajority vote in both chambers of the state legislature Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot
    LRCA Tax Exemptions for Capital Investment Projects and Non-residential Immovable Property Amendment (HB 41) Taxes Would have established ad valorem property tax exemptions for certain capital investment projects and non-residential immovable property Proposed ballot measures that were not on a ballot

    See also[edit]

    Louisiana

    External links[edit]


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