Policy experts weigh in on five constitutional amendments on May ballot

Published: April 20, 2026

By: Sheridan White, LSU Manship School News Service

BATON ROUGE – A Public Affairs Research Council webinar brought together policy experts who expressed sharp differences on the five constitutional amendments voters will consider in the May 16 election.

The topics include civil service protections, the creation of a new school district for the city of St. George, permanent teacher pay raises, property taxes and raising the age limit for judges. If you’d like to watch a video of the presentation, scroll down.

PAR also provides a clear, non-partisan analysis of all proposed amendments to Louisiana’s Constitution; to read those, click here.

Louisiana voters rejected a sweeping package of amendments last year that bundled together a number of policy changes, including a proposed teacher pay raise.

Critics said those measures were overly complex and combined too many unrelated issues, fueling voter skepticism. Lawmakers responded this year by simplifying the new proposals, aiming to give voters clearer choices on individual issues.