Louisiana Amendment 5, Special Assessment for Homes in Trusts Amendment (2018)

Elections in Louisiana, 2018

• Primary election: Nov. 6
• General election: Dec. 8
• Voter registration deadline: Oct. 9
• Early voting: Oct. 23 - Oct. 30
• Absentee voting deadline: Nov. 5

• Online registration: Yes
• Same-day registration: No
• Voter ID: Photo ID required
• Poll times: 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

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On the ballot: U.S. House • Secretary of State • State executive offices • Special state legislative • Supreme court • Appellate courts • Local judges • State ballot measures • School boards • Municipal • Primaries in Louisiana, 2018

Louisiana Amendment 5
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic Property and Taxes
Status a Approved
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature
List of Louisiana measuresLouisiana Amendment 1Louisiana Amendment 2Louisiana Amendment 3Louisiana Amendment 4Louisiana Amendment 5Louisiana Amendment 6Submit

Louisiana Amendment 5, the Special Assessment for Homes in Trusts Amendment, was on the ballot in Louisiana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 6, 2018. The measure was approved.

A "yes" vote supported allowing special assessments on a home in trust for a resident who is the settlor of the trust and is a disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a person who died while performing their duties as a first responder, active duty member of the military, law enforcement officer, or fire protection officer.

A "no" vote opposed allowing special assessments on a home in trust for a resident who is the settlor of the trust and is a disabled veteran or the surviving spouse of a person who died while performing their duties as a first responder, active duty member of the military, law enforcement officer, or fire protection officer.

Election results

Louisiana Amendment 5
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		1,013,722	71.50%
No		403,989	28.50%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Do you support an amendment to extend eligibility for the following special property tax treatments to property in trust: the special assessment level for property tax valuation, the property tax exemption for property of a disabled veteran, and the property tax exemption for the surviving spouse of a person who died while performing their duties as a first responder, active duty member of the military, or law enforcement or fire protection officer? (Adds Article VII, Sections 18(G)(6), 21(K)(4) and (M)(4)

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article VII, Louisiana Constitution

Amendment 5 added a Section 18(G)(6), Section 21(K)(4), and Section 21(M)(4) to Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution. The following text was added:

Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

§18. G.

(6)(a) A trust shall be eligible for the special assessment level if all of the following apply:

(b) If a trust would have been eligible for the special assessment level pursuant to this Subparagraph prior to the most recent reappraisal, the total assessment of the property held in trust shall be the assessed value on the last appraisal before the reappraisal.

§21. K.

(4) A trust shall be eligible for the exemption provided for in this Paragraph as provided by law.

§21. M.

(4) A trust shall be eligible for the exemption provided for in this Paragraph as provided by law.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2018

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title and summary for this measure. Readability scores are designed to indicate the reading difficulty of text. The Flesch-Kincaid formulas account for the number of words, syllables, and sentences in a text; they do not account for the difficulty of the ideas in the text. The state legislature wrote the ballot language for this measure. The FKGL for the ballot title is grade level 34, and the FRE is -21. The word count for the ballot title is 72, and the estimated reading time is 19 seconds. In 2018, for the 167 statewide measures on the ballot, the average ballot title or question was written at a level appropriate for those with between 19 and 20 years of U.S. formal education (graduate school-level of education), according to the FKGL formula. Read Ballotpedia's entire 2018 ballot language readability report here.

Campaign finance

Total campaign contributions:
Support:	$0.00
Opposition:	$0.00

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See also: Campaign finance requirements for Louisiana ballot measures

In 2018, there were no ballot measure committees registered in support of or in opposition to Amendment 5.

Reporting dates

In Louisiana, ballot measure committees filed a total of three campaign finance reports in 2018. The filing dates for reports were as follows:

2018 campaign finance reporting dates
Date	Report	Period
10/09/2018	Report #1	Through 9/27/2018
10/29/2018	Report #2	9/28/2018 - 10/17/2018
12/17/2018	Report #3	10/18/2018 - 12/06/2018
2/15/2019	Report #4	12/07/2018 - 2/15/2019

Background

How often were constitutional amendments on the ballot in Louisiana?

From 1995 through 2017, the Louisiana State Legislature referred 179 constitutional amendments to the ballot. Voters approved 133 and rejected 46 of the referred amendments. Most of the amendments (115 of 179) were referred to the ballot for elections during even-numbered election years. The average number of amendments appearing on an even-year ballot was between 10 and 11. The approval rate at the ballot box was 74.3 percent during the 22-year period from 1995 through 2017. The rejection rate was 25.7 percent. In 2017, there were three referred amendments on the ballot. In 2016, there were six amendments.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 1995-2017
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Even-year average	Even-year median	Even-year minimum	Even-year maximum
179	133	74.30%	46	25.70%	10.45	9.00	4	21

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Louisiana Constitution

In Louisiana, a two-thirds vote in both chambers of the Louisiana State Legislature during one legislative session is required to refer a constitutional amendment to the ballot. Louisiana is one of 16 states that require a two-thirds supermajority in each chamber of the legislature.

Sen. Jonathan Perry (R-26) filed the amendment in the Louisiana State Legislature as Senate Bill 163 (SB 163) on February 27, 2018.

On April 9, 2018, the Louisiana State Senate approved SB 163 in a vote of 37 to zero with two members absent.

On May 16, 2018, the Louisiana House of Representatives approved an amended version of SB 163 in a vote of 84 to zero with 20 members absent. As the state House amended SB 163, the state Senate needed to concur with the changes.

On May 17, 2018, the state Senate voted to concur with the state House's changes to SB 163. The vote was 31 to zero with eight members absent.

As SB 163 received the vote of at least two-thirds of the members in each legislative chamber, the constitutional amendment was certified for the ballot for the election on November 6, 2018.

Vote in the Louisiana House of Representatives May 16, 2018
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 70  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	84	0	20
Total percent	80.77%	0.00%	19.23%
Democrat	32	0	8
Republican	50	0	11
Independent	2	0	1

Vote in the Louisiana State Senate May 17, 2018
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 26  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	31	0	8
Total percent	79.49%	0.00%	20.51%
Democrat	9	0	5
Republican	22	0	3

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Louisiana

Poll times

In Louisiana, polls are open from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Central time for Tuesday elections. For Saturday elections, polls open at 7:00 a.m. If the polls close while a voter is in line, he or she will still be permitted to vote.

Registration requirements

Check your voter registration status here.

To vote in Louisiana, one must provide documentary proof of United States citizenship and be a resident of the state and parish in which they register. A voter must be at least 18 years old by Election Day.

Registration completed via mail or in person must occur at least 30 days before Election Day. Registration completed online must occur at least 20 days before Election Day. Registrants must present a valid form of identification to register. Pre-registration is available beginning at age 16.

Voters may register in person at any Registrar of Voters office or any of the following places:

• Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles
• Louisiana Department of Social Services
• WIC offices
• Food stamp offices
• Medicaid offices
• Offices and agencies serving people with disabilities
• Military recruitment offices

Automatic registration

Louisiana does not practice automatic voter registration.

Online registration

See also: Online voter registration

Louisiana has implemented an online voter registration system. Residents can register to vote by visiting this website.

Same-day registration

Louisiana does not allow same-day voter registration.

Residency requirements

Louisiana law requires 20 days of residency in the state before a person may vote.

Verification of citizenship

See also: Laws permitting noncitizens to vote in the United States

Louisiana state law requires a voter registration applicant to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote. As of June 2025, the state had not implemented the requirement.

All 49 states with voter registration systems require applicants to declare that they are U.S. citizens in order to register to vote in state and federal elections, under penalty of perjury or other punishment. Seven states — Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Kansas, Louisiana, New Hampshire, and Wyoming — have laws requiring verification of citizenship at the time of voter registration, whether in effect or not. In three states — California, Maryland, and Vermont — at least one local jurisdiction allows noncitizens to vote in some local elections. Noncitizens registering to vote in those elections must complete a voter registration application provided by the local jurisdiction and are not eligible to register as state or federal voters.

Verifying your registration

The site Geaux Vote, run by the Louisiana Secretary of State office, allows residents to check their voter registration status online.

Voter ID requirements

Louisiana requires voters to present photo identification while voting.

Voters can present the following forms of identification. This list was current as of August 14, 2024. Click here to ensure you have the most current information.

• Louisiana driver's license
• Louisiana special identification card
• LA Wallet digital driver's license
• Military ID or other generally recognized picture identification card that contains the name and signature of the voter

Voters who do not have accepted ID may vote by completing a voter identification affidavit. By law, voters who sign an affidavit may be challenged.

Registered voters can bring their voter information card to the Office of Motor Vehicles to receive a free Louisiana special identification card.

See also

2018 measures

• 2018 ballot measures
• Property on the ballot
• Taxes on the ballot

Louisiana

• Louisiana ballot measures
• Louisiana ballot measure laws

News and analysis

• Ballot measure lawsuits
• Ballot measure readability
• Ballot measure polls

External links

• Louisiana 2018 Proposed Constitutional Amendments
• Senate Bill 163