Louisiana Amendment 6, Phase-In of Tax Increases from Property Reappraisal 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 6
Election date November 6, 2018
Topic 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 6, the Phase-In of Tax Increases from Property Reappraisal 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 this amendment to require that tax increases from reappraisals—estimates of a property’s market value—resulting in a property's value increasing more than 50 percent be phased in over the course of four years.

A "no" vote opposed this amendment to require that tax increases from reappraisals—estimates of a property’s market value—resulting in a property's value increasing more than 50 percent be phased in over the course of four years.

Election results

Louisiana Amendment 6
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		809,381	57.55%
No		596,950	42.45%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What did this ballot measure change about property taxes?

Amendment 6 required that tax increases from reappraisals—estimates of a property’s market value—resulting in a property's value increasing more than 50 percent be phased in over the course of four years. Amendment 6 also stated that taxing authorities, such as local governments and school districts, would not be allowed to adjust the tax rate to make up for lost revenue from the phase-in requirement.

As of 2018, there was no phase-in of tax increases that result from property reappraisals. In Louisiana, property reappraisals occurred at intervals of not more than four years.

How did the amendment affect assessment rolls?

According to the Louisiana Tax Commission, an assessment increase of more than 50 percent over a four-year period for residential properties was not typical as of 2018. Therefore, according to the commission, the amendment was not expected to frequent changes to assessment rolls.

Text of measure

Ballot title

The ballot title was as follows:

“

Do you support an amendment that will require that any reappraisal of the value of residential property by more than 50%, resulting in a corresponding increase in property taxes, be phased-in over the course of four years during which time no additional reappraisal can occur and that the decrease in the total ad valorem tax collected as a result of the phase-in of assessed valuation be absorbed by the taxing authority and not allocated to the other taxpayers? (Amends Article VII, Section 18(A) and (F))

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article VII, Louisiana Constitution

Amendment 6 amended Section 18(A) and (F) of Article VII of the Louisiana Constitution. The following underlined text was added and struck-through text was deleted:

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

§18. Ad Valorem Taxes

(A) Assessments.

Property subject to ad valorem taxation shall be listed on the assessment rolls at its assessed valuation, which, except as provided in Paragraphs (C), (F), and (G), shall be a percentage of its fair market value. The percentage of fair market value shall be uniform throughout the state upon the same class of property.

(F) Reappraisal.

(1) All property subject to taxation shall be reappraised and valued in accordance with this Section, at intervals of not more than four years.

(2)   (a) In the year of implementation of a reappraisal as required in Subparagraph (1) of this Paragraph, solely for purposes of determining the ad valorem tax imposed on residential property subject to the homestead exemption as provided in Section 20 of this Article, if the assessed value of immovable property increases by an amount which is greater than fifty percent of the property's assessed value in the previous year, the collector shall phase-in the additional tax liability resulting from the increase in the property's assessed value over a four-year period as follows:

(i) For purposes of calculating the ad valorem taxes on the property in the first levy following reappraisal, the collector shall use the property's assessed value from the previous year, which shall be called the base amount as used in this Subparagraph, and shall increase the portion of the assessed value of the property used to calculate ad valorem taxes by adding an amount which is equal to one-fourth of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value as a result of the reappraisal to the base amount. This resulting amount shall constitute the property's taxable value and shall be used solely for purposes of calculating ad valorem taxes for that taxable year.

(ii) For purposes of calculating the ad valorem taxes on the property in the second levy following reappraisal, the collector shall increase the portion of the assessed value of the property used to calculate ad valorem taxes by adding an amount which is equal to one-half of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value as a result of the reappraisal to the base amount. This resulting amount shall constitute the property's taxable value and shall be used solely for purposes of calculating ad valorem taxes for that taxable year.

(iii) For purposes of calculating the ad valorem taxes on the property in the third levy following reappraisal, the collector shall increase the portion of the assessed value of the property used to calculate ad valorem taxes by adding an amount which is equal to three-quarters of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value as a result of the reappraisal to the base amount. This resulting amount shall constitute the property's taxable value and shall be used solely for purposes of calculating ad valorem taxes for that taxable year.

(iv) In the fourth levy following reappraisal, the collector shall calculate ad valorem taxes based on the property's full assessed value.

(b) The provisions of this Subparagraph providing for a phase-in of additional ad valorem tax liability following reappraisal shall cease to apply upon the transfer or conveyance of ownership of the property. Following a transfer or conveyance, the collector shall calculate ad valorem taxes based on the property's full assessed value.

(c) Property subject to the provisions of this Subparagraph shall not be subject to reappraisal by an assessor until after the four-year phase-in of the amount of the increase in the property's assessed value is complete.

(d) Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution to the contrary, the increase in assessed valuation of property phased-in under this Subparagraph shall be included as taxable property for purposes of any subsequent reappraisals and valuation for millage adjustment purposes under Article VII, Section 23(B) of this constitution. The decrease in the total amount of ad valorem tax collected by a taxing authority as a result of this phase-in of assessed valuation shall be absorbed by the taxing authority and shall not create any additional tax liability for other taxpayers in the taxing district as a result of any subsequent reappraisal and valuation or millage adjustment. Implementation of this phase-in of increase in assessed valuation authorized in this Subparagraph shall neither trigger nor be cause for a reappraisal of property or an adjustment of millages pursuant to the provisions of Article VII, Section 23(B) of this constitution.

(e) The provisions of this Subparagraph shall not apply to the extent the increase was attributable to construction on or improvements to the property.

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 35, and the FRE is -15. The word count for the ballot title is 79, and the estimated reading time is 21 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 6.

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. Jean-Paul J. Morrell (D-3) introduced the constitutional amendment into the state legislature as Senate Bill 164 (SB 164) on February 28, 2018.

On March 21, 2018, the Louisiana State Senate voted 35 to 3 with one member absent to approve SB 164. The amendment required 26 votes in the state Senate.

On May 11, 2018, the Louisiana House of Representatives approved an amended version of SB 164 in a vote of 79 to nine with 17 members absent. The constitutional amendment required 71 votes in the state House. As the state House amended SB 164, a concurrence vote was required in the state Senate.

On May 14, 2018, the state Senate passed the final version of SB 164 in a vote of 38 to zero with one member absent.

Vote in the Louisiana House of Representatives May 11, 2018
Requirement: Two-thirds (66.67 percent) vote of all members in each chamber
Number of yes votes required: 71  a
	Yes	No	Not voting
Total	79	9	17
Total percent	75.24%	8.57%	16.19%
Democrat	36	0	5
Republican	41	9	11
Independent	2	0	1

Vote in the Louisiana State Senate May 14, 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	38	0	1
Total percent	97.44%	0.00%	2.56%
Democrat	13	0	1
Republican	25	0	0

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
• Taxes on the ballot
• Property 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 164