Louisiana Amendment 1, Increase Maximum Amount Invested in Equities for Certain State Funds Measure (2022)

Louisiana Amendment 1
Election date November 8, 2022
Topic State and local government budgets, spending and finance
Status d Defeated
Type Constitutional amendment	Origin State legislature

Louisiana Amendment 1, the Increase Maximum Amount Invested in Equities for Certain State Funds Measure, was on the ballot in Louisiana as a legislatively referred constitutional amendment on November 8, 2022. The measure was defeated.

A "yes" vote supported amending the state constitution to increase the portion of certain state funds that can be invested in stocks from 35% to 65%.

A "no" vote opposed increasing the portion of certain state funds that can be invested in stocks from 35% to 65%.

Election results

Louisiana Amendment 1
Result		Votes	Percentage
Yes		475,019	35.89%
No		848,366	64.11%

Results are officially certified.

Source

Overview

What would Amendment 1 have done?

See also: Ballot language and constitutional changes

The amendment would have increased the portion of money in certain state funds that could be invested in equities (stocks) from 35% to 65%. The increase would have applied to the following funds:

• Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund;
• Artificial Reef Development Fund;
• Lifetime License Endowment Trust Fund;
• Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund; and
• Russell Sage or Marsh Island Refuge Fund.

The amendment would have also removed a provision in the constitution that limits the legislature's ability to increase the amount of money in the Millennium Trust that may be invested in stock and instead allows the legislature to provide for investments by general law.

How did this measure get on the ballot?

See also: Path to the ballot

In Louisiana, a two-thirds vote is needed in each chamber of the Louisiana State Legislature to refer a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.

This amendment was introduced as House Bill 154 (HB 154) on March 19, 2021. On March 10, 2021, the state House passed HB 154 in a vote of 100-0 with five members absent. The Senate passed the amendment in a vote of 36-0 with two members absent on June 2, 2021.

Text of measure

Ballot question

The ballot question for the amendment was as follows:

“

Do you support an amendment to increase to 65% the cap on the amount of monies in certain state funds that may be invested in stocks? (Amends Article VII, Sections 10.1(B), 10.8(B), 10.11(D), and 14(B)) [ ]Yes [ ] No

”

Constitutional changes

See also: Article VII, Louisiana Constitution

The measure would have amended sections 10 and 14 of Article VII of the state constitution. The following struck-through text would have been deleted and underlined text would have been added. Note: Hover over the text and scroll to see the full text.

Text of Section 10.1: Quality Trust Fund; Education

(B) Investment. The money credited to the Permanent Trust Fund pursuant to Paragraph (A) of this Section shall be permanently credited to the Permanent Trust Fund and shall be invested by the treasurer. Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution or other law to the contrary, a portion of money in the Permanent Trust Fund, not to exceed thirty-five sixty-five percent, may be invested in stock. The legislature shall provide for procedures for the investment of such monies by law. The treasurer shall contract, subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission, for the management of such investments. The amounts in the Support Fund shall be available for appropriation to pay expenses incurred in the investment and management of the Permanent Trust Fund and for educational purposes only as provided in Paragraphs (C) and (D) of this Section.

Text of Section 10.8: Millennium Trust

(B) Investment. Monies credited to the Millennium Trust pursuant to Paragraph (A) of this Section shall be invested by the treasurer with the same authority and subject to the same restrictions as the Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund. However, the portion of monies in the Millennium Trust which may be invested in stock may be increased to no more than fifty percent by a specific legislative instrument which receives a favorable vote of two-thirds of the elected members of each house of the legislature. The legislature shall provide for procedures for the investment of such monies by law. The treasurer may contract, subject to the approval of the State Bond Commission, for the management of such investments and, if a contract is entered into, amounts necessary to pay the costs of the contract shall be appropriated from the Millennium Trust.

Text of Section 10.11: Artificial Reef Development Fund

(D) All unexpended and unencumbered monies in the Artificial Reef Development Fund at the end of the fiscal year shall remain in the fund. The monies in the fund shall be invested by the treasurer in the manner provided by law. Notwithstanding any provision of this constitution to the contrary, a portion of money in the fund, not to exceed sixty-five percent, may be invested in stock. All interest earned on monies invested by the treasurer shall be deposited in the fund. The treasurer shall prepare and submit to the department on a quarterly basis a written report showing the amount of money contained in the fund from all sources.

Text of Section 14: Donation, Loan, or Pledge of Public Credit

(B) Authorized Uses. Nothing in this Section shall prevent (1) the use of public funds for programs of social welfare for the aid and support of the needy; (2) contributions of public funds to pension and insurance programs for the benefit of public employees; (3) the pledge of public funds, credit, property, or things of value for public purposes with respect to the issuance of bonds or other evidences of indebtedness to meet public obligations as provided by law; (4) the return of property, including mineral rights, to a former owner from whom the property had previously been expropriated, or purchased under threat of expropriation, when the legislature by law declares that the public and necessary purpose which originally supported the expropriation has ceased to exist and orders the return of the property to the former owner under such terms and conditions as specified by the legislature; (5) acquisition of stock by any institution of higher education in exchange for any intellectual property; (6) the donation of abandoned or blighted housing property by the governing authority of a municipality or a parish to a nonprofit organization which is recognized by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization and which agrees to renovate and maintain such property until conveyance of the property by such organization; (7) the deduction of any tax, interest, penalty, or other charges forming the basis of tax liens on blighted property so that they may be subordinated and waived in favor of any purchaser who is not a member of the immediate family of the blighted property owner or which is not any entity in which the owner has a substantial economic interest, but only in connection with a property renovation plan approved by an administrative hearing officer appointed by the parish or municipal government where the property is located; (8) the deduction of past due taxes, interest, and penalties in favor of an owner of a blighted property, but only when the owner sells the property at less than the appraised value to facilitate the blighted property renovation plan approved by the parish or municipal government and only after the renovation is completed such deduction being canceled, null and void, and to no effect in the event ownership of the property in the future reverts back to the owner or any member of his immediate family; (9) the donation by the state of asphalt which has been removed from state roads and highways to the governing authority of the parish or municipality where the asphalt was removed, or if not needed by such governing authority, then to any other parish or municipal governing authority, but only pursuant to a cooperative endeavor agreement between the state and the governing authority receiving the donated property; (10) the investment in stocks of a portion of the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund, created under the provisions of R.S. 56:797, and the Russell Sage or Marsh Island Refuge Fund, created under the provisions of R.S. 56:798, , and the Lifetime License Endowment Trust Fund, created under the provisions of R.S. 56:649,such portion not to exceed thirty-five sixty-five percent of each fund; (11) the investment in stocks of a portion of the state-funded permanently endowed funds of a public or private college or university, not to exceed thirty-five sixty-five percent of the public funds endowed; or (12) the investment in equities of a portion of the Medicaid Trust Fund for the Elderly created under the provisions of R.S. 46:2691 et seq., such portion not to exceed thirty-five percent of the fund; (13) the investment of public funds to capitalize a state infrastructure bank to be utilized solely for transportation projects; or (14) pursuant to a written agreement, the donation of the use of public equipment and personnel by a political subdivision upon request to another political subdivision for an activity or function the requesting political subdivision is authorized to exercise.

Readability score

See also: Ballot measure readability scores, 2022

Using the Flesch-Kincaid Grade Level (FKGL) and Flesch Reading Ease (FRE) formulas, Ballotpedia scored the readability of the ballot title 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 7, and the FRE is 70. The word count for the ballot title is 34.

Support

Supporters

Officials

• State Rep. Francis Thompson (R)
• State Rep. Jerome Zeringue (R)

Opposition

Ballotpedia did not identify committees, organizations, or individuals opposing the amendment. If you are aware of any opponents or opposing arguments, please send an email with a link to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign finance

See also: Campaign finance requirements for Louisiana ballot measures

	Cash Contributions	In-Kind Contributions	Total Contributions	Cash Expenditures	Total Expenditures
Support	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Oppose	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00
Total	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00	$0.00

Ballotpedia has not identified political action committees registered to support or oppose this measure. If you are aware of one, please email editor@ballotpedia.org.

Background

Investment of public funds in Louisiana

The Investments Division of the Louisiana State Treasurer is responsible for investing state funds. As of 2022, around $6.5 billion in state funds in about 30 portfolios were invested. Invested funds included funds making up the state’s general fund, and state trust funds for health care, education, and transportation.

The amendment was designed to increase the portion of money in certain state funds that could be invested in equities (stocks) from 35% to 65%. The increase was set to apply to the following funds:

• Louisiana Education Quality Trust Fund;
• Artificial Reef Development Fund;
• Lifetime License Endowment Trust Fund;
• Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge Trust and Protection Fund; and
• Russell Sage or Marsh Island Refuge Fund.

The amendment was designed to remove a provision in the constitution that limited the legislature's ability to increase the amount of money in the Millennium Trust that may be invested in stock and instead allow the legislature to provide for investments by general law. The Millennium Trust Fund was established through voter approval of the Louisiana Tobacco Settlement Fund Amendment (House Bill 640) of 1999. The Millennium Trust Fund contains three funds: the Louisiana Education Excellence Fund (EEF), the Health Excellence Fund, and the Taylor Opportunity Program for Students (TOPS) Fund. Funds for the Millennium Trust Fund come from the tobacco settlement proceeds as prescribed by the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) of 1998. Funds are appropriated by the Louisiana Department of Education to be used for purposes supporting "excellence in educational practice." Of the funds, 85% is appropriated to local school systems and charter schools while the other 15% is distributed to certain approved non-public schools.

Related 2022 ballot measures

Constitutional Amendment A was on the 2022 ballot in Wyoming. The measure was designed to allow the Wyoming State Legislature to provide by law for local governments (county, city, township, town, school district, or other political subdivision) to invest funds in stocks and equities and require a two-thirds vote of the legislature to establish or increase the percentage of funds a local government could invest.

Constitutional amendments on the ballot, 2000-2020

See also: List of Louisiana ballot measures

The following statistics are based on legislatively referred constitutional amendments on the even-year ballot in Louisiana between 2000 and 2020:

• During the 20-year period between 2000 and 2020, the statewide ballot in Louisiana featured 104 constitutional amendments.
• An average of 10 amendments appeared on the ballot.
• The number of amendments on the ballot ranged from four to 21.
• Voters approved 71.15% (74 of 104) and rejected 28.85% percent (30 of 104) of the constitutional amendments.

Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments in even-years, 2000-2020
Total number	Approved	Percent approved	Defeated	Percent defeated	Even-year average	Even-year median	Even-year minimum	Even-year maximum
104	74	71.15%	30	28.85%	9.45	8.0	4	21

Path to the ballot

See also: Amending the Louisiana Constitution

In Louisiana, a two-thirds vote is needed in each chamber of the Louisiana State Legislature to refer a legislatively referred constitutional amendment to the ballot for voter consideration.

This amendment was introduced as House Bill 154 (HB 154) on March 19, 2021. On March 10, 2021, the state House passed HB 154 in a vote of 100-0 with five absent. The Senate passed the amendment in a vote of 36-0 with two members absent on June 2, 2021.

Vote in the Louisiana House of Representatives May 10, 2021
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	100	0	5
Total percent	95.24%	0.00%	4.76%
Democrat	31	0	4
Republican	67	0	1
Independent	2	0	0

Vote in the Louisiana State Senate June 2, 2021
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	36	0	2
Total percent	94.87%	0.00%	5.13%
Democrat	10	0	1
Republican	26	0	1

How to cast a vote

See also: Voting in Louisiana

Click "Show" to learn more about voter registration, identification requirements, and poll times in Louisiana.

How to cast a vote 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

2022 measures

• 2022 ballot measures
• Budgets 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

• Full text of House Bill 154