Constitutional Amendment 4 and State Supplemental Pay

We want to make the membership aware of Constitutional Amendment #4 (CA #4) on the upcoming November 13 ballot and it's effect on state supplemental pay.

CA #4 would “Allow the transfer of more dedicated funds to fix a state budget deficit.”

State supplemental pay is one of the “dedicated funds” that could be tapped to fix a budget deficit. Currently, state supplemental pay is protected by the Constitution and can be cut across the board, along with other funds, by 5% with legislative action.

The passage of this amendment would increase the potential cut amount to 10%. The process for this cut is the joint Legislative budget committee to approve the cut, in a budget deficit year, by a ⅔’s vote and both chambers would have to agree to the reduction by a simple majority.

As you know, from this year’s fiscal session, Louisiana has a budget surplus of 1 billion dollars. Yet, we all know from recent history, Louisiana has seen budget deficits within the last decade and substantial cuts had to be made in a variety of areas in the state budget.

We wanted to let members know the potential effect of passage of CA #4 on law enforcement in Louisiana.

To read more about CA #4 and the other amendments on the ballot, click here.