(Constitutional Amendment) Authorizes an additional ad valorem tax exemption for certain property owners aged sixty-five and older (EG SEE FISC NOTE LF RV See Note)

HB 514 proposes a constitutional amendment that adds Article VII, Section 21(P) to the Louisiana Constitution to create an additional ad valorem tax exemption for homestead properties owned by persons aged sixty-five and older who qualify for the special assessment level. This exemption is tiered by age, providing progressively larger exemptions as owners age: six thousand dollars of assessed valuation for those aged sixty-five to sixty-eight, twelve thousand dollars for ages sixty-nine to seventy-two, eighteen thousand dollars for ages seventy-three to seventy-six, twenty-four thousand dollars for ages seventy-seven to eighty, and thirty thousand dollars for those eighty-one and older. The exemption applies in addition to the existing seven thousand five hundred dollar homestead exemption and extends eligibility to surviving spouses within five years of age of the deceased owner and to property held in trust. The amendment operates on the assessed valuation level, which means the exemption amounts correspond to fair market values roughly ten times larger.

Property owners aged sixty-five and older who own and occupy homesteads and meet the special assessment level requirements will directly benefit from reduced property tax obligations if their parish or municipality adopts the exemption. Parishes and municipalities gain discretion to implement this exemption but only upon approval by a majority of voters in a local election called for that purpose, giving local governments and their constituents control over adoption. Taxing authorities in jurisdictions that approve the exemption will experience reduced tax collections, but the constitutional language explicitly prohibits shifting this cost burden to other taxpayers or triggering property reappraisals and millage adjustments that would otherwise increase rates to compensate for the revenue loss. The amendment effectively requires taxing authorities to absorb the full financial impact internally.

This amendment operates within the existing constitutional framework governing Louisiana property tax exemptions, which distinguishes between homestead exemptions under Section 20 and other exemptions under Section 21. The special assessment level referenced in the eligibility requirement is defined in Article VII, Section 18(G)(1)(a)(i) of the Louisiana Constitution, creating a cross-constitutional dependency that requires property owners to already qualify for that specific assessment status. The prohibition on reappraisal and millage adjustment represents a significant constraint on the constitutional reappraisal requirement in Section 23(B), which normally mandates property revaluation at intervals of not more than four years. This amendment requires implementation to be submitted to Louisiana voters as a constitutional amendment at the November 3, 2026 statewide election, with the amendment becoming effective January 1, 2028.