LOTTERY: (Constitutional Amendment) Provides relative to lottery proceeds benefitting veterans (RE +$500,000 GF EX See Note)
Summary
HB 165 is a proposed constitutional amendment that would direct a portion of Louisiana lottery proceeds to support veterans. Under current constitutional language, net lottery proceeds are deposited into the Lottery Proceeds Fund and may be appropriated only for the Minimum Foundation Program and up to $500,000 for compulsive and problem gaming services. This bill would add a new annual transfer requirement directing the state treasurer to move $500,000 from the Lottery Proceeds Fund to the Veterans Service Grant Fund, to be used for veterans’ services as authorized by law.
The measure would be submitted to voters at the statewide election on November 3, 2026. The ballot proposition asks whether voters support allowing the legislature to appropriate $500,000 from the Lottery Proceeds Fund for the benefit of Louisiana resident military veterans and their families. Because this is a constitutional amendment, it would change the state constitution rather than ordinary statute if approved by the electorate.
Impact
If adopted, HB 165 would amend Article XII, Section 6(A)(1) of the Louisiana Constitution to create a dedicated annual $500,000 transfer from lottery proceeds to the Veterans Service Grant Fund. It would expand the permissible uses of lottery proceeds beyond the current constitutional allocations for public education and problem-gaming services, while leaving those existing uses in place. The bill would affect the state treasury, the Lottery Proceeds Fund, the Veterans Service Grant Fund, and veterans’ service providers that receive grant funding under existing law.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have broad support in the House, passing final passage 84-0. The available record does not include committee transcript debate, but the unanimous vote suggests generally favorable sentiment toward using a small portion of lottery revenue to support veterans and their families. The committee amendments also indicate support for the concept, while refining the funding mechanism and ballot language.
Contention
The main policy issue is the use of lottery proceeds, which are constitutionally earmarked primarily for education, to fund veterans’ services instead. Earlier committee amendments removed a proposal tied to creating a new lottery game and replaced it with a direct annual transfer from existing lottery proceeds, suggesting some concern about the original funding structure. The remaining point of potential contention is whether diverting lottery revenue from its current purposes is appropriate, though no recorded opposition appears in the available vote history.
(Constitutional Amendment) Provides relative to the application of state monies to the unfunded accrued liability of the Teachers' Retirement System of La. (EN DECREASE SD RV See Note)
Provides for a special statewide election on April 18, 2026, for submitting proposed constitutional amendments to the state's electors (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)