The House Committee on Ways and Means on April 28 advanced House Bill 472, a single-object constitutional amendment that would combine Louisiana's Budget Stabilization Fund and Revenue Stabilization Fund.

Chair Emerson, who presented the measure, said the pared-down amendment focuses on one issue after public feedback asking that the prior, broader rewrite be split into single-topic proposals. "All this amendment is going to do ' is combine the budget and revenue stabilization funds," Chair Emerson said when opening the item.

The bill reduces the original, 115-page rewrite to a single-object constitutional change. Committee discussion described the change as a way to convert some balances held in the Revenue Stabilization Fund into recurring revenue for the State General Fund. Committee staff and the author said that when the revenues that previously flowed to the Revenue Stabilization Fund phase out, the overage would instead be deposited into the General Fund; speakers said that removes a $600,000,000 cap that had limited recurring corporate collections being counted as recurring General Fund revenue.

Committee members and staff noted the author intends separate, single-issue bills to address other topics that had been in the earlier full rewrite, including inventory tax phase-out measures and TRSL-related provisions.

Procedural outcome: the committee adopted substitute set 17-18 and reported HB 472 favorably by substitute. The committee recorded no formal roll-call opposition at the time of the report; the chair asked for a motion to report and there were no objections.

Clarifying details provided during the hearing: supporters said the change would (1) combine the two constitutional trust funds into a single fund; (2) redirect amounts that previously would have been limited by a $600 million cap into recurring General Fund revenue; and (3) enable future policy decisions about how to use the recurring revenue. The transcript records supporters warning that the measure frees recurring revenue and that other instruments will be needed to allocate those proceeds for specific purposes.

Background: an earlier, broader Article VII rewrite (sometimes referenced in testimony as Amendment 2) failed in March; HB 472 narrows that earlier rewrite to a single constitutional object at the request of members and many public commenters. The committee hearing included several pro-forma green-card entries from policy organizations signaling support but not testifying aloud.

Next steps: HB 472 was reported favorably by the committee and will proceed through the legislative process; because it is a constitutional amendment it will require placement on a ballot and follow ballot-timing rules before taking effect if approved by voters.