Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry and state lawmakers are pushing hard to rewrite the state’s constitution this year. Members of the legislature have indicated they wish to put the new framework before voters in November.

The issue has already sparked debate among lawmakers, who agree that the current document is far too cumbersome but have concerns about what the new finished product might look like.

The governor wants to pare down the state’s foundational governing document, which was adopted through a public vote in 1974 but has been amended more than 200 times in the past 50 years. The lengthy process to put a new version of the constitution before voters is expected to begin during the Louisiana Legislature’s regular lawmaking session that starts Monday.

“We are going to take a shot at reforming our constitution,” Landry said Thursday during a convention for the conservative Pelican Institute think tank in Baton Rouge.

There is broad consensus Louisiana’s constitution has become unwieldy but not agreement on what adjustments should be made. Concern over what changes could get approval has led to a yearslong stalemate over convening a convention to rewrite the document.

This year, Landry and others are attempting to overcome that barrier by taking an initial step that wouldn’t substantively change state laws or protections — at least in the short term.

The impetus behind this initiative is the state constitution’s unwieldiness due to numerous amendments. Indeed, since the latest iteration of the document was hammered out in 1974, it has been amended over 200 times. The aim behind this move is to streamline the state’s governing structure and make it easier for the legislature to add or repeal some of the provisions in the constitution.

The central question: Is this initiative a necessary reform, or could it lead to more government control and less liberty?

The process for amending Louisiana’s constitution involves a multi-step procedure that includes legislative and public approval. It is designed to ensure that changes to the governing document reflect the will of the government and the people.

The first step is approval by the legislature. Two-thirds of the House and Senate must vote in favor of the action. Once this happens, changes to the document must be publicized to inform citizens about the new proposal. Then, the new constitution will have to be approved by a majority of the voters in a statewide election after being placed on the ballot. After that, the new document is certified by the appropriate state officials and becomes the law of the state. Since 1812, the state has had ten constitutions.

The issue stems from an overabundance of laws being included in the constitution. Those supporting the rewrite point out that much of what is contained in the document should be made into statutes that the legislature would be able to unilaterally maintain or repeal. They have said they would not remove any of the laws in the document during the rewriting process but would relocate them to a state statute. The legislature would take up these statutes during next year’s session.

Landry said this move is intended to “have Louisiana’s constitution act like it was supposed to … so that we finally strip out the things that don’t belong in the constitution.”

The effort to rewrite the constitution is being spearheaded by Rep. Beau Beaullieu. What is not yet clear, however, is which provisions of the current constitution would become statutes, an issue that has raised concerns over how the new document might impact Louisana residents. There are also worries over whether the legislature would even be able to accomplish this feat within the timeframe they have laid out.

The bill calls for the constitutional convention to start two weeks before the Legislature’s current law-making session ends on June 3, which could create scheduling difficulties for lawmakers.

It’s not clear when they would find the time to rewrite the foundational governing document of the state during their busiest time of year. Legislators are typically still voting on dozens of bills each day and putting together the state budget for the next fiscal year in late May and early June.

Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said he wasn’t willing to speed up the Senate’s work to adjourn the regular session early to go into a constitutional convention.

“I’m not interested in rushing through the process” of the regular legislative session, Henry said in an interview Wednesday. “[All the lawmakers] need to understand what’s in the budget, and we are going to need until June 3 to do that.”

Henry also said he was “1,000% sure” senators would not be willing to stay in Baton Rouge beyond June 3 for a constitutional convention, let alone until the middle of July.

The results of this initiative could either be a welcome benefit or a nightmare, depending on which provisions are removed from the document. For instance, the legislature could decide to take out certain protections for Louisianans or cripple lawmakers’ efforts to rein in spending.

One law that could be taken out of the constitution and be put in statute gives homeowners a $75,000 homestead exemption on their property. Another protects civil service employees against arbitrary action by government leaders.

Because the constitution prevents legislators from reducing spending on K-12 education and in several other areas, when lawmakers make cuts, they chop the budgets of public health care and colleges and universities – two big-expense areas that are not protected by the constitution.

A more streamlined process could lead to clearer governance structures and more efficiency in state government. A new constitution could also make the state more adaptable to future changes or challenges.

On the other hand, it could result in a disastrous loss of protections while empowering the state government to become more intrusive in the lives of citizens. Moreover, it could be rewritten to promote a particular political agenda instead of focusing on protecting residents.

Creating a brand new constitution is not a process that should be taken lightly – especially by Louisana residents. The ones most impacted by the changes should take a hard look at the new agreement that will govern their state.