Louisiana HB 603 was a 2026 Regular Session joint resolution that proposed a constitutional amendment on state fund investments in digital assets and precious metals. The measure, titled \u201cFUNDS\/FUNDING,\u201d was sponsored by Rep. Mark Wright and was last listed on the House final-passage calendar before the 2026 regular session ended. Because the proposal was not finally passed, this profile treats the measure as expired as of final adjournment, with no enacted or effective date.<\/p>\n
The engrossed text proposed to amend Article VII, Section 14(B) of the Louisiana Constitution, which governs authorized uses of public funds. HB 603 would have added a new authorized-use clause for \u201cthe investment of state funds in digital assets and precious metals.\u201d The text did not create a detailed investment program, define digital assets, set allocation limits, or prescribe custody standards. Instead, it would have changed the state constitutional baseline that determines whether state funds may be invested in those asset classes.<\/p>\n
The operative change was narrow. HB 603 would have added state-fund investment in digital assets and precious metals to the list of constitutionally authorized public-fund uses. In practical legislative terms, it functioned as an enabling amendment rather than a complete treasury investment framework. Any subsequent implementation would likely have depended on separate statutory authority, treasury policy, or other administrative rules.<\/p>\n
HB 603 was drafted as a joint resolution. Louisiana legislative materials explain that joint resolutions proposing constitutional amendments are processed as bills, although they are not subject to the governor\u2019s signature or veto in the same way as ordinary legislation. The bill text required submission of the proposition to Louisiana voters at the statewide election scheduled for November 3, 2026, if the legislature finally passed the measure by the required constitutional-amendment process.<\/p>\n
The Legislative Fiscal Office fiscal note described the proposal as permissive rather than mandatory. It said the amendment would permit, but not require, the state treasurer to invest fund balances in digital assets and precious metals. The fiscal note listed no anticipated direct material effect on governmental revenues, while noting that expenditures could increase if the treasurer chose to invest state fund balances in the covered assets.<\/p>\n
HB 603 was prefiled on February 26, 2026, provisionally referred to House Appropriations, and formally referred to that committee on March 9, 2026. House Appropriations reported the measure favorably on April 27. The House later ordered it engrossed and recommitted it to Civil Law and Procedure, which reported it without amendments on May 5. On May 6, the House ordered the measure reengrossed and passed it to third reading.<\/p>\n