Crypto Law Profile
Louisiana HB 603 proposed a constitutional amendment to authorize state-fund investments in digital assets and precious metals. It reached the House final-passage calendar but was not finally passed before the 2026 regular session ended.
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 “FUNDS/FUNDING,” 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.
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 “the investment of state funds in digital assets and precious metals.” 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.
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.
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’s 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.
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.
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.
The last bill-specific action listed on the official bill page was on May 12, 2026, when the measure was called from the calendar and returned to the calendar. The legislature’s constitutional-amendments list continued to show HB 603 as “Subject to call – House final passage.” Louisiana’s glossary states that bills and resolutions not finally passed remain live only until final adjournment, after which they are withdrawn from the legislature’s files. The 2026 Regular Session adjourned on June 1, 2026. For that reason, the import payload maps the measure to the controlled status term “Expired,” while preserving the official last bill status in the status-detail field.
HB 603 fits within the broader category of state-level government crypto holdings proposals. Its significance is not that it enacted a reserve or authorized a specific purchase. It instead shows how Louisiana lawmakers considered changing the state constitution to permit state-fund exposure to digital assets alongside precious metals. For CryptoSlate indexing, the core legal themes are government crypto holdings, state treasury authority, public-fund investment, and unresolved custody and implementation questions.
This profile is a legal-reference summary for editorial and research use. It is not legal, investment, tax, or trading advice.
Would add Article VII, Section 14(B)(16), authorizing investment of state funds in digital assets and precious metals.
Structured as a joint resolution proposing a constitutional amendment, not as an ordinary enacted treasury statute.
Would have placed the proposition before Louisiana voters at the statewide election scheduled for November 3, 2026, if finally passed.
Fiscal note states the amendment would permit, but not require, the treasurer to invest fund balances in covered assets.
HB 603 was prefiled and provisionally referred to House Appropriations.
The House read the bill by title and referred it to the Committee on Appropriations.
House Appropriations reported HB 603 favorably, with the committee vote recorded as 16-0.
House Civil Law and Procedure reported the measure without amendments, with a 5-3 final action vote.
The House called HB 603 from the calendar and returned it to the calendar on the same day.
The 2026 Regular Session ended; unresolved bills and resolutions are withdrawn after final adjournment.
Louisiana Legislature, Louisiana State Treasurer, Representative Mark Wright
Digital assets, Precious metals
Status is mapped to Expired because the 2026 Regular Session adjourned and Louisiana legislative glossary states unresolved bills and resolutions are withdrawn after adjournment sine die. The official bill page last listed HB 603 as subject to call for House final passage.
