4.8.25 – State Affairs Pro
Following Friday’s deadline to pre-file bills, there were 867 instruments (636 in the House, 231 in the Senate) on tap for the fiscal-focused regular session that begins Monday and must end by June 12. While a comprehensive overview would be impossible, here’s a preview of what lawmakers will debate, arranged by committee.
— WAYS & MEANS/REVENUE & FISCAL AFFAIRS: The chairs of the tax committees knew they would need to take up some cleanup legislation following the massive tax rewrite they undertook last year. But the failure of the Amendment 2 package on March 29 has some lawmakers looking to see what they can salvage in the fiscal session by breaking up the package into smaller components that can be debated and presented to the public separately.
House Ways and Means Chair Julie Emerson’s HB 472 runs 130 pages and seeks to revise large swaths of Article VII, making it reminiscent of the massive Amendment 2 legislation voters rejected. But it’s “quite different,” she said, because it leaves out any references to property tax exemptions. Moving exemptions for churches into statute was one of the main conservative objections to CA 2.
And of course, lawmakers have an entire session to whittle down Emerson’s amendment if they desire.
“Even in its first introduction in committee, you’ll probably see some things amended out,” Emerson said.
Other revenue amendments that have been prefiled include Emerson’s HB 473, which calls for liquidating three state trust funds and applying the money to teachers’ retirement debt. That was the method CA2 would have employed to fund a teacher pay bump. As currently written, it would go to the voters in November of 2026, so it wouldn’t be effective until the following year.
Other CAs that replicate elements of CA2 include HB 294 by Rep. Larry Bagley, which repeals the cap on severance tax revenue for parishes, and HB 366 by Commerce Chair Daryl Deshotel, which gives parishes the option to forgo or eliminate their inventory tax while authorizing the state to make a one-time payment to parishes that choose to do so.
Several amendments pending in Ways and Means or Rev and Fisc would make adjustments to the homestead exemption or change eligibility requirements for special assessments.
Also thanks to the failure of CA2, the threshold for passing new tax breaks remains a simple majority, and quite a few lawmakers have put in their requests.
— APPROPRIATIONS/FINANCE: Of course, HB 1 and the other “money bills” are focal points for any session. The main intrigue this year revolves around whether lawmakers will be able to scrape together almost $200 million to prevent teachers from taking a pay cut, following the failure of Amendment 2. Gov. Jeff Landry’s executive budget accounts for a $194 million anticipated shortfall but not another teacher pay stipend.
The amendment also called for combining two state trust funds and freeing up new dollars for general fund spending, which also isn’t going to happen. Last year, legislators diverted more than $700 million from the Revenue Stabilization Fund to one-time expenses; a similar maneuver could be considered again.
If the fund is tapped again, it would again be for nonrecurring expenses, House Appropriations Chair Jack McFarland said, naming a teacher stipend as a potential one-time expense.
The Revenue Estimating Conference will meet mid-session, but with the current economic uncertainty, their new forecast probably won’t be much help. And deep spending cuts at the federal level could be particularly painful for a state like Louisiana that pays for close to half of its total budget with federal dollars.
— INSURANCE/CIVIL LAW/JUD A: The hottest non-fiscal topic in the fiscal session will be the cost of insurance, which legislators almost universally say is their constituents’ biggest concern. Committees focused on insurance and civil law have been meeting for several months, though it’s not clear they’re any closer to consensus.
Rep. Brian Glorioso’s HB 34 (referred to House Civil Law) has the potential to be a major flashpoint for the session. Much like a bill Landry vetoed last year, it attempts to provide “transparency in medical expenses,” so the court knows how much an accident victim actually paid for their medical expenses, as opposed to the “sticker price” of a procedure.
— COMMERCE: Deshotel’s HB 413 calls for adding two members to the Public Service Commission who would be appointed by the governor and purport to represent the entire state. The change would make Louisiana’s PSC the only such body in the country with a mix of elected and appointed members, according to two PSC members who discussed the proposal with LaPolitics.
Emerson’s HB 507, also pending in House Commerce, would establish the High Impact Jobs Program within Louisiana Economic Development, which is called for in LED’s new strategic plan.
Over on the Senate side, Commerce Chair Beth Mizell’s SB 161 also deals with the LED revamp and master plan. Among many other changes, it would create the Louisiana Economic Development Innovation Fund.
— HEALTH: Senate Health will be flying the MAHA flag, as Chair Patrick McMath put it. In case you’re not familiar, that’s Make America Healthy Again, the catchphrase of U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
McMath has filed SB 14 to remove certain ingredients for school lunches, make doctors take nutrition courses, force restaurants to disclose the use of certain oils, ban Louisiana residents from buying sodas, and make food manufacturers label products with certain additives. His committee also will take up SB 2 by Sen. Mike Fesi, which bans fluoridation of state water systems.
— LABOR AND INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS: Workers’ comp appears to be the hottest issue for the labor committees.
Senate Labor Chair Alan Seabaugh’s SB 213 would adjust the workers’ compensation reimbursement schedule for the first time in many years, and require that the schedule be adjusted at least once every two years, and allow an aggrieved party to file an appeal with the office of the medical services’ reimbursement hearing officer within 30 days after the issuance of the decision.
Rep. Mike Echols’ HB 117 also addresses workers’ comp reimbursement. It would require the payments to be “reasonable” compared to peer states, and calls for annual adjustments.
— EDUCATION: Lawmakers will consider several bills related to the state’s TOPS scholarship program. Some are aimed at retaining top students in state, or inducing those who have left to return for graduate school.
HB 466 by Rep. Josh Carlson would require school systems to provide a salary increase for teachers and other school employees using the retirement savings that a constitutional amendment, such as Emerson’s HB 473, would provide. Again, this was part of the CA2 package that failed.
— TRANSPORTATION AND PUBLIC WORKS: House Transportation Chair Ryan Bourriaque is carrying HB 556, which lays out the reorganization plan for the Department of Transportation and Development. The 47-page bill has been in the works for months, and is inspired in large part by a recent review of the department’s operations by the Boston Consulting Group.
— NATURAL RESOURCES: Carbon capture and sequestration concerns likely will dominate the conversations for these committees. Proposals range from local options to outright bans, with most (but not all) of the CCS bills originating on the House side.
House Natural Resources Chair Brett Geymann has HB 615, which establishes permitting and siting requirements for solar power generation facilities with a footprint of 10 acres or more.
Sen. Thomas Pressly’s SB 97 would create the Coordinated Use of Resources for Recreation, Economy, Navigation, and Transportation Authority to oversee flood control, risk reduction, navigation, water resource management, and infrastructure projects in the “upland areas” of the state, excluding areas under the purview of the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
The Department of Wildlife and Fisheries has a five-bill package for lawmakers to consider.
— GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS: Over in HGA, members will consider HB 471 by Rep. Kathy Edmonston, a constitutional amendment that “removes the legislature’s authority to propose a revision of an entire article of the constitution as one amendment that contains multiple objects or changes.” The sprawling nature of CA 2 is one of the reasons why many opponents rejected it.
Chair Beau Beaullieu’s HB 397 calls for various changes to ethics rules. HB 160 by Rep. Kellee Dickerson would require the name of the person who made an ethics complaint be included in the certified copy the Board of Ethics sends to the accused. Such names currently are redacted.
Rep. Edmond Jordan has filed HBs 487 and 488, which call for redistricting the state House and Senate districts. Beaullieu has HB 458 to redistrict the House, while his counterpart, SGA Chair Caleb Kleinpeter, has SB 132 to redistrict the Senate. U.S. District Judge Shelly Dick last year directed lawmakers to redraw the maps, saying they violated the federal Voting Rights Act.
Kleinpeter also has SB 131 to redistrict the state’s congressional map once again, should that become necessary. The current map has been challenged all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.
With his SB 8, Judiciary C Chair Jay Morris will try again to pass a constitutional amendment that would authorize the Legislature to remove positions from the state Civil Service.
— LOCAL AND MUNICIPAL AFFAIRS: Of course, these committees deal mainly with local bills. One bill that would apply statewide and could stir controversy is HB 62 by Rep. Phillip Tarver, which authorizes parishes to create programs to finance commercial property improvements and get repaid through an assessment on the property.
— HOUSE CRIMINAL JUSTICE: Chair Debbie Villio plans to conduct oversight hearings during session focused on reentry programming. Her HB 208 would triple the amount of time, from one to three years, that an offender must go without major disciplinary action to be eligible for release. Diminution of sentence would not be allowed for habitual and sex offenders. Her HB 214 seeks to ensure that offenders whose probation is revoked serve their full sentences.
HB 12 by House Education Chair Laurie Schlegel would impose criminal penalties for selling legal products containing THC to people under the age of 21.
— AGRICULTURE: Only two bills have been prefiled to the agriculture committees: HB 95 by House Judiciary Chair Robby Carter, which authorizes commissioned officers of the Department of Agriculture and Forestry to purchase their service weapon upon retirement, SB 32 by Sen. Robert Allain, which would limit liability related to the use of gypsum.
— HOUSE JUDICIARY: HB 63 by Rep. Kyle Green is a proposed constitutional amendment to eliminate the mandatory retirement age of 70 for judges. HB 64 by Speaker Pro Tem Mike Johnson’s HB 64 provides that “it is a declared interest of the state that the attorney general preserve and defend the state’s autonomy, independence, and sovereignty in all legal matters and disputes involving the federal government.”
— RETIREMENT: SB 7 by Sen. Valerie Hodges would require “fiduciaries of public retirement systems to make investment decisions based solely on financial factors.” HB 9 by Rep. Larry Bagley would allow any member of the Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System to retire after 30 years of service, regardless of their date of first employment or age.
— JUDICIARY B: SB 128 by Sen. Gary Carter would require a written report whenever law enforcement uses force on a member of the public, regardless of whether it leads to an arrest or injury. His SB 211 would allow a district attorney or assistant district attorney to petition a court for an order prohibiting a person from carrying a concealed handgun when the petitioner has probable cause to believe they pose an imminent risk of harm to themselves or others.
SB 192 by Seabaugh creates a definition for “tactical medical professional,” as a licensed paramedic or physician who supports law enforcement by providing medical services at high-risk incidents.
— JUDICIARY C: SB 218 by Sen. Royce Duplessis would make a conviction obtained by a non-unanimous jury verdict grounds for post conviction relief.
Chair Morris’ SB 15 seeks to prevent public officials from interfering with federal immigration enforcement efforts. Seabaugh’s SB 74 seeks to give district courts jurisdiction over felony cases involving a juvenile when the crime is alleged to have been committed when the juvenile was 15 years of age or older.
SB 95 by Sen. Heather Cloud would require electronic monitoring services to notify the relevant district attorney or the attorney general (if acting as the district attorney) when a monitoring violation occurs.
— SENATE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY: SB 46 by Fesi would prohibit “the introduction of substances into the atmosphere for the express purpose of modifying weather, temperature, climate, or sunlight,” with exceptions for fire fighting, agriculture and forestry. SB 127 by Sen. Adam Bass authorizes the secretary of the Department of Environmental Quality to institute a federal permitting parity program for advanced nuclear power generation applications submitted by electric public utilities.