Regular legislative session through May 18, 2025

As it turned out, HB 421 became by substitute HB 685. And, SB 231 was amended in a fashion as to remove it from the list of good bills. Plus, substitute bill SB 245, which creates a database of nongovernment organizations receiving money from the state, was added.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 206 with minor amendment passed Senate committee; HB 289 passed the House; HB 371 with major amendment passed the House; HB 425 with major amendment passed committee and the House; HB 431 with minor amendment passed Senate committee; HB 434 with minor amendment passed Senate committee; HB 450 passed Senate committee; HB 459 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 473 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 568 was substituted by HB 691, HB 575 with major amendment passed committee and with major amendment passed the House; HB 583 was substituted by HB 692; HB 593 was substituted by HB 694; HB 615 with major amendment failed to pass; HB 654 passed the House; HB 678 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 684 with minor amendment passed the House; SB 8 passed the Senate; SB 15 with minor amendment passed the Senate; SB 54 with minor amendment passed the Senate; SB 58 with minor amendment passed the Senate; SB 81 passed the Senate; SB 117 with minor amendment passed House committee; SB 154 passed House committee; SB 245 passed committee.

THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: HB 63 with minor amendment passed committee; HB 271 with major amendment passed committee and with minor amendment passed the House; HB 540 passed the House; SB 80 with minor amendment passed House committee.

Regular legislative session through May 11, 2025

HB 421 became a substitute bill, but reporting is slow about its new number. After becoming a substitute, HB 684, which regulates more strictly use of restraints and isolation as corrective measures for students, was added to the list of good bills. And, SB 61 was removed from the list of bad bills.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 75 with minor amendment passed committee; HB 153 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 289 with major amendment passed committee; HB 293 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 365 passed the House; HB 366 with major amendment passed the House; HB 371 with minor amendment passed committee; HB 421 passed committee by substitute; HB 425 with major amendment passed House committee; HB 473 passed committee; HB 528 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 548 passed committee; HB 561 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 563 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 599 was substituted for by HB 683; HB 638 passed committee; HB 654 with minor amendment passed committee; HB 678 with minor amendment passed committee; HB 683 passed committee; HB 684 passed committee; SB 15 with minor amendment passed committee; SB 54 with minor amendment passed committee; SB 58 with minor amendment passed committee; SB 81 passed committee; SB 118 passed the Senate; SB 154 with major amendment passed the Senate; SB 179 with minor amendment passed the Senate; SB 183 with minor amendment passed committee; SB 226 with minor amendment passed committee.

THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: SB 115 with minor amendment passed committee.

SCORECARD:

Total number of bills, House: 684; total number of bills, Senate: 243.

 

Total number of good bills, House: 59; total number of good bills, Senate: 26.

 

Total number of bad bills, House: 30; total number of bad bills, Senate: 12.

 

Total House good bills heard in House committee: 46; total Senate good bills heard in Senate committee: 19.

 

Total House bad bills heard in House committee: 6; total Senate bad bills heard in Senate committee: 6.

 

Total House good bills approved by House committee: 36; total Senate good bills passed by Senate committee: 16.

 

Total House bad bills approved by House committee: 1; total Senate bad bills passed by Senate committee: 5.

 

Total House good bills approved by House: 18; total Senate good bills approved by Senate: 9.

 

Total House bad bills approved by House: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by Senate: 2.

 

Total House good bills heard in Senate committee: 0; total Senate good bills heard in House committee: 0.

 

Total House bad bills heard in Senate committee: 0; total Senate bad bills heard in House committee: 0.

 

Total House good bills approved by Senate committee: 0; total Senate good bills approved by House committee: 0.

 

Total House bad bills approved by Senate committee: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by House committee: 0.

 

Total House good bills approved by Senate: 0; total Senate good bills approved by House: 0.

 

Total House bad bills approved by Senate: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by House: 0.

 

Total House good bills going to governor: 0; total Senate good bills going to governor: 0.

 

Total House bad bills going to governor: 0; total Senate bad bills going to governor: 0.

 

Total House good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0; total Senate good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0.

 

Total House bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0; total Senate bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0.

Regular legislative session through May 4, 2025

Bill introduction now having passed, only substitute bills will add to totals. There are a few placeholder bills, however, mainly dealing with reapportionment that could become added to the list of good or bad.

THIS WEEK FOR THE GOOD: HB 34 passed the House; HB 206 passed the House; HB 283 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 307 with minor amendment passed committee; HB 431 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 434 passed the House; HB 435 passed the House; HB 439 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 440 passed the House; HB 450 with minor amendment passed the House; HB 472 was substituted for by HB 678; HB 473 passed committee; HB 526 with major amendment passed the House; HB 528 with minor amendment passed committee; HB 554 with minor amendment passed committee; HB 561 with major amendment passed committee; HB 563 with minor amendment passed committee; HB 639 with minor amendment passed committee; HB 678 with major amendment passed committee; SB 8 with minor amendment passed committee; SB 66 with minor amendment passed the Senate; SB 99 with major amendment passed the Senate; SB 101 passed the Senate; SB 117 with minor amendment passed the Senate; SB 127 passed committee; SB 151 passed the Senate; SB 179 with minor amendment passed committee.

THIS WEEK FOR THE BAD: HB 540 with major amendment passed committee; SB 80 with minor amendment passed the Senate; SB 86 passed committee; SB 218 passed committee.

SCORECARD:
Total number of bills, House: 682; total number of bills, Senate: 243.

Total number of good bills, House: 58; total number of good bills, Senate: 26.

 

Total number of bad bills, House: 30; total number of bad bills, Senate: 14.

 

Total House good bills heard in House committee: 32; total Senate good bills heard in Senate committee: 12.

 

Total House bad bills heard in House committee: 3; total Senate bad bills heard in Senate committee: 5.

 

Total House good bills approved by House committee: 26; total Senate good bills passed by Senate committee: 9.

 

Total House bad bills approved by House committee: 1; total Senate bad bills passed by Senate committee: 3.

 

Total House good bills approved by House: 11; total Senate good bills approved by Senate: 6.

 

Total House bad bills approved by House: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by Senate: 1.

 

Total House good bills heard in Senate committee: 0; total Senate good bills heard in House committee: 0.

 

Total House bad bills heard in Senate committee: 0; total Senate bad bills heard in House committee: 0.

 

Total House good bills approved by Senate committee: 0; total Senate good bills approved by House committee: 0.

 

Total House bad bills approved by Senate committee: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by House committee: 0.

 

Total House good bills approved by Senate: 0; total Senate good bills approved by House: 0.

 

Total House bad bills approved by Senate: 0; total Senate bad bills approved by House: 0.

 

Total House good bills going to governor: 0; total Senate good bills going to governor: 0.

 

Total House bad bills going to governor: 0; total Senate bad bills going to governor: 0.

 

Total House good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0; total Senate good bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0.

Total House bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0; total Senate bad bills signed by governor/filed with Secretary of State: 0.

Regular legislative session through Apr. 27, 2025

Bill filing continues, and some legislation has started moving (or stalling). (Note that some bills below actually were dealt with prior to this week.)

THE GOOD: HB 642 by Rep. Roger Wilder would repeal the Earned Income Tax Credit; HB 645 by Rep. John Wyble would reduce individual income tax rates and raise the individual exemption;  HB 654 by Rep. Beau Beaullieu would synchronize state and local sales tax exceptions; HB 666 by Rep. Neil Riser would swap lower income tax rates for taxation of some services and use the proceeds to encourage weaning from the business inventory tax; SB 242 by Sen. Bob Owen would get the New Orleans City Council out of the business of water and sewerage utility regulation.

THE BAD: HB 656 by Rep. Edmond Jordan would prevent the planned phaseout of part of the state sales tax; HB 662 by Rep. Rodney Lyons would raise rates for some rental housing.

Good, Bad, and Ugly bills for the 2025 Regular Session

Welcome (belatedly) to the Louisiana Legislature Log, 2025 Regular Session edition rendering good, bad, and ugly bills. The Third Extraordinary Session of 2024 has occurred since the Log’s last appearance, with several significant matters (all classified as “good”) passed into law, although the most consequential was defeated at the ballot box. Maybe we’ll see another similar attempt this year, although some of those have reappeared for this session. Next week the Log will catch up on the first two weeks of the session.

THE GOOD: HB 4 by Rep. Chuck Owen would allow parishes to decide whether to permit carbon capture wells within their boundaries; HB 11 by Rep. Chad Boyer would increase crime deterrence; HB 34 by Rep. Brian Glorioso would assist in creating better trial judgments; HB 75 by Rep. Danny McCormick would allow for fairer subsurface royalty arrangements; HB 153 by Rep. Troy Hebert would create more effective and realistic work requirement standards to receive unemployment benefits; HB 206 by Rep. Michael Melerine would bring more consistency to election administration; HB 232 by Rep. Larry Bagley would eliminate the needless motor vehicle inspection requirement for many vehicles; HB 235 by Rep. Mike Echols would discourage getting high from hemp; HB 253 by Rep. Chad Boyer would regulate kratom; HB 283 by Rep. Phillip Tarver would limit recurring state government expenditures (similar bill: HB 295); HB 289 by Rep. Dewith Carrier would extend liability protection to ammunition and distributors of firearms and ammunition; HB 293 by Melerine would give government employees greater knowledge about whether to without form pay dues to organizations; HB 307 by Rep. Chance Henry would have non-citizens applying for benefits reported to the federal government; HB 309 by Tarver would prohibit appropriations to nongovernment organizations; HB 328 by Rep. Gabe Firment would establish monetary rewards for dashboard cameras for commercial vehicles; HB 333 by Rep. Dixon McMakin would gradually eliminate individual income taxation by 2040; HB 341 by McCormick would eliminate the Motion Picture Production tax credit and reduce income tax rates; HB 353 by Rep. Sherman Mack would tighten up regulation of stored airborne carbon; HB 365 by Rep. Daryl Deshotel would wean parishes from the business inventory tax exemption (similar bill: HB 366); HB 371 by Rep. Beryl Amedee would expand religious protections; HB 378 by Rep. Roger Wilder would remove discrimination against home schooled students for Taylor Opportunity Program for Students awards; HB 418 by Wilder would protect individuals from discrimination by financial institutions; HB 421 by Rep. Emily Chenevert would abolish discriminatory practices in state government; HB 425 by Rep. Josh Carlson would clamp down against coerced abortion; HB 431 by Chenevert would not allow tort recovery if the plaintiff is more than half responsible for damages; HB 432 by Chenevert would increase transparency in litigation financing; HB 434 by Rep. Jason Dewitt would disallow initial amounts of recovery for uninsured drivers; HB 435 by Rep. Peter Egan would cap general tort damages; HB 439 by Rep. Troy Hebert would limit attorney compensation on the first $15,000 of damages awarded; HB 440 by Henry would create a duty to mitigate recovery damages; HB 450 by Melerine would require proof that injuries for which damages are awarded are sustained in the accident; HB 459 by Kimberly Coates would tighten regulations on wind energy collection; HB 472 by Rep. Julie Emerson amends the Constitution to restructure state government fiscal provisions (related bills: HB 473, HB 599); HB 526 by Rep. Jacob Landry would increase state government transparency at reduced cost; HB 528 by Rep. Ryan Bourriaque would reorganize the Department of Transportation and Development (similar bill: HB 556); HB 548 by Rep. Jeremy LaCombe would divert some carbon sequestration avails for lands owned by the state to the Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Fund; HB 552 by Rep. Rodney Schamerhorn would tax pipelines involved in transporting carbon dioxide; HB 554 by McMakin would signify on aliens’ drivers licenses/identification cards that they are not citizens; HB 555 by Amedee prevents government or business entities to discriminate on the basis of medical interventions (similar bill: HB 629); HB 561 by Firment would clarify notice that certain provisions of the Insurance Code do not apply to surplus lines policy and that surplus lines insurers may include arbitration clauses in their policies; HB 563 by LaCombe would aid distribution of brewery products; HB 568 by Carrier would increase safety surrounding carbon dioxide pipelines; HB 575 by Rep. Lauren Ventrella expands to a more comprehensive and realistic presumption of liability for causing illegal abortions; HB 583 by Jacob Landry would commit the state to a more stable and reliable energy grid; HB 596 by Wright would continue to update campaign finance law; HB 615 by Rep. Brett Geymann would provide state regulation of solar farm siting; HB 623 by Rep. Kim Carver would repeal the Used Motor Vehicle Commission and allows the Motor Vehicle Commission to absorb its jurisdiction and responsibilities; HB 638 by Coates would establish fees for solar development (similar bill: HB 639); SB 7 by Sen. Valarie Hodges would prevent diminution of returns for state pension investments; SB 8 by Sen. Jay Morris would amend the Constitution to prompt the State Civil Service Commission to make decisions more with state citizens in mind; SB 12 by Sen. Franklin Foil would exempt from income some expenses for people with disabilities (similar bill: SB 118); SB 15 by Morris would prohibit interference with immigration officials carrying out their duties; SB 54 by Sen. Beth Mizell would increase the state’s ability to address specific fiscal problems with local governments; SB 58 by Sen. Patrick Connick would protect children better; SB 66 by Foil would add military status to protected classes under law; SB 74 by Sen. Alan Seabaugh would treat judicially more appropriately juvenile behavior; SB 81 by Sen. Rick Edmonds would increase school accountability to and transparency for parents; SB 99 by Sen. Stewart Cathey would provide penalties for officials’ illegal use of traffic enforcement devices; SB 100 by Sen. Blake Miguez would create tools to monitor state government expenses associated with non-citizens; SB 101 by Miguez would expand concealed carry rights; SB 117 by Miguez would remove ultra processed foods from school meals; SB 127 by Sen. Adam Bass would construct a regulatory framework for modular nuclear reactors; SB 130 by Sen. Heather Cloud would improve Medicaid eligibility verification; SB 148 by Miguez would have losers pay in tort cases; SB 149 by Seabaugh would repeal the Earned Income Tax Credit; SB 151 by Mizell would modernize and improve the state’s procurement code; SB 154 by Morris would criminalize kratom; SB 179 by Sen. Stewart Cathey would apportion more fairly tax assessment revenues; SB 183 by Morris would tighten ethics rules; SB 226 by Sen. Valarie Hodges would strengthen prohibitions against ownership by foreign adversaries and prohibited foreign actors; SB 229 by Miguez would require reporting attempts of contracted foreign influence on state government agencies; SB 230 by Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter would increase medical transparency in tort cases (similar bill: SB 231).