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).
