Countdown to Sine Die

Legislators did not end up adjourning the 2024 Regular Session early as some rumors had suggested, but they did get a lot of bills ticked off their checklists as they pulled long hours last week in preparation for Sine Die today. House and Senate lawmakers went into session yesterday evening, where House members concurred in the Senate amendments to all but one of the state’s annual “money bills,” and senators considered several conference committee reports before adjourning. Both houses are scheduled to gavel in at 10:00 AM today and have until 6:00 PM to handle any remaining business before adjourning Sine Die.

WEEK 12 RECAP

Money, Money, Money
Senate lawmakers passed the budget bills late last week, sending them back across the Capitol and teeing the House up to consider the Senate amendments over the weekend. Senators were able to fund additional priorities over and above what House members included in their original version of the budget, as state economists recently projected increases in state general fund revenue for both the current and next fiscal years.

• HB 1, the state’s annual operating budget, is slated to fund major priorities across the state, including the M.J. Foster Promise Program, the Louisiana Fortify Homes Program, early childhood care and education, coastal protection initiatives, and more

HB 1 passed the Senate on 5/31 and was adopted in House concurrence on 6/2.

• HB 2, the state’s annual construction budget, also known as the capital outlay bill, stands to provide near-term funding for a variety of infrastructure investments across Acadiana, including I-49 South

HB 2 passed the Senate on 5/31 and was adopted in House concurrence on 6/2.

House members concurred in the Senate amendments to almost every budget bill, except for HB 781, which provides for the expenses of the judiciary. Conference committee members were appointed to work out House and Senate differences on the bill and are expected report out on an agreement today. Any compromise must be approved by both houses in time for the 6:00 PM Sine Die deadline.

Stay tuned for 1A’s post-session Legislative Recap report, where we’ll highlight key line items funded in the final versions of the state budget and capital outlay bills.

Bills at the Finish Line
As the House and Senate head for Sine Die, many 1A-supported measures are at or near the finish line. Once the House and Senate approve the same version of a measure, they must be signed by both the Senate President and House Speaker, then bills make their final stop at the Governor’s desk, while resolutions seek final approval from the Secretary of State.

1A-supported measures that saw progress on final approval last week include:

• Direct Action – HB 337 (McFarland) addresses “direct action” against insurers, aligning Louisiana with 47 other states by requiring that lawsuits be brought against the insured, rather than the insurer, except in special circumstances, thereby limiting the likelihood of inflated judgements against insurance companies (became Act 275)
• Computer Science Education – HB 264 (Hughes) adds computer science as a high school graduation requirement and requires teacher preparation programs to include computer science education (became Act 211)
• Workforce Readiness – SB 293 (Edmonds) seeks to address Louisiana’s critical talent shortage by strategically aligning state workforce development programs and funding under a single point of contact, the Louisiana Workforce Commission, ensuring the state’s workforce strategies are best positioned to foster economic success for our citizens and industries (became Act 330)
• Corporate Charter Schools – HB 78 (Carver) authorizes the initial proposal for a charter school with a corporate partner to be made to BESE as a Type 2 charter school proposal, without first being proposed to a local school board (became Act 364)
• Louisiana Economic Development (LED) – SB 494 (Mizell) modernizes LED’s organizational structure and operations to remove burdensome regulations constraining their ability to keep pace with the business sector (sent to Governor)
• Collateral Source – HB 423 (Melerine) revises Louisiana’s collateral source rule to allow both amounts billed and paid to be admissible as evidence, providing greater transparency and fairness in our legal system (sent to Governor)
• Occupational Licensing – HB 716 (Charles Owen), the “Welcome Home Act,” provides for a process that would grant an occupational license or certification to an individual moving to Louisiana if certain criteria are met, including that the individual is in good standing with the state they’re coming from (sent to Governor)
• Education Savings Accounts – SB 313 (Edmonds) creates the LA GATOR Scholarship Program, an education savings account (ESA) program for K-12 students that would function through savings accounts allowing parents to direct state per-pupil funding to certain educational services (sent to Governor)
• Data Centers – HB 827 (Turner) authorizes state and local sales and use tax rebates for purchases by, and other expenditures on, qualified data centers (sent to Governor)
• Coastal Plan – HCR 25 (Bourriaque) approves the annual state integrated coastal protection plan for Fiscal Year 2025, as adopted by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board (sent to Secretary of State)
• Clean Hydrogen – HCR 64 (Orgeron) creates the Clean Hydrogen Task Force to study and make recommendations related to the growing hydrogen production industry in Louisiana (sent to Secretary of State)
• I-49 Lafayette Connector – SCR 41 (Miguez) urges and requests the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development to expedite the process to complete the Interstate 49 Lafayette connector (signed by President and Speaker)
• Healthcare Workforce – HB 329 (Myers) creates a public-private partnership within the state’s Health Care Employment Reinvestment Opportunity (HERO) Fund to address critical healthcare workforce needs and broadens the programs able to be funded (signed by Speaker and President)
• Appraisal Process – HB 609 (Firment) provides for the appraisal process and employment of umpires (signed by Speaker and President)
• M.J. Foster Promise Program – HB 728 (Davis) extends eligibility for the M.J. Foster Promise Program to those aged 17 and older, phased-in over four years (signed by Speaker and President)
• High-Dosage Tutoring – SB 508 (McMath) provides relative to required high-dosage tutoring for certain students (signed by President and Speaker)
• Steve Carter Literacy Program – HB 244 (Hughes) expands services provided through the Steve Carter Literacy Tutoring Program to include math tutoring, extends the program to include students through grade 12, and increases the per-student funding available from $1,000 to $1,500 (signed by Speaker and President)
• Early Numeracy – HB 267 (Carver) requires the Louisiana Department of Education to provide screeners to measure the foundational numeracy of K-3 public school students and requires public schools to provide interventions and support to students identified as having numeracy skills below grade level (signed by Speaker and President)
• Severance Tax – HB 418 (Beaullieu) reduces severance tax rates on oil and gas produced from inactive wells and orphan wells (signed by Speaker and President)
• Economic Development Records – HB 461 (Jackson) provides for temporary confidentiality of documents related to local and parish economic development projects (signed by Speaker and President)

 LOOKING AHEAD

Less than a day remains in the 2024 Regular Session and legislators must adjourn Sine Die no later than 6:00 PM today. Stay tuned for future updates on the status of these and other measures through 1A’s annual post-session Legislative Recap report in the coming days.

Constitutional Convention
1A-supported HB 800, legislation calling for a limited Constitutional Convention, is out of play for the session, never having gotten its hearing in the Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee.

HB 800 was vetted through four committee hearings, which included numerous rounds of questions from committee members and testimony from the public, and cleared three favorable votes in the House, including votes in House and Governmental Affairs, House Appropriations, and the full House of Representatives. The bill was amended several times to address concerns raised, most notably to provide protections that would ensure the state’s homestead exemption and Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) would remain intact.

Talks of the Constitution are not over however, as there is speculation legislators may still be interested in addressing aspects of the state’s constitution, potentially through a special session in the fall. Stay tuned for future updates.

1A is tracking key legislation across three priority areas outlined in our 2024 Legislative Priorities:

• Economic competitiveness
• Talent development
• Infrastructure investment

Be on the lookout for 1A legislative updates on these issues, and more, every Monday morning.