The 2025 Regular Session continued with lengthy hearings last week. House legislators resumed debates on legislation intended to address Louisiana’s insurance crisis and dove into a series of measures focused on the state’s workforce. There are no signs of slowing down at the Capitol, where week three kicks off today with seven legislative hearings scheduled in the House and Senate.
Read on for a recap of week two and a look ahead at week three.
Workforce Development
The House and Governmental Affairs Committee focused on Louisiana’s workforce last week, unanimously approving a pair of 1A-supported measures to create a “One Door” workforce policy in the state. This “One Door to Work” strategy would align workforce and social services under a unified system so that job seekers have a single point of access for career counseling, training opportunities, job placement, and support services, empowering them to transition from dependency to self-sufficiency.
The following 1A-supported measures now head to the House floor:
- HB 617 by Rep. Carver would reorganize the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) to ensure better agency efficiency and coordination, helping to enable the streamlining provided for in HB 624
- HB 624 by Rep. Berault would transfer workforce and family and support programs currently housed under DCFS to the Louisiana Workforce Commission (LWC) and renames the LWC to Louisiana Works
House Education also unanimously approved two 1A-supported measures last week related to the M.J. Foster Promise Program:
- HB 395 by Rep. Brass would better align program funding to high-demand career paths by expanding eligible programs for M.J. Foster Promise Program funding to include those associated with Louisiana Economic Development (LED) projects
- HB 558 by Rep. Davis would expand eligibility for the program to include formerly incarcerated individuals, unless they were convicted of certain violent crimes. HB 558 helps to address Louisiana’s workforce needs by providing a pathway for the formerly incarcerated to access meaningful employment, a path proven to help reduce recidivism within the criminal justice system
HB 395 now heads to the full House and HB 558 will receive another hearing, this time in House Appropriations.
Legal Climate Reform
One issue exacerbating Louisiana’s highest-in-the-nation insurance costs is our litigious environment. Our state’s current legal system is structured to foster excessive litigation costs that are passed on to consumers in the form of higher premiums. 1A supports legislation that will help to cultivate a more business-friendly, nationally competitive legal climate through common-sense changes that bring Louisiana more in line with other states.
Legislators continued debates on business-backed insurance measures last week, with House Civil Law reporting the following bills favorably:
- HB 427 by Rep. Bamburg would provide for use of reversionary trusts, funds used exclusively to pay for medical expenses for plaintiffs as such expenses accrue, rather than awarding the plaintiff a lump sum at trial for medical costs that may never arise
- HB 432 by Rep. Chenevert would strengthen Louisiana’s third party litigation financing law passed in 2024. HB 432 prohibits third party financers from collecting an award greater than that of a plaintiff and requires the attorneys entering into contracts to disclose agreements within 30 days of being retained
- HB 435 by Rep. Egan would place a $5 million cap on general damages
These measures now head to the full House for consideration.
LOOKING AHEAD
Legislators dive into week three today with weighty agendas in both the House and Senate that include 1A-supported legislation (HB 507) to create a High Impact Jobs Program within Louisiana Economic Development (LED), update a key early childhood tax credit (SB 233), and create a new tax credit to encourage wider employment of apprentices, interns, and youth workers (HB 533). On Tuesday, 4/29, House Natural Resources will also hear a series of 1A-opposed bills that would stifle the economic advantages Louisiana stands to gain from the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects across the state.
1A is tracking key legislation across three priority areas:
- Economic competitiveness
- Talent development
- Infrastructure investment
Be on the lookout for 1A legislative updates on these issues, and more, at the beginning of each week during Session.