The bill, HB 873, focuses on refining election procedures, particularly concerning dual candidacy and candidate qualifications. It prohibits individuals from running for more than one office if the general election for one coincides with the primary election for another, with an exception for political party committee memberships. The Board of Ethics' authority is expanded to include candidate qualifications for second party primaries, and deadlines for voter assignments and the annual canvass of voters are adjusted from 51 days to 58 days before a general election, and from June 30 to July 31 for the annual canvass. Additionally, the timeline between primary and general elections is extended from five weeks to six weeks.

The bill also introduces new regulations for campaign finance disclosures, particularly for second party primaries, requiring special reports on contributions and expenditures to be submitted within two business days of a transaction, starting from midnight of the 20th day before the election. It clarifies that the primary, second party primary, and general election are treated as three separate elections with distinct reporting periods. Furthermore, the effective date of Act No. 1 of the 2024 1st Extraordinary Session is modified to take effect on August 1, 2025, for qualifying and election-related activities in 2026, while remaining effective for other purposes on January 1, 2026. The bill also mandates the Louisiana State Law Institute to update citation references in existing law to reflect the repeal of certain provisions.

Statutes affected:
HB873 Original:
HB873 Engrossed:
HB873 Reengrossed:
HB873 Re-Reengrossed:
HB873 Enrolled: 18:44(A), 18:58(B)(2), 18:192(A)(1), 18:7(A), 18:453(A), 18:1285(B)(1), 18:1309(M)(1), 18:1401(B), 18:1406(B), 18:1409(B)(1), 18:1432(A)(1), 18:1483(8), 18:6(B)(1), 18:4(B)(1), 18:1(C), 18:2(H)(3)
HB873 Act 640: 18:44(A), 18:58(B)(2), 18:192(A)(1), 18:7(A), 18:453(A), 18:1285(B)(1), 18:1309(M)(1), 18:1401(B), 18:1406(B), 18:1409(B)(1), 18:1432(A)(1), 18:1483(8), 18:6(B)(1), 18:4(B)(1), 18:1(C), 18:2(H)(3)