The process of how a bill becomes a law in Louisiana involves several steps:
Legislative Session: The Louisiana Legislature meets annually during a legislative session, which can be one of five types: Organizational, Emergency, Extraordinary, Regular, or Veto.
Bill Introduction: A bill is proposed by a legislator to change, enact, or repeal a law. Various types of bills include House Bills, Senate Bills, and Resolutions.
Bill Filing: Once a bill is filed and the legislative session begins, it starts the process of becoming a law.
Status Changes: As the bill progresses, its status changes from Original to Engrossed (with committee amendments), Reengrossed (with floor amendments), and finally to Enrolled (final form for submission to the governor).
Governor's Approval: The Enrolled bill is sent to the governor for approval or veto. If signed by the governor or allowed to become law without a signature, it is assigned an Act number by the secretary of state.
Finalization: The bill becomes an Act after passing through all the above steps successfully.
How can a member of the public get involved in the legislative process in Louisiana?
A member of the public can get involved in the legislative process in Louisiana in several ways:
1. Attend Legislative Sessions: Citizens can attend the various types of legislative sessions (Regular, Extraordinary, etc.) where lawmakers convene to discuss and create laws.
2. Engage with Legislators: Members of the public can reach out to their elected representatives in the House of Representatives and Senate to express their opinions, concerns, or support for specific bills. This can be done through email, phone calls, or in-person meetings.
3. Participate in Public Hearings: Legislative committees often hold public hearings where individuals can provide input or testimony on proposed legislation. Attending these hearings allows citizens to share their views and influence the legislative process.
4. Follow the Legislative Process: Individuals can stay informed about bills and resolutions being introduced and their progress through the legislative process by using a bill tracking service.
5. Submit Proposals or Resolutions: While it is primarily legislators who introduce bills, individuals may work with their representatives to propose ideas for new laws or changes to existing laws.
6. Contact Advocacy Groups: Joining or working with advocacy groups that align with specific interests or issues can amplify public voices in the legislative process.
How can FastDemocracy help me with that?
Tracking bills is hard, especially if you rely on state legislature websites, which are often hard to navigate. Thousands of bills get filed in Louisiana every year (and about 180,000 bills nationwide). If you want to be an effective advocate, you need to know where legislation of interest stands, and act quickly.
FastDemocracy's free version allows you to track an unlimited number of bills - no strings attached. We'll send you a daily or weekly email on your priority bills and give you tools to research bills and legislators.
2. Head to Tracked Topics to select issue areas you care about.
3. Use the search bar on top if you're looking for something specific.
4. Click "Track Bill" for any legislation you'd like to monitor a bit closer. That's how you add it to your Tracked Bills. You can also click on a bill to learn more, see the bill summary, most recent actions, votes, news and tweets. You can also contact legislators or share your bills on social media.
5. You can track an unlimited number of bills for free and we'll send you a daily or weekly email if your tracked legislation moves.
6. Do you need real-time alerts, outreach tools, bill lists, and professional functions? Then FastDemocracy Professional is the right fit for you.
7. Track bills on your smartphone using our free mobile app.
How do I find my local Louisiana Senator and Representative?
You can use the Find Your Legislators tool to find them, see their voting records, and contact them.
ELECTION DAYS: Changes election dates for the spring 2026 statewide election for submission of proposed constitutional amendments. (Item #1) (gov sig) (EN NO IMPACT See Note)
ELECTIONS/DATES: Changes the election date for the spring 2026 statewide election for the submission of proposed constitutional amendments (Item #1) (EG NO IMPACT See Note)
Beau Beaullieu
Caleb Kleinpeter
Last Action
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.