Louisiana Bill Tracking And State Guide
Everything you need to know to engage with the Senate and House
How does a bill become law in Louisiana?
How a Bill Becomes a Law in Louisiana
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.
FastDemocracy Professional is for anyone who tracks bills in a professional capacity. It features
- real-time bill, amendment and hearing alerts
- automated reporting
- team collaboration
- bill tagging for clients and stakeholders
- bill similarity detection
- ...and much more
How do I track bills in Louisiana?
1. Sign up here for a free FastDemocracy account.
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.
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Most tracked bills in Louisiana, 2024, 3rd Extraordinary Session
TAX/CORP FRANCHISE: Repeals the corporation franchise tax and limits eligibility of certain credits to be claimed against corporation franchise tax (Item #3) (EN -$574,000,000 RV See Note)
Last Action
Effective date: 01/01/2026.
House • Dec 04, 2024Latest Version
TAX/CORP INCOME: Provides for a flat rate for purposes of calculating corporate income tax and terminates certain corporate income tax exemptions, deductions, and credits (Item #4) (EN SEE FISC NOTE RV See Note)
Last Action
Effective date: 01/01/2025.
House • Dec 04, 2024Latest Version
APPROPRIATIONS/SUPPLEML: Makes supplemental appropriations for Fiscal Year 2024-2025 (Items #18, 21, and 23)
Last Action
Effective date: 12/04/2024.
House • Dec 04, 2024Latest Version
TEACHERS/SALARY: Requires school systems to provide a salary increase for teachers and other school employees using savings attributable to the state's payment of certain unfunded accrued liability of the Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (Item #2) (EN GF EX See Note)
Last Action
Effective date: See Act.
House • Dec 04, 2024Latest Version
FUNDS/FUNDING: Relative to finances of the state (Items #16 and 21) (EN DECREASE GF RV See Note)
Last Action
Effective date: See Act.
House • Dec 04, 2024Latest Version
TAX: Provides for the rate of the state sales and use tax and for exemptions, exclusions, credits, and rebates claimed against sales and use taxes; and provides for a flat rate of income tax for individuals, estates, and trusts, increases the standard deduction, and modifies or repeals certain income tax deductions and credits (Items #5, 6, and 8) (EN SEE FISC NOTE RV See Note)
Last Action
Effective date: 12/04/2024.
House • Dec 04, 2024Latest Version
TAX/AD VALOREM TAX: Provides for the homestead exemption, special assessment level, and other property tax exemptions for purposes of determining ad valorem taxation of certain property (Items #1 and 10) (EN SEE FISC NOTE LF RV See Note)
Last Action
Effective date: See Act.
House • Dec 04, 2024Latest Version
TAX/INCOME TAX: Provides for a flat rate for purposes of calculating income tax for individuals, estates, and trusts, increases the standard deduction, and modifies or repeals certain income tax deductions and credits (Item #5 and 6) (RE1 DECREASE GF RV See Note)
Last Action
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
Senate • Nov 20, 2024Latest Version
TAX/SALES & USE: Provides for sales and use tax on certain services (Items #8 and 13) (EG +$492,000,000 RV See Note)
Last Action
Read by title, returned to the calendar.
House • Nov 20, 2024Latest Version
FUNDS/FUNDING: Relative to the finances of the state (Items #16 and 21) (OR DECREASE GF RV See Note)
Last Action
Read by title, rules suspended, referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
House • Nov 06, 2024Latest Version
All Legislators in Louisiana (Senator and Representative)
