Week 10 Legislative Update – 2026 Regular Session

May 16, 2026

As the tenth week of the 2026 Regular Session concludes, there are less than three weeks remaining before the constitutionally mandated June 1 adjournment. The pace will only quicken from here as the Senate works through the budget package, the House takes up congressional redistricting, and substantive bills continue to move between chambers toward final passage. We will continue to monitor all bills and amendments carefully and keep you informed of any developments in real time.

On the fiscal side, the Revenue Estimating Conference’s revised forecasts released last week have begun to shape budget negotiations. State economists are now projecting roughly $100 million less in tax revenue than previously expected in both the current and upcoming fiscal years, reducing next year’s available funds by approximately $104 million. Top budget officials say no existing programs are expected to be cut, but planned expansions will need to be scaled back. Senate President Cameron Henry (R-Metairie) put it bluntly: “Everybody’ll get what they need, maybe not what they want.” Among the items widely viewed as vulnerable is the $43.5 million expansion of the LA GATOR school voucher program, which the House earmarked at Gov. Landry’s urging but which Senate leadership has opposed enlarging.

Senate Passes New Congressional Map

On Thursday, the Louisiana Senate voted 27-10 along party lines to approve SB 121 by Sen. Jay Morris (R-West Monroe), a new congressional map that eliminates one of the state’s two majority-minority, Democratic-leaning districts. The map is broadly similar to the version state lawmakers originally passed in 2022 and produces five safe Republican seats anchored by a single New Orleans-based, majority-Democrat district held by U.S. Rep. Troy Carter (D-New Orleans). The bill now moves to the House, where Speaker Phillip DeVillier (R-Eunice) said he expects a similar version to pass. Rep. Beau Beaullieu (R-New Iberia), who chairs the House committee handling redistricting, has indicated general support for the Senate-approved concept and expects to hear SB 121 sometime next week.

The path to passage was substantially smoothed by U.S. Rep. Cleo Fields’ (D-Baton Rouge) announcement last week that he would not run against Congressman Carter, even in a district drawn to favor him. Republican leaders had been weighing whether to draw a map that preserved Rep. Fields’ Baton Rouge-to-Shreveport 6th District or Rep. Carter’s Orleans-anchored 2nd, and Senate Governmental Affairs Chairman Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter (R-Port Allen) had publicly favored a Baton Rouge-oriented map while Senate President Henry favored a New Orleans-oriented one. Congressman Fields told reporters that he had fought against combining Baton Rouge and New Orleans in a single congressional district for his entire career and that he would not be interested in such a seat regardless of how favorably it was drawn. Under the Senate-passed map, Rep. Carter’s district extends further up the Mississippi River into East Baton Rouge and Iberville parishes, while Rep. Fields’ current 6th District becomes a Republican-majority district centered around Baton Rouge.

Separately, the Legislature on Wednesday approved and Gov. Landry on Thursday signed HB 842, which rescheduled the U.S. House primary elections that had been postponed earlier this month. Qualifying for the new election will take place August 5 through August 7, with the open jungle primary set for November 3 and a December 12 runoff if needed.

Voters to Decide Five Constitutional Amendments on May 16 

Voters head to the polls tomorrow to weigh in on the five constitutional amendments referred by the Legislature during the 2025 Regular Session, summarized in last week’s update. Of the five, Amendment 3 has drawn the most attention in recent days. The proposal would dissolve three state education trust funds and redirect their balances toward paying down the Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana’s unfunded accrued liability. School systems would in turn see reduced annual retirement contributions and would be required to use those savings to fund permanent pay raises for teachers and support workers — converting the $2,000 stipends teachers have received for the past several years into recurring compensation.

If Amendment 3 fails, the stipends are unlikely to be renewed. Senate President Henry told reporters this week that funding the stipends through the regular budget process would cost roughly $200 million and that the Legislature is “not going to turn around and do something that our constituents just voted not to do.” Given the revised revenue forecasts discussed above, finding $200 million in unallocated funds would be especially difficult. Some political observers have raised concern that voter anger over Gov. Landry’s decision to postpone the U.S. House primary in favor of redistricting may depress support for all five amendments — Democratic voters turned out in proportionally large numbers during the early voting period — which could put Amendment 3 at particular risk.

House Approves Compensation Increase for Legislators and Statewide Officials

On Monday, the House voted 54-35 to approve HB 1201 by Rep. John Illg (R-Harahan), legislation that increases compensation for state legislators and raises salaries for the governor and other statewide elected officials. The base legislative salary of $16,800 would not change, but starting with the 2028 term, lawmakers would receive a new $500 monthly allowance, monthly housing reimbursement of up to $1,000 for residences near the State Capitol, additional per diem days of up to ten per month for legislative work outside the Capitol, and corresponding mileage reimbursements. The monthly allowance and housing reimbursement amounts would adjust upward in $100 increments to track inflation based on the Consumer Price Index.

For statewide elected officials, the governor’s salary would rise from $130,000 to $174,000, matching the annual pay of a member of the U.S. House, and the salaries of the six other statewide elected officials would rise from $115,000 to $154,000, with those officials also receiving a new $1,000 monthly allowance. Beginning in 2032, salaries for all statewide elected officials would automatically adjust every four years based on personal income growth in Louisiana. Rep. Illg argued on the House floor that legislative compensation has not been adjusted in more than 46 years and that statewide elected officials’ pay has not been revisited in two decades.

Notable Public Records Bills

Key public records bills also continue to move. Senate Education backed HB 608 from Rep. Tehmi Chassion (D-Lafayette), which creates a records exemption to hide information for how college athletics programs spend public money on revenue sharing with athletes and individual sports. After a House rewrite, SB 289 by Sen. Mark Abraham (R-Lake Charles) is pending Senate concurrence. Sen. Abraham’s bill creates public records exemptions for public colleges to hide info about applicants for president, athletic coaching jobs and other university leadership. The House rewrite adds a provision requiring info about the top three finalists to be disclosed once the higher education governing board chooses a finalist for the job.

HB1071, providing for an exception to the public records law for records of aerospace facilities or activities, has been sent to the governor’s desk. The bill is part of a group designed to attracted aerospace companies to Louisiana. Also on the governor’s desk is Rep. Tony Bacala (R-Prairieville)’s HB 67, which removes records at clerks of court offices and the ethics board from a law that allows many officials to get certain personal information redacted from online documents.

Energy Bills

In Senate Natural Resources this week, two key bills were reported with amendments. 

• HB 804 by Rep. Brett Geymann (R-Lake Charles), which creates the Louisiana Energy Protection Act. The purpose of the bill is to protect energy production in the state and limit claims against industry for injury or harm to people or property caused by emissions attributed to climate change. Industry and business leaders spoke in support of the bill, while a few spoke in opposition, such as the Sierra Club and a representative from the six parishes that have filed coastal lawsuits against oil and gas companies.
• HB 621 from Rep. Kim Coates (R-Ponchatoula), which requires recycling of decommissioned renewable energy infrastructure.
• HB 637 from Rep. Jacob Landry (R-Erath) establishes reduced rates for oilfield site restoration fees and was also reported favorably in Senate Natural Resources on Thursday.

Additionally, SB 490, which provides for private use electric networks, is scheduled for a final Senate floor vote Monday. 

With Carbon Day at the Capitol upcoming next week, some of the following CCS bills may get a hearing:

Sen. Bill Wheat (R-Ponchatoula) has brought several bills taking aim at CCS and pipeline projects, including the “Louisiana Landowners Protection Act” (SB 60), legislation for local authorization of CCS projects (SB 61), and two instruments related to limiting construction of pipelines in certain areas (SB 62 and SB 63). Repeats of previous anti-CCS legislation will also appear, including local authorization requirements for CCS projects in St. Helena, Grant, Vernon, Beauregard, Sabine, and Allen parishes. Other bills include Rep. Danny McCormick (R-Oil City)’sHB 327, which declares that “carbon dioxide sequestration is illegal without a property owner’s consent.” Rep. Robby Carter (D-Greensburg) has filed House bills 79, which removes the “damage threshold for carbon capture release,” and 80, which “establishes strict liability for damages caused from carbon storage and transportation.”HB 509 requires a public hearing in the parish where a Class V or Class VI well is proposed. Further legislation which provides for compensation for pore space owners (HB 499) has also been filed. Rep. Rodney Schamerhorn (R-Hornbeck) has added a bill that prohibits the importation of captured carbon dioxide into Louisiana for sequestration. Most CCS-related bills will be debated on specific days to come during the Session.

More late-filed bills also address CCS projects: Rep. Robbie Carter’s HB 1136 bars CO2 sequestration pipelines from being located in the same right-of-way as petroleum product pipelines. Another bill (HB 1144) from Rep. Chuck Owen (R-Rosepine) requires hazardous liquid pipeline operators to put a 24/7 contact phone number on required signs/line markers, annually certify that the contact information is current and always answered, bars waivers, and makes violations subject to existing pipeline signage penalties. Rep. Neil Riser (R-Columbia) also has a CCS bill (HB 1152) that creates a new CO2 Community Safety and Protection program funded by continued post-cap CO2 storage fees.

Insurance Bills

In the Senate, a few insurance bills have progressed. SB 100 from Sen. Sam Jenkins (D-Shreveport) is up for a final House vote next week. Sen. Jenkins’ bill provides for proof of insurance of transportation network companies involved in an accident. Sen. Jay Luneau (D-Alexandria)’s SB 246 establishes requirements for insurers using artificial intelligence, and it is scheduled for a final Senate vote next week.

Education Bills

A few notable education bills are also moving in the final weeks of Session. Rep. Chris Turner’s HB 1084 awaits a debate in Senate Education. The bill allows Louisiana’s public colleges to raise tuition and fee rates without needing to get legislative approval. Rep. Ken Brass (D-Vacherie)’s HB 649, which passed unanimously on the Senate floor, would require the establishment and administration of a statewide application process for dual enrollment programs. 

SB 157 creates the “Parental Leave for Educators Act” and passed on the Senate floor this week. In the arena of school operations and accountability: Sen. Beth Mizell (R-Franklinton)’s SB 82, which requires five-day public school weeks for grades one through 12, awaits a final House vote. Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Pineville)’s HB 578, the Restoring Biological Truth Act, was reported favorably out of Senate Judiciary A and now awaits a final Senate vote.

We will continue to monitor these issues and provide timely updates throughout the session. Please reach out to your SSG team with any questions.