A push to redraw congressional maps produced the biggest fireworks in a legislative session that ended Monday with K-12 teachers still waiting to hear about possible salary stipends.
Bids to strengthen local control of carbon-capture projects fizzled out, as did Gov. Jeff Landry’s call to double state funding for parents who want to send their children to private schools.
Lawmakers passed a roughly standstill budget as they braced for a projected decline in revenues in coming years.
They voted to shield various records from the public about how athletic departments at LSU and other state universities are spending money derived from name, image and likeness deals.
Legislators also supported economic development in hopes of attracting space and aerospace businesses, created the first recreational alligator-hunting season and found more money to help pay for fortified roofs for homeowners. They voted to halt vehicle safety inspections and to ask voters if they want to limit governors to two terms overall.
“All in all, I think we continue to move this state forward and try to gain more in population, and hopefully we can go from six to seven congressional districts,” Sen. Caleb Kleinpeter, R-Port Allen, said.
Teacher stipends
After more than 60% of voters rejected a constitutional amendment on May 16 to raise money for permanent teacher raises, Landry promised he would find money for another round of one-time stipends like the $2,000 that teachers have received in recent years.
If the amendment had passed, the money for a permanent raise would have come from liquidating three state education trust funds. Legislative officials said Landry might be considering a rare maneuver to take $150 million to $200 million from the K-12 budget to fund a stipend.
That would require approval by two-thirds of the legislators, who could vote by mail after the session ends. Landry promised to make bigger changes in the education plan in 2027 to provide permanent raises.
Members of the Louisiana Republican Delegation said at a news conference that they have heard good feedback among their members on the potential plan for the stipends.
“This legislature has been supportive of our teachers at every corner,” said. Sen. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge.
Carbon capture
Local community control of the more than 60 carbon-capture storage and sequestration projects planned for Louisiana was expected to be the hottest topic during the legislative session.
The battle began with a bill authored by state Rep. Mike Johnson, R-Pineville, to repeal laws allowing private land to be seized by companies involved in carbon capture –a technology that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and injects it into the ground for permanent storage.
The bill failed after several hours of testimony from residents and heated debate among lawmakers in which Johnson accused committee members of going against the Ten Commandments.
Several more bills aiming for local land control were also killed in committees. Landry and legislative leaders said the projects will provide economic opportunities across the state.
“For the first time ever in rural northeast Louisiana, folks are completely ecstatic,” said Rep. Travis Johnson, D-Vidalia. “They have never seen these types of investments in their communities since I’ve been born.”
State budget
The Legislature finalized the state’s budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, with revenue falling short of what was anticipated after last-minute changes in a forecast by the Revenue Estimating Conference.
It reduced next year’s state general fund forecast by $104 million on May 8. This prompted the Senate to quickly remove $43.5 million for the expansion of Landry’s LA GATOR school voucher program from the budget.
“When the Revenue Estimating Conference tells us we are $113 million short in revenue for the current year ending June 30, 2026, and we have $104 million less in expected revenue next year, we have to press pause on expanding programs or starting up new programs for now,” Senate President Cameron Henry, R-Metairie, said. “That’s the responsible thing that our constituents sent us here to do.”
The committee amended the budget to allow the Legislature to spend $850 million from the Revenue Stabilization Trust Fund, allocating $387 million for transportation projects. Capital outlay, economic development, higher-education projects, local projects and Medicaid rate increases for disabled residents accounted for the rest of the spending.
Redistricting
Congressional redistricting was a curveball that came in late April with the Callais v. Louisiana decision from the U.S. Supreme Court, triggering a delay in the state’s primary elections. It also set off a tedious process of creating new maps for Louisiana’s six congressional districts, which had favored Republicans in four of the six districts.
After current maps were declared unconstitutional for racial gerrymandering, lawmakers began redrawing the maps. Early on, a possible outcome was the elimination of both Democratic districts. But that was quickly dismissed because Republican leaders feared the other Republican districts would suffer from dilution and put them in jeopardy of losing two seats.
After hearing from hundreds of witnesses and with one of the overnight meetings ending at 4:25 a.m., a 5-1 map drawn by Morris advanced.
As amended, the final map would eliminate District Six as a Democratic district currently held by the U.S. Rep Cleo Fields, D-Baton Rouge. U.S Rep. Troy Carter, D-New Orleans, would likely emerge as the lone congressional Democrat from the state.
At every step, Democratic lawmakers opposed the new maps, saying they were an attack on representation in a state that is one-third Black.
“We can’t say we love people and then dilute your vote,” said Sen. Katrina Jackson-Andrews, D-Monroe.
Landry signed the redistricting bill Friday. The state intends to use the map in the congressional primary election this summer, though lawsuits challenging that seem likely.
Vehicle inspections and fortified roofs
Landry supported a bill to end the need for vehicle owners to obtain safety inspection stickers each year. The bill would go into effect in on Jan. 1, 2027, though law enforcement officers would quit ticketing people with expired brake tags after June 30.
Landry signed a bill adding $50 million in surplus insurance department funds to a program that provides $10,000 grants for homeowners to defray the cost of installing a fortified roof on their home.
“We all agreed that the fortified roof program is the quickest, most assured way to bring premium relief to citizens on their homeowners’ insurance,” Insurance Commissioner Tim Temple said.
Governor two-term limit
House Bill 225, authored by Rep. Mike Bayham, R-Chalmette, called for a statewide vote Nov. 3 on whether to restrict governors to two terms in their lifetimes.
Current law allows governors to serve two consecutive terms, but they can be elected again after sitting out for four years. There are only two living governors in Louisiana are Bobby Jindal and John Bel Edwards.
Bayham said the determination on whether this would apply to past governors would be left up to the courts.
Edwards has not expressed interest in running for governor again, but some Democrats saw Bayham’s bill as an attempt to keep him from challenging Landry in 2027.
Edwards took to X, saying, “I think this is what the kids call ‘living in somebody’s head rent free.’’’
Shielding NIL records
House Bill 608 would extend public records exemptions to shield information on how money is distributed to athletes in university “revenue-sharing” programs. Those funds are paid to athletes and athletic programs under terms of a $2.8 billion “House” antitrust settlement agreed to in 2025 by the NCAA.
This bill was backed by LSU. It would apply retroactively to current records.
