Legislative oversight of executive agency rulemaking in Louisiana (2025)
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- See also: 50-state research: Legislative oversight of executive agency rulemaking, Five pillars of the administrative state: Legislative control
Legislatures oversee executive agency rulemaking through a variety of mechanisms, including reviewing regulations, holding hearings, approving regulations prior to their adoption, or disapproving of or nullifying regulations, among other procedures. State laws and constitutions establish these legislative oversight requirements or authorizations. This page summarizes the legislative oversight of agency rulemaking mechanisms in Louisiana law.
This page contains the following sections:
- Legislative oversight of agency rulemaking in LouisianaThis section details the legislative oversight mechanism in Louisiana.
- How does Louisiana compare to other states?This section compares the legislative oversight policies in Louisiana to those across the 50 states, specifically related to legislative oversight requirements, designated oversight entity, and scope of regulatory oversight.
Legislative oversight of agency rulemaking in Louisiana
See also: Louisiana REINS-style state law, Louisiana Constitution, and Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act
Agencies must submit all proposed rules to the Legislative Fiscal Office for approval of the rule's fiscal impact statement. They must also submit proposed rules to the relevant legislative subcommittees for review (though that review is optional for the committees). Any rules that would incur costs of $200,000 per year or $600,000 over three years must gain approval from relevant legislative subcommittees. If the subcommittees do not review the rule, it can take effect if it is approved by the governor. The legislature can nullify any agency rules without the governor's signature through concurrent resolutions.[1]
How does Louisiana compare to other states?
Is legislative oversight optional, required, or both?
Because many states have more than one mechanism of legislative oversight of agency regulations, some states have both optional and required legislative oversight mechanisms.
- Thirty-four (34) states require legislative review of all or some agency regulations. Seven states include both optional and required legislative oversight mechanisms, and 27 states only have required legislative oversight mechanisms.
- Ten (10) states authorize, but do not require, legislative oversight of agency regulations.
- The law does not include provisions regarding legislative review of agency actions in six states.
Who reviews the regulations?
Generally, either the full legislature, legislative committees, legislative agencies, divisions, or offices, or any combination of these bodies, is authorized or required to review agency regulations. Thirty-three (33) states authorize or require more than one legislative entity to review agency regulations; therefore, the breakdown below exceeds 50.
- Thirty-one (31) states authorize or require full legislative review of agency regulations.
- Forty-one (41) states authorize or require legislative committees to review agency regulations.
- Thirteen (13) states authorize or require legislative agencies, divisions, or offices to review agency regulations.
What is reviewed?
In states that don't require the legislature to review rules, review is optional, while other states do not have laws relating to legislative oversight of agency rules.
- Thirty-two (32) states require legislative review of all rules. Some states require different levels of review for rules that meet different criteria.
- Six states require legislative review of some rules. Some states require legislatures to review rules that meet certain criteria, which are policies similar to REINS-style state laws. Other states require legislative review of rules that received a public complaint.
- Six states do not require, but explicitly authorize, legislative review of rules.
- Six states do not have laws regarding legislative review of agency rules.
Some states require legislatures to review rules that meet certain criteria, which are policies similar to REINS-style state laws.
See also
- 50-State Research: Fiscal Analysis in Rulemaking
- Five pillars of the administrative state: Legislative control
Footnotes
- ↑ Louisiana passed this state-level REINS law in 2025, requiring legislative approval of regulatory actions above a cost threshold. For more information on this law, see Ballotpedia's Louisiana REINS-style state law page.
- ↑ Justia, "LA Rev Stat § 49:961," accessed January 16, 2026
- ↑ Justia, "LA Rev Stat § 49:969," accessed January 1, 2026
- ↑ Legiscan, "Bill Text: LA SB59 | 2025 | Regular Session | Chaptered," accessed January 16, 2026
