2024 Louisiana legislative session
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| 2024 Louisiana legislative session |
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| General information |
| Scheduled session start: March 11, 2024 Scheduled session end: June 3, 2024 |
| Leadership |
| Senate President Cameron Henry (R) House Speaker |
| Elections |
| Next Election: November 20, 2027 Last Election: November 18, 2023 |
| Previous legislative sessions |
| 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 |
| Other 2024 legislative sessions |
In 2024, the Louisiana State Legislature was scheduled to convene on March 11 and adjourn on June 3.
The legislators serving in this session took office following the 2023 elections. Republicans won a 28-11 majority in the Senate and a 73-32 majority in the House. The party also controlled the governorship, creating a Republican state government trifecta. At the start of the 2024 session, Louisiana was one of 20 state legislatures where Republicans had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers.
Leadership in 2024
Louisiana State Senate
- Senate president: Cameron Henry (R)
- Majority leader: Jeremy Stine (R)
- Minority leader: Gerald Boudreaux (D)
Louisiana House of Representatives
- Speaker of the House: Phillip DeVillier (R)
- Majority leader: Mark Wright (R)
- Minority leader: Matthew Willard (D)
Partisan Control in 2024
- See also: State government trifectas
Louisiana was one of 23 Republican state government trifectas at the start of 2024 legislative sessions. A state government trifecta occurs when one political party holds the governor's office, a majority in the state Senate, and a majority in the state House. For more information about state government trifectas, click here.
Louisiana was also one of 20 state legislatures where the Republican Party had a veto-proof supermajority in both chambers. Veto overrides occur when a legislature votes to reverse a veto issued by an executive such as a governor or the president. If one party has a majority in a state legislature that is large enough to override a gubernatorial veto without any votes from members of the minority party, it is called a veto-proof majority or, sometimes, a supermajority. To read more about veto-proof supermajorities in state legislatures, click here.
The following tables show the partisan breakdown of the Louisiana State Legislature in the 2024 legislative session.
Louisiana State Senate
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 11 | |
| Republican Party | 28 | |
| Total | 39 | |
Louisiana House of Representatives
| Party | As of January 2024 | |
|---|---|---|
| Democratic Party | 32 | |
| Republican Party | 73 | |
| Total | 105 | |
Standing legislative committees
A standing committee of a state legislature is a committee that exists on a more-or-less permanent basis, from legislative session to session, that considers and refines legislative bills that fall under the committee's subject matter.
At the beginning of the 2024 legislative session, there were 38 standing committees in Louisiana's state government, including five joint legislative committees, 17 state Senate committees, and 16 state House committees.
Joint legislative committees
- Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget
- Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay
- Joint Legislative Committee on Technology and Cybersecurity
- Joint Medicaid Oversight Committee
- Joint Select Committee on Louisiana Economic Recovery
Senate committees
- Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development Committee
- Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs Committee
- Education Committee
- Environmental Quality Committee
- Finance Committee
- Health and Welfare Committee
- Insurance Committee
- Judiciary A Committee
- Judiciary B Committee
- Judiciary C Committee
- Labor and Industrial Relations Committee
- Local and Municipal Affairs Committee
- Natural Resources Committee
- Retirement Committee
- Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee
- Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee
- Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee
House committees
- Administration of Criminal Justice Committee
- Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture and Rural Development Committee
- Appropriations Committee
- Civil Law and Procedure Committee
- Commerce Committee
- Education Committee
- Health and Welfare Committee
- House and Governmental Affairs Committee
- Insurance Committee
- Judiciary Committee
- Labor and Industrial Relations Committee
- Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs Committee
- Natural Resources and Environment Committee
- Retirement Committee
- Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee
- Ways and Means Committee
Legislation
Enacted legislation
The list below shows up to 25 pieces of legislation in the 2024 legislative session that most recently passed both chambers of the legislature, were signed by the governor, or were approved by the legislature in a veto override. If no bills are displayed below, no legislation met these criteria in 2024. This information is provided by BillTrack50.
Election administration legislation
State election laws are changing. Keeping track of the latest developments in all 50 states can seem like an impossible job. Here's the solution: Ballotpedia's Election Administration Legislation Tracker.
Ballotpedia's Election Administration Tracker sets the industry standard for ease of use, flexibility, and raw power. Ballotpedia's election experts provide daily updates on bills and other relevant political developments, translate complex bill text into easy-to-understand summaries written in everyday language, and, because it's from Ballotpedia, our Tracker is guaranteed to be neutral, unbiased, and nonpartisan.
The table below lists 2024 election-related legislation in Louisiana. The following information is included for each bill:
- Bill number
- Official name or caption
- Most recent action date
- Legislative status
- Topics dealt with by the bill
Bills are organized by bill number. The table displays up to 100 results by default. To view additional results, use the arrows in the upper-right corner of the table. For more information about a particular bill, simply click the bill number. This will open a separate page with additional information.
Legislatively referred constitutional amendments
In every state but Delaware, voter approval is required to enact a constitutional amendment. In each state, the legislature has a process for referring constitutional amendments before voters. In 18 states, initiated constitutional amendments can be put on the ballot through a signature petition drive. There are also many other types of statewide measures.
The methods by which the Louisiana Constitution can be amended:
The Louisiana Constitution provides two mechanisms for amending the state's constitution— a legislative process and a state constitutional convention. Louisiana requires a simple majority vote (50% plus 1) for voters to approve constitutional amendments.
Legislature
According to Article XII, the state Legislature can refer constitutional amendments to the ballot for voters to decide. A two-thirds (66.67%) vote is required during one session of the Louisiana State Legislature to place a constitutional amendment on the ballot. That amounts to a minimum of 70 votes in the Louisiana House of Representatives and 26 votes in the Louisiana State Senate, assuming no vacancies. Amendments do not require the governor's signature to be referred to the ballot. Amendments can be referred to the ballot in odd-numbered years and even-numbered years in Louisiana.
Convention
According to Article XII, the state legislature can provide for the calling of a constitutional convention by law enacted by two-thirds of the members of each chamber of the legislature.
Historical context: A total of 112 constitutional amendments appeared on the statewide ballot in Louisiana during even-numbered years from 2000 through 2022. Of the 112 amendments, 77 (68.75%) were approved and 35 (31.25%) were defeated.
| Legislatively-referred constitutional amendments, 2000-2022 | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total number | Approved | Percent approved | Defeated | Percent defeated | Even-year average | Even-year median | Even-year minimum | Even-year maximum | |
| 112 | 77 | 68.75% | 35 | 31.25% | 9 | 8 | 4 | 21 | |
Historical partisan control
The table below depicts the historical trifecta status of Louisiana.
Louisiana Party Control: 1992-2025
Eight years of Democratic trifectas • Seven years of Republican trifectas
Scroll left and right on the table below to view more years.
| Year | 92 | 93 | 94 | 95 | 96 | 97 | 98 | 99 | 00 | 01 | 02 | 03 | 04 | 05 | 06 | 07 | 08 | 09 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governor | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R |
| Senate | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
| House | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | D | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R | R |
Historical Senate control
Republicans won control of the Louisiana State Senate in 2011. In 2023, they won a 28-11 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Louisiana Senate following every general election from 1991 to 2023. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Louisiana State Senate election results: 1991-2023
| Party | 91 | 95 | 99 | 03 | 07 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 33 | 25 | 27 | 24 | 24 | 15 | 14 | 12 | 11 |
| Republicans | 6 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 15 | 24 | 25 | 27 | 28 |
Historical House control
Republicans won control of the Louisiana House of Representatives in 2011. In 2023, they won a 73-32 majority.
The table below shows the partisan history of the Louisiana House following every general election from 1991 to 2023. All data from 2006 or earlier comes from Michael Dubin's Party Affiliations in the State Legislatures (McFarland Press, 2007). Data after 2006 was compiled by Ballotpedia staff.
Louisiana House of Representatives election results: 1991-2023
| Party | 91 | 95 | 99 | 03 | 07 | 11 | 15 | 19 | 23 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democrats | 86 | 76 | 75 | 68 | 53 | 45 | 42 | 35 | 32 |
| Republicans | 17 | 28 | 30 | 36 | 50 | 58 | 61 | 68 | 73 |
| Other | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
See also
| Elections | Louisiana State Government | State Legislatures | State Politics |
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External links
Footnotes
