BATON ROUGE — Louisiana lawmakers convene Monday at the State Capitol to kick off the 2026 fiscal session, with more than 1,300 bills filed on topics ranging from economic incentives and infrastructure to school safety.
Insurance reform, fortified roof funding, school financing, and artificial intelligence regulation are among the session's top priorities.
House Speaker Phillip DeVillier and Senate President Cameron Henry have both touted progress on property and auto insurance reform, with DeVillier pointing to new insurance companies entering the Louisiana market as evidence that 2024 legislation is beginning to take effect. Sen. Royce Duplessis has filed legislation that would prohibit insurers from using credit scores or ZIP codes when setting premiums.
On education, Gov. Jeff Landry is pushing to double the budget of the LA GATOR scholarship program, which provides taxpayer dollars for private school tuition, a proposal already drawing opposition from Senate leadership.
AI regulation is also on the table, with Rep. Delisha Boyd filing legislation that would bar chatbot providers from selling users' chat logs, require disclosure when users are interacting with AI rather than a human, and mandate monthly risk assessments framed as a measure to protect minors.
Carbon capture and sequestration is shaping up to be among the most contentious issues of the session. Louisiana leads the nation in proposed CCS projects, with at least 65 planned statewide, and the debate over the industry's expansion has intensified heading into this session.
House Speaker Pro Tempore Mike Johnson filed three CCS-related bills on the first day of the prefiling period. The lead measure, HB 7, dubbed the Louisiana Landowners Protection Act, would repeal the CCS unitization statute and remove expropriation authority for CCS projects and CO2 pipelines. HB 5 would authorize parish governing authorities and citizens to vote on whether Class VI injection wells, carbon sequestration, and CO2 pipelines may be permitted within their parish. HB 6 targets Rapides Parish specifically, allowing its governing authority to determine whether CCS projects and pipelines can proceed there.
Sen. Bill Wheat Jr., R-Ponchatoula, has also filed legislation aimed at bringing the question before local voters or elected officials. Industry groups have pushed back, warning that parish-level bans or moratoriums could push projects to other states, particularly Texas, which already competes aggressively for the same investments.
Senate President Henry has acknowledged CCS as a "hot-button issue" tied closely to the oil and gas industry, warning that parishes that block such projects cannot then turn to the state for economic support.
The legislative debate follows Gov. Landry's fall moratorium on new CCS well applications, which drew criticism from industry groups who said it signals uncertainty for projects tied to billions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs.
The state also faces a looming $45 million budget gap tied to federal pullbacks in Medicaid and SNAP funding, which will factor into budget negotiations throughout the session.
