BESE/Legislature

 

Your Louisiana Legislature

The Louisiana Constitution establishes the legislative branch as one of the three coordinate branches of state government. The Louisiana Legislature consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The legislature enacts the laws of the state. Link here

 

Who Are Your Legislators?

To find out who your legislators are, click here.

 

How Can You Contact Your Legislators?

For contact information on your Representative, click here. 

For contact information on your Senator, click here. 

 

When Does the Louisiana Legislature meet?

The 2017 Regular Legislative Session will begin on Monday, April 10, 2017, and must adjourn no later than June 8, 2017.  

 

Why and When Should You Contact Your Legislators?

• Your legislators are elected to represent you in the Senate and the House of Representatives.  They cannot know about your concerns if they do not hear from you. 

• Legislators have to track hundreds of bills each session, often with very little staff or support. 

• Legislators assume that if they hear nothing about a bill, or about the funding for a program, then all is well. 

• It is good to contact your legislators first when they are NOT in session to educate them about your concerns.  Inviting them to a child care center or a pre-k classroom are excellent ways to educate them about young children and early learning in their district.  

• Then during the Legislative Session, it is important to contact your legislators to let them know how the budget and bills they are considering will affect you. Track the bills that will affect you, or follow the bills about early learning through the Louisiana Policy Institute for Children’s emails and website, and connect with your legislators before they vote on them either in a committee or on the House or Senate floor. 

 

Legislative Committees:

• The Legislature works through committees, and all legislators are members of more than one committee. 

• Bills go to committees that reflect their subject matter.  For example, bills concerning programs for early care and education will generally go before the House Education and Senate Education Committees. The State Budget (House Bill 1) goes to the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee.  Bills involving tax credits go before the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Committee.

• It is important to educate legislators on the committees that will hear your bills on background and information of why he/she should vote for or against them.

 

The State Budget

• The budget for the state is contained each year in House Bill 1. 

• The Governor must submit his version of the budget, referred to as the “Executive Budget,” to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget, link here, at least 45 days prior to the first day of the Legislative Session, and that becomes House Bill 1. 

• Then, House Bill 1 moves through the Legislature as all the other bills do, providing opportunities for legislators to amend the budget. 

 

The Governor and the Legislature

The governor, as the chief executive officer of the state, exercises certain legislative powers, including:

• He must submit to the legislature an operating budget and a capital budget for each fiscal year.

• He may veto any bill.

• He may veto any item in an appropriations bill.

• The legislature has the constitutional power to override a veto by two-thirds of the elected membership of each house.    

 

Additional Resources:

Louisiana Legislature Website