HB 160 Louisiana House · 2025 Regular Session

ETHICS: Provides relative to ethics complaints

HB 160 amends ethics complaint procedures to require that complaints must include matters identified in legally required reports submitted to the ethics board by government agencies or officials. This directly affects government agencies, officials, and ethics boards by clarifying the scope of issues that can be raised in formal ethics complaints. The key provision specifies that complaints must reference matters already documented in agency reports, streamlining the process for handling ethics concerns. The bill passed committee and advanced to third reading in May 2025.

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Jun 2025

House Passage

May 2025

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Mar 31, 2025 Last action Jun 8, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB160 Reengrossed → HB160 Engrossed · 4 edits · Jun 4, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered from 'Reengrossed' to 'Engrossed' and reduced from 5 pages to 4 pages. The substantive text regarding ethics complaints, investigative powers, and penalties appears to be a reorganization of the same content rather than a change in policy, with the primary visible difference being the removal of the sponsor list and a shift in how the Board's authority to consider matters is described.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability remains unchanged; the text describes the same Board of Ethics procedures and penalties, though the phrasing regarding the Board's authority to consider matters was simplified.

TECHNICAL

The bill title changed from 'REENGROSSED' to 'ENGROSSED' and the page count was reduced from 5 to 4.

The list of co-sponsors (Representatives Dickerson, Robby Carter, Chassion, Edmonston, Egan, Fisher, Jackson, Owen, and Walters) was removed, leaving only Representative Dickerson as the sponsor.

The structure of the text was reorganized, moving sections regarding complaint filing and retaliation to different line numbers and consolidating some paragraphs.

REQUIREMENT

The language describing the Board's authority to consider matters was altered to be more concise, removing specific references to reports required by law and focusing on matters the Board believes are violations or as otherwise provided by law.

Floor votes · House May 20, 2025

How they voted

85–7

Passed · 10 other

Total votes 102

May 20, 2025

D Democratic31

21 Yea 6 Nay 4

67% Yea

R Republican71

64 Yea 1 Nay 6

90% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Jun 4, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably. Rules suspended. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

upper

May 20, 2025

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 88, nays 7. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

May 14, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported with amendments (10-4).

lower

Apr 14, 2025

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.

lower

Mar 31, 2025

Committee

Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.

lower

1 primary · 8 co-sponsors