HB 318 Louisiana House · 2025 Regular Session

HOUSING/MANUFACTURED: Provides relative to manufactured and modular housing in flood-prone areas

HB 318 requires manufactured and modular homes in flood-prone areas to comply with FEMA’s installation manual for foundations. It allows local governments to adopt stricter elevation requirements (called "freeboard") than FEMA’s minimums, as long as these higher standards are uniformly applied based on current flood maps. The bill mandates that all building permits must include the site’s Base Flood Elevation and required finished floor elevation, including any extra freeboard. This directly affects home installers, local building departments, and homeowners in flood zones by standardizing flood safety requirements.
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2025
Committee Review
Jun 2025
House Passage
Apr 2025
Senate Passage
Jun 2025
Signed into Law
Jun 2025
Introduced Apr 2, 2025 Signed Jun 11, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB318 Original HB318 Act 265 · 3 edits
MINOR
This bill updates Louisiana law regarding manufactured and modular housing in flood-prone areas. It clarifies that foundations must meet specific FEMA guidelines and explicitly allows local governments to adopt stricter elevation or freeboard requirements to encourage higher safety standards. Additionally, it mandates that building permits must clearly display the Base Flood Elevation and required finished floor elevation to ensure transparency for homeowners.
Scope change
The bill maintains the existing scope but clarifies the relationship between state minimum standards and local stricter regulations, shifting from a prohibition on stricter rules to an encouragement of them.
REQUIREMENT

Changed the rule on local regulations from prohibiting stricter standards to explicitly allowing them, provided they incentivize going above minimum floodplain management standards.

Added a specific requirement that all building permits must include the Base Flood Elevation and the required finished floor elevation based on current maps.

DEFINITION

Clarified that the Base Flood Elevation must be based on the currently adopted Flood Insurance Rate Map and cannot vary based on alternative or superseded sources.

Floor votes · Senate Jun 8, 2025 · House Apr 28, 2025

How they voted

360
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 37
Jun 8, 2025
D Democratic11
10 Yea 1
90% Yea
R Republican26
26 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
18
Key actions
4
Committee
4
Jun 8, 2025
Upper · Passed
Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 38 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
upper
Jun 4, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably. Rules suspended. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
upper
Apr 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 91, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
lower
Apr 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported with amendments (17-0).
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Committee
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Commerce.
lower
Apr 2, 2025
Committee
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Commerce.
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Foy Gadberry
Foy Gadberry
RRepublican
LA
15