BOARDS/COMMISSIONS: Provides relative to the Atchafalaya Trace Commission and Atchafalaya Trace Heritage Area
HB 319 amends Louisiana law to rename the "Atchafalaya Trace Heritage Area" as the "Atchafalaya Trace National Heritage Area" and expands its geographic scope to include Lafourche Parish. The bill increases the Atchafalaya Trace Commission's membership from 14 to 15 members, requiring each covered parish to appoint one member. It mandates the commission to develop a management plan - including a feasibility study, resource inventory, and interpretation strategy - to seek federal recognition as a National Heritage Area and coordinate preservation efforts across 15 parishes. This directly affects local governments, tourism agencies, and communities within the expanded heritage area by establishing a formal framework for managing cultural, historic, and natural resources.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2025
Committee Review
Jun 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Senate Passage
Jun 2025
Signed into Law
Jun 2025
Introduced Apr 2, 2025
Signed Jun 20, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
HB319 Original
→
HB319 Act 475
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was enrolled and finalized as Act 475, correcting a clerical error where the commission membership was listed as 14 instead of 15 members. The text was reorganized to clearly define the commission's creation, the specific parishes included in the heritage area, and its duties, including the authority to acquire real property and the requirement to submit a management plan within four years.
Scope change
The scope was clarified by explicitly listing the parishes included in the heritage area and adding Ascension and Parish Lafourche to the list of eligible parishes for membership.
DEFINITION
Corrected the commission membership count from fourteen to fifteen members to match the number of eligible parishes.
Reorganized the text to explicitly list the parishes included in the Atchafalaya Trace National Heritage Area and clarified the criteria for adding new parishes in the future.
REQUIREMENT
Added a specific requirement for the commission to submit a Cultural Heritage and Corridor Management Plan to legislative committees within four years of its first meeting.
FISCAL
Granted the commission the authority to acquire real property or interests in real property from willing sellers to fulfill its purposes.
Floor votes · Senate Jun 8, 2025 · House May 28, 2025
How they voted
36–0
Passed · 1 other
Total votes 37
Jun 8, 2025
D
Democratic11
90% Yea
R
Republican26
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
May 28, 2025
Lower · Passed
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 98, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
lower
May 22, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably (12-0).
lower
Apr 14, 2025
Committee
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs.
lower
Apr 2, 2025
Committee
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs.
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Joe Orgeron
RRepublican
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