SB 59: ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE: Provides for fiscal and economic impact statements under the Administrative Procedure Act. (8/1/25) (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX) - Louisiana

Senate Floor Bureau Note, #997, Reese, Adopted → SB59 Act · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an Act, removing draft amendment instructions and replacing them with the official statutory text. The core policy change establishes a new requirement under R.S. 49:961(E)(4) that proposed actions with significant fiscal or economic impacts must be approved by legislative oversight subcommittees before taking effect. Additionally, it creates an exception allowing these actions to proceed if a committee fails to hold a hearing within thirty days and the Governor agrees in writing.

Scope change

The bill now applies to all proposed actions determined by the legislative fiscal office to have a specific fiscal or economic impact threshold, shifting from a draft amendment format to enacted law.

REQUIREMENT

Added a mandatory approval process requiring legislative oversight subcommittees to determine that actions with significant fiscal or economic impacts are acceptable before they take effect.

FISCAL

Defined specific thresholds for triggering the approval requirement: estimated annual costs of $200,000 or more, or total costs of $600,000 or more over three years.

TIMELINE

Established a thirty-day deadline for legislative committees to conduct hearings on proposed actions to determine their acceptability.

ENFORCEMENT

Created an exception where proposed actions can take effect immediately if a committee fails to hold a required hearing within the deadline and the Governor deems the action acceptable in writing.

TECHNICAL

Removed draft amendment instructions, page references, and editorial notes, replacing them with the final enacted statutory language.

SB59 Original → Senate Floor Bureau Note, #997, Reese, Adopted · 5 edits

MODERATE

This bill amends the Administrative Procedures Act to require fiscal impact statements for proposed rules and emergency rules. It establishes specific financial thresholds (e.g., $200,000 annually or $1 million over five years) that trigger mandatory approval by legislative subject matter committees before a rule can take effect. The amendments also clarify the language regarding committee jurisdiction and the conditions under which emergency rules with significant fiscal impacts may be enacted.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of legislative oversight by mandating committee approval for rules exceeding specific fiscal thresholds and clarifies the conditions for emergency rulemaking involving state funds.

REQUIREMENT

Amended the requirement for fiscal impact statements in proposed rules to ensure clarity on whether a fiscal impact exists.

Established a threshold where rules causing costs of $200,000 per year or $1 million over five years require approval from the appropriate House or Senate subject matter committee before taking effect.

Modified the criteria for emergency rules, requiring a statement explaining why an emergency exists or why federal law/funding necessitates an earlier effective date for high-impact rules.

ELIGIBILITY

Clarified that oversight subcommittees or subject matter committees must approve emergency rules that meet the specified fiscal impact thresholds.

DEFINITION

Corrected minor grammatical errors and clarified phrasing regarding the legislative fiscal office's role in determining fiscal impacts.

SB59 Enrolled → SB59 Original · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was renumbered and its summary was updated to reflect new fiscal thresholds. The scope of rules requiring legislative committee approval was expanded from a $200,000 annual limit to include rules costing $200,000 annually or $1 million over five years. Additionally, the bill now includes specific procedures for reviewing emergency rules, requiring oversight committees to evaluate them within 60 days.

Scope change

The bill now applies to a broader range of proposed rules by increasing the financial thresholds that trigger mandatory legislative review and by adding specific requirements for emergency rulemaking.

FISCAL

The financial threshold for requiring legislative committee approval was raised from $200,000 per year or $600,000 over three years to $200,000 per year or $1 million over five years.

REQUIREMENT

New procedures were added to require oversight subcommittees to conduct hearings and make determinations on emergency rules within 60 days of adoption.

Requirements were added for the governor to publish a statement explaining the necessity of an emergency rule if it exceeds the new financial thresholds.

TECHNICAL

The bill's page count increased from 2 to 4 pages, and the bill number was updated to SLS 25RS-248.

SB59 Reengrossed → SB59 Enrolled · 3 edits · Jun 8, 2025

MINOR

The bill was finalized as an enrolled act, removing the original text that amended an existing section and replacing it with a new, standalone section. This change clarifies that the new rules for fiscal impact statements are additions to the Administrative Procedure Act rather than modifications to the previous rule adoption procedures.

Scope change

The bill's scope shifted from amending an existing provision (R.S. 49:961(A)(2)(b)) to enacting a completely new provision (R.S. 49:961(E)(4)). This effectively creates a new section in the statute rather than altering the text of the old one.

TECHNICAL

Removed the instruction to amend and reenact the existing R.S. 49:961(A)(2)(b) section.

Changed the bill title from 'Reengrossed' to 'Enrolled' and updated the header to reflect the final version approved by the Governor and both legislative chambers.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new, standalone Section 1 that enacts R.S. 49:961(E)(4) to establish requirements for fiscal and economic impact statements.

SB59 Engrossed → SB59 Reengrossed · 4 edits · Jun 2, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was reengrossed to lower the financial threshold for requiring legislative approval of proposed rules, changing the limit from $1 million over five years to $600,000 over three years. It also added an exemption for rules necessary to implement existing legislation and clarified that rules can take effect if the oversight committee fails to meet within 30 days, provided the governor approves them in writing.

Scope change

The bill now applies to a broader range of proposed rules due to the lower financial thresholds and includes a specific exemption for rules tied to existing legislation.

REQUIREMENT

The financial threshold triggering mandatory legislative approval was lowered from $1 million over five years to $600,000 over three years.

A new exemption was added stating that fiscal impacts already accounted for in the fiscal note of implementing legislation should not be counted as new impacts for the proposed rule.

A provision was added allowing rules to take effect without committee approval if the committee fails to meet within 30 days, as long as the governor approves the rule in writing.

TECHNICAL

The document page count was updated from 2 to 3 pages to reflect the additional content.

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEDURE: Provides for fiscal and economic impact statements under the Administrative Procedure Act. (8/1/25) (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

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