SCR 14 Louisiana Senate · 2025 Regular Session

CONGRESS: Memorializes congress to modify the H-2A nonimmigrant program to assist with Louisiana's labor workforce shortage.

Louisiana's SCR 14 is a resolution urging Congress to reform the H-2A visa program's wage rules. It directly affects Louisiana farmers who rely on temporary agricultural workers, as current rules require them to pay higher wages based on non-farm wage data, increasing costs significantly. The bill requests Congress rescind the current Adverse Effect Wage Rate (AEWR) system and instead mandate that all H-2A wage calculations use only the Farm Labor Survey data, which reflects actual agricultural wages. This change would align wage requirements with the specific needs of farm labor, reducing financial strain on growers who spend nearly 40% of cash expenses on labor. The resolution aims to make H-2A workers more affordable and accessible for Louisiana's agricultural workforce.
Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Apr 2025
Committee Review
May 2025
Senate Passage
May 2025
House Passage
May 2025
Governor
Introduced Apr 28, 2025 Last action Jun 1, 2025
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SCR14 Original SCR14 Enrolled · 3 edits · May 28, 2025
MINOR
The bill was enrolled with a significantly expanded list of co-sponsoring senators and minor text refinements to clarify the financial burden on farmers. The core policy requests remain unchanged: asking Congress to fix the H-2A visa wage calculation method and stop annual wage hikes. The document also removed a standard disclaimer about the digest not being part of the law.
TECHNICAL

The list of co-sponsoring senators was expanded from a single sponsor to include over twenty additional senators.

Minor wording adjustments were made to clarify that the financial burden on farmers includes housing and transportation costs, not just wages.

The page header and footer information were updated to reflect the enrolled status and removed the legislative services disclaimer.

Floor votes · Senate May 12, 2025 · House May 27, 2025

How they voted

350
Passed · 2 other
Total votes 37
May 12, 2025
D Democratic11
10 Yea 1
90% Yea
R Republican26
25 Yea 1
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
17
Key actions
5
Committee
5
May 27, 2025
Lower · Passed
Read by title, concurred in by vote of 95 yeas, 1 nays.
lower
May 15, 2025
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably (10-0).
lower
May 14, 2025
Committee
Read by title, recommitted to the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development.
lower
May 14, 2025
Lower · Passed
Discharged from the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
lower
May 14, 2025
Committee
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
lower
May 12, 2025
Upper · Passed
Read by title and adopted by a vote of 37 yeas and 0 nays. Ordered sent to the House.
upper
May 8, 2025
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably.
upper
Apr 28, 2025
Introduced
Introduced in the Senate. Read by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
upper
1 primary · 36 co-sponsors

Sponsors