HB 824 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

APPROPRIATIONS: Limits the amount of state general fund that may be appropriated in a fiscal year (RE SEE FISC NOTE GF EX See Note)

HB 824 establishes an annual spending cap for Louisiana's state general fund by calculating a "Government Growth Limit" based on population growth and inflation (using U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics data) from the previous five years. This limit restricts how much annual state funding can be allocated for ongoing expenses, requiring any amounts above the cap to fund one-time costs instead. Exceptions apply to funds from the Budget Stabilization Fund, federal funding replacements, or other designated sources. The bill affects all state budget decisions and requires the governor and legislature to adhere to this cap when proposing or approving spending.

Issues: ✗ Budget & Taxes

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 27, 2026 Last action May 13, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB824 Reengrossed → HB824 Engrossed · 2 edits · May 11, 2026

MINOR

The bill was formally reclassified from 'Reengrossed' to 'Engrossed', indicating it has passed its final review stage and is ready for signature. Substantive text changes include a minor formatting adjustment to the header and a slight rewording of a budget calculation definition to clarify that the base includes recurring expenses from the immediately prior fiscal year.

TECHNICAL

The document title was updated from 'REENGROSSED' to 'ENGROSSED', reflecting the bill's final legislative status.

DEFINITION

A budget calculation clause was slightly reworded to specify that the base includes recurring expenses from the 'immediately prior fiscal year', clarifying the timing for the calculation.

Floor votes · House May 11, 2026

How they voted

67–26

Passed · 12 other

Total votes 105

May 11, 2026

D Democratic33

3 Yea 25 Nay 5

75% Nay

R Republican72

64 Yea 1 Nay 7

88% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 68, nays 25. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Apr 22, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported with amendments (18-0).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Appropriations.

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Committee

Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Appropriations.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors