HB 975 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

SUNSET LAW: Re-creates the Department of Public Service

This bill re-establishes the Department of Public Service in Louisiana and sets a long-term sunset date for its existence. It directs the department to be recreated on June 30, 2026, and requires all its statutory authority to end by July 1, 3031, unless the legislature extends it earlier. The law also updates the state's sunset provisions to include the department and any agencies within it, ensuring they will automatically expire after 55 years unless renewed. This change affects the department's legal framework and requires future legislative action to maintain the agency beyond its automatic termination date.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jun 2026

Introduced Mar 16, 2026 Signed Jun 8, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB975 Original → HB975 Act 860 · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill re-enacts the Department of Public Service and its associated entities, extending their operational sunset date from 2027 to 2031. It corrects a typo in the termination year and removes the requirement for a separate bill to re-create each individual statutory entity within the department, streamlining the legislative process.

Scope change

The bill expands the operational lifespan of the Department of Public Service and its entities by four years and simplifies the legal mechanism required to maintain them.

TIMELINE

The termination date for the Department of Public Service and its entities was extended from July 1, 2027, to July 1, 2031, with the phase-out period beginning July 1, 2030.

REQUIREMENT

The requirement for the legislature to pass a separate bill for each statutory entity to re-create the department was removed, allowing the department to be re-created as a single unit.

TECHNICAL

A typographical error in the sunset date was corrected from the year 3031 to 2031.

Floor votes · Senate May 26, 2026 · House May 7, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 40

May 26, 2026

D Democratic12

10 Yea 2

83% Yea

R Republican28

28 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 26, 2026

Upper · Passed

Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 37 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

May 21, 2026

Committee

Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

upper

May 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably.

upper

May 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 96, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

May 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (13-0).

lower

Mar 17, 2026

Committee

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

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors