SB 399 Louisiana Senate · 2026 Regular Session

COLLEGES/UNIVERSITIES: Creates the Louisiana Higher Education Research Security Council. (1/1/27) (EN NO IMPACT See Note)

SB 399 creates the Louisiana Higher Education Research Security Council to protect the state's colleges and universities from foreign adversaries. The law requires institutions to report and restrict gifts, contracts, research partnerships, and academic collaborations with entities from countries or groups designated as foreign adversaries, while prohibiting certain travel and gifts from such sources. It defines key terms like "foreign adversary" and "foreign source," and includes penalties for violations, such as the theft of trade secrets. The bill directly affects all Louisiana institutions of higher education that grant degrees or have a physical presence in the state.

Issues: ✗ Education

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

May 2026

Introduced Feb 27, 2026 Signed May 29, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB399 Original → SB399 Act 505 · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was enrolled and expanded to include additional sponsors. The primary substantive change involves updating the legal citations to include a new section (1828.12) and modifying the definitions of 'foreign adversary' and 'foreign source' to align with updated federal security standards, ensuring the state law remains consistent with current federal regulations on national security.

Scope change

The bill's scope was technically expanded by adding a new section reference (R.S. 17:1828.12) and broadening the definition of 'foreign source' to explicitly include political parties and members of political parties, in addition to existing categories like foreign governments and non-US individuals.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'foreign adversary' was updated to include any foreign government or nongovernment person determined by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce to have engaged in conduct adverse to U.S. national security, rather than relying solely on a specific federal code section.

The definition of 'foreign source' was expanded to explicitly include political parties and members of political parties as potential sources of foreign influence.

TECHNICAL

The bill text was updated to reference a new section number (R.S. 17:1828.12) and added additional sponsors to the bill header.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 14, 2026 · House May 7, 2026

How they voted

38–0

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 40

Apr 14, 2026

D Democratic12

11 Yea 1

91% Yea

R Republican28

27 Yea 1

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 19, 2026

Upper · Passed

Amendments proposed by the House read and concurred in by a vote of 34 yeas and 0 nays.

upper

May 7, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 95, nays 1. Finally passed, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Introduced

Reported with Legislative Bureau amendments.

lower

Apr 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (11-0). Referred to the Legislative Bureau.

lower

Apr 16, 2026

Committee

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

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title and passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays; ordered reengrossed and sent to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

Apr 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Rules suspended. Recalled from Committee.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Committee

Read by title. Committee amendments read and adopted; ordered engrossed and recommitted to the Committee on Finance.

upper

Mar 25, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported with amendments.

upper

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Introduced in the Senate; read by title. Rules suspended. Read second time and referred to the Committee on Education.

upper

1 primary · 14 co-sponsors