SCR 22 Louisiana Senate · 2026 Regular Session

PHARMACEUTICALS: Requests a legislative auditor report on opioid settlement fund expenditures.

This bill asks the state legislative auditor to create a detailed report on how opioid settlement funds have been spent in Louisiana. The report will be sent to health and welfare committees by December 2026 and will cover how much money parishes and sheriff's offices received, what they spent it on, and any challenges they faced using the funds. It aims to provide transparency on the use of approximately $600 million in settlement money designated for opioid abatement efforts. The request for information includes specific details about expenditures, legal classifications for spending, performance outcomes, and administrative costs. This action does not change existing laws but seeks to gather data to help improve how local governments access and use these funds.

Issues: ✓ Healthcare

Bill status passed both 4 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Governor

Introduced Mar 30, 2026 Last action May 20, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

SCR22 Original → SCR22 Enrolled · 6 edits · May 19, 2026

MODERATE

The bill was refined from a simple request for a report into a more detailed mandate requiring specific data points and a stricter deadline. The changes clarify the bill's purpose by explicitly mentioning barriers to spending and adding new requirements for the auditor to report on administrative costs and identified barriers. The reporting deadline was moved from a fixed date in late 2026 to a relative timeframe thirty days before the start of the 2027 Regular Session.

Scope change

The scope of the requested report was expanded to include administrative costs and specific barriers to spending, and the target audience for the report was clarified to include the Opioid Abatement Task Force.

REQUIREMENT

Added a requirement for the report to include administrative costs, staffing, and contracts.

Added a requirement for the report to explain the basis used to classify spending into treatment, prevention, or other strategy categories.

Added a requirement for the report to include outcome or performance metrics tied to expenditures.

Added a requirement for the report to detail how the legislature can assist local governments in identifying appropriate uses of funds.

ADDED

Added a requirement for the report to identify barriers to reporting, oversight, or timely spending.

TIMELINE

Changed the report deadline from a fixed date (December 31, 2026) to a relative deadline (thirty days prior to the start of the 2027 Regular Session).

Floor votes · Senate Apr 13, 2026 · House May 13, 2026

How they voted

39–0

Passed · 1 other

Total votes 40

Apr 13, 2026

D Democratic12

12 Yea

100% 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

May 18, 2026

Upper · Passed

Amendments proposed by the House read and concurred in by a vote of 35 yeas and 0 nays.

upper

May 13, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read by title, amended, concurred in by vote of 81 yeas, 0 nays.

lower

Apr 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (11-0).

lower

Apr 14, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.

lower

Apr 13, 2026

Upper · Passed

Read by title and adopted by a vote of 38 yeas and 0 nays. Ordered sent to the House.

upper

Apr 8, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in the Senate. Read by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.

upper

1 primary · 7 co-sponsors