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Louisiana Motor Transport Association

www.lmta.la | www.lmta.foundation

lmta@lmta.la

(225) 928-5682

CAPITOL CORNER

LMTA's Weekly Legislative Overview with Executive Director Renee Amar 

This week at the legislature, we are in full swing with committee hearings and floor action. The legislature is in week 3 of an 8 week session. Emotions are running high as seen by an eruption between senators in the hallway this week. There was also an issue in a house hearing where the extremes of an issue were hotly debated for an extended period of time ending in a witness being removed from the committee. It seems to be the tenor and tone at the state capitol right now. Hopefully as time wanes, tempers will cool.

 

SIGN UP FOR LMTA ACTION ALERTS

 

ACTION ALERT: Tell your Senator you SUPPORT SB 196. If you haven’t seen the notice and taken action, SB 196 by Sen Peacock is still awaiting senate floor action. SB 196 creates the Litigation Financing Disclosure and Security Protection Act. Litigation financing is when a third party invests in a lawsuit in exchange for a share of the profit. It is a practice that inserts another party into a lawsuit, ultimately increasing the case's complexity and prolonging the litigation. The LMTA believes this process needs sunlight and transparency. To read more about litigation financing and why it skirts on the edges of ethics and is dangerous to insert into a lawsuit click here. 

 
 

Legislative Update | 2023 Legislature

Senate Floor Action:

  • SB 67 (Passed Y:34/N:0) by Robert Mills→Requires certain financial documents related to the Louisiana Timber and Agriculture Transportation Group Self-Insurance Funds.Proposed law retains the current law that requires submission of audited financial statements by the self-insurance fund but allows the Dept. of Insurance to demand necessary financial documents in an approved format to verify the net worth of members or principals as required by present law. Additionally, the proposed law requires the La. State Law Institute to make technical changes such as modifying the name of the fund and changing references from plural to singular in present law. The proposed law aims to streamline the reporting process and make technical modifications to the law.
    • Read full provisions here.
  • SB 100 (Passed Y:32/N:0) by Eddie Lambert→Provides for advanced recycling facilities. The proposed law keeps the existing law and expands it by including adhesives and excluding hydrocarbon raw materials, waxes, lubricants, crude oil, naphtha, and other basic hydrocarbons as products. Provides clear definitions to related terms.
    • Read full provisions here.

House Action:

  • HB 83 (Passed Y:94/N:0) by Vincent Pierre→Clarifies that the student toll exemption applies to all students traveling via public ferry and to all students on school buses traveling on a road or bridge between certain hours.
    • Read full provisions here.
  • HB 280 (Passed Y:96/N:4) by Larry Bagley→Establishes a threshold for "excess severance tax" remitted to parishes and requires parishes to use excess severance tax revenues for economic development activities and infrastructure projects.
    • Read full provisions here.
  • HB 215 (Passed Y: 101/N:0) by Michael Echols→Provides relative to acceptable methods of payment for the office of motor vehicles. Requires the office of motor vehicles to accept credit cards, charge cards, and debit cards as a method of payment for fees, fines, taxes, penalties, and interest, along with all other payment methods currently used.
    • Read full provisions here.

House Transportation, Highways and Public Works:

  • HB 83 (Favorably) by Vincent Pierre→Clarifies that the student toll exemption applies to all students traveling via public ferry and to all students on school buses traveling on a road or bridge between certain hours.
    • Read full provisions here.
  • HB 581 (Favorably) by Mark Wright→Proposed law establishes the Louisiana Port Authority (LPA) to represent and promote the interests of all ports in the state. The main goals are to create a master plan for port development, coordinate efforts to attract international trade, prioritize funding for port and water transportation development, and facilitate financing arrangements for the state's ports. The LPA aims to bring focus and coordination to the state's port-related activities and enhance the financial capacity of its ports.
    • Read full provisions here.

House Ways and Means:

  • HB 153 (Voluntarily Deferred) by Phillip DeVillier→Provides for a four-year phase-in, from 2024 through 2027, of an ad valorem property tax exemption for business inventory and requires that the decrease in taxes associated with the exemption be absorbed by the taxing authority, causing neither increases in tax liability for taxpayers nor reappraisal.
    • Read full provisions here. 

House Natural Resources and Environment:

  • HB 535 (Favorably) by Jean-Paul Coussan→ Proposed law allows the use of funds from the Waste Tire Management Dedicated Fund Account to clean up abandoned waste tires, but only if there are available funds after all payments have been made according to present law. However, the funds cannot be used for waste tire cleanup if the account balance is insufficient to pay the waste tire processors as required by present law.

House Commerce:

  • HB 567 (Voluntarily Deferred) by Vincent St. Blanc, III→Provides for vehicles transporting raw materials used for the production of concrete or asphalt an increased weight allowance of 13.5% except for when on bridges and roads with weight allowances. Also clarifies that the weight allowance does not authorize vehicles to exceed federal weight limits. Additionally, the proposed law expands the present law that exempts trucks hauling concrete or construction aggregates from penalties for excess axle weight to include construction materials such as concrete pipe and precast and prestressed products.
    • Read full provisions here.

Senate Environment:

  • SB 62 (Voluntarily Deferred) by Mike Fesi, Sr→Present law, known as the "Right-toKnow" law, requires reporting and disclosure of hazardous materials present in facilities including natural gas pipelines. The proposed law seeks to exclude natural gas pipelines from the definition of facilities and owners/operators and removes reporting requirements and penalties for releases of natural gas from distribution lines. The proposed changes aim to update and streamline reporting requirements under the "Right-to-Know" law.
    • Read full provisions here.

Senate Finance:

  • SB 77 (Favorably) by Mike Reese→Provides relative to the capital outlay process. The proposed law requires a match of at least 25% of the total project cost for non-state entity capital outlay projects but has no additional changes to the present law. The present law prohibits the commencement of work and contracting for a project unless there are funds available from specific sources, except for Department of Transportation and Development projects. The proposed law adds an exception for funds received as supplemental funds for ongoing projects for which contracts have been issued, and otherwise retains the present law.
    • Read full provisions here.
  • SB 214 (As Amended) by Patrick McMath→Proposed action involves renaming and restructuring the Department of Economic Development to the Department of Commerce. Additionally, it entails transferring the office of multimodal commerce from the Department of Transportation and Development to the Department of Commerce and moving associated powers and responsibilities.
    • Read full provisions here.

Senate Transportation:

  • SB 44 (Favorably) by Rogers Pope→Provides relative to high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes. Proposed law eliminates the requirement for the secretary to consider travel time savings and increased capacity when designating a highway shoulder as an HOV lane. It also expands the definition of vehicles allowed to use the HOV lane to include authorized emergency vehicles and vehicles operated by the department or its agents as authorized by the secretary through regulations.
    • Read full provisions here.
  • SB 50 (Voluntarily Deferred) by Mark Abraham→Establishes the "Calcasieu Parish Tolling Authority Act". Allows the authority to enter into contracts and perform duties necessary for its purpose as a nonprofit corporation. Mandates that the authority comply with public-private partnership project laws.
    • Read full provisions here.

Senate Judiciary A:

  • SB 196 (As Amended) by Barrow Peacock→Creates the Litigation Financing Disclosure and Security Protection Act. Provides definitions for related terms. The proposed law mandates that parties involved in civil litigation, including personal injury cases and class action suits, disclose any litigation financing contracts or agreements where someone other than the legal representative receiving compensation or proceeds is contingent upon the outcome of the case. The existence of such financing and all participants in it can be subject to discovery. Legal representatives in class action suits must also disclose any relationships with litigation financiers. The litigation financier can be held liable for costs and monetary sanctions, and violating the proposed law can make the financing contract unenforceable.
    • Read full provisions here.
 
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