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Bill Questions
- How do I get information on a bill?
- How do I view the text of a bill?
- How do I find a bill if I don't know its number?
- How do I find out how a bill becomes a law in Louisiana?
- How do I find out what all of these abbreviations mean?
- How do I compile a legislative history?
- How do I view the broadcasts of committee meetings?
- How do I get the schedule and the agendas of interim committee meetings?
- How do I sign up to receive email notification of committee meetings?
- How do I determine who is my legislator?
- How do I contact my legislator?
- How do I view the district map for each legislator?
- How do I view Louisiana's laws?
- How do I submit/edit/search NGO Funding Request(s)?
- How do I view the PDF documents on the website?
- How do I get RealPlayer in order to view the broadcasts?
- How do I talk to a "live person?"
- How do I get a glossary of legislative terms?
- How do I get to the state Capitol?
- by a specific instrument
- by the author's name
- by a range of instruments (for example, House Bills starting with HB 22)
- by the committee that a bill has been referred
- by a text search of the entire instrument database
- view the CURRENT VERSION of the bill
- view a list of ALL VERSIONS of the bill
- view a list of all of the AMENDMENTS on the bill
- view the DIGEST which is a short explanation of the bill
- view the VOTES on all actions of the bill
- view the HISTORY which shows you everything from the introduction to the final action taken on the bill.
- by a specific instrument
- by the author's name
- by a range of instruments (for example, House Bills starting with HB 22)
- by a text search of the entire instrument database.
- "Text - Current" link will take you to the latest version of the bill.
- "Text - All Versions" shows a list of all different versions of the bill, from the original to the final engrossed version. (Some bills never proceed past the "original" version.)
- Select the session that you want to search. Either click here OR click on "Session Info" which appears on the maroon navigation bar at the top of the page.
- To find a statute or code article on the Internet, begin by going to www.legis.state.la.us and finding the maroon navigation bar at the top of the screen. Click on “Search.” This will take the researcher to a screen where statutes and codes can be retrieved by number (e.g., R.S. 17: 222, CCP 3939, etc.) or by keyword.
- To follow the legislative history using the Internet, begin again at www.legis.state.la.us and look for "Session Info" on the navigation menu at the top of the screen.
- After clicking on "Session Info," select the legislative session in which the act was passed (1997 - present years are the only available years).
- Under the title "Bill Search for the (year) Session" bar, click on the first pull-down box (which has the letters "HB" as default) and select the word "Act." Put in the act number that you wish to research and then click on the box marked "View" next to "View a Specific Instrument.”
- The next screen will show a one line description of the act, the original House or S-enate Bill number, the final status of the instrument, and a menu below. Click on the word "History" on the blue hypertext menu below. The History is a line by line record of the bill, from last action to first.
- The History shows dates of action, Journal pages where action is recorded, whether the instrument was amended in committee or on the floor, a vote tally, the act number, and the effective date.
- The screen with the blue hypertext menu also has an "Amendments" link as well. This selection will have the text of every adopted committee amendment for the instrument as well as every proposed floor amendment, whether it passed or failed.
- To follow the legislative history using printed materials, begin with the statute or code article notes at the end of a section that lists the act number and year of the legislative session in which it was enacted.
- Consult the corresponding year's Resume'. The Resume' numerically lists each act that passed in a given legislative session, along with a digest and the original House or Senate bill number.
- With the original House or Senate number from the Resume', consult that year's Legislative Calendar. The Legislative Calendar provides a chronological history of each instrument. One can find dates of action, Journal pages where actions are recorded, whether the instrument was amended in committee or on the floor, a vote tally, the act number, and the effective date.
- The House and Senate each keep their own separate Journals. The Journals are arranged chronologically by the days in which the legislature met while in session. The information contained in the Journal is arranged in the order in which action was taken on the House or Senate floor. If the action was the adoption of an amendment, the entry will provide the text of that amendment. If a vote on the floor of either house was a record vote, the entry will provide a roll call list with the vote of each member. Votes on final passage on the floor of each house are record votes. Committee votes are not record votes. The reports of legislative committees are noted in the Journals, but the vote on reporting each instrument is noted only by the number of votes for and against, and not by roll call.
- Each parish court usually has a law library with copies of the Resume', Legislative Calendar, and Journals. Most of the parish public libraries have the same publications.
- Louisiana State University, Southern University, Tulane University, and Loyola University have law school libraries which carry Louisiana’s legislative publications.
- The State Library of Louisiana has a Louisiana Section reference room. They can be reached at (225) 342-4914 or at ladept@state.lib.la.us for e-mail access. Their website is www.state.lib.la.us.
- Legislative instruments: bills, amendments, digests, fiscal notes
- Legislative Calendar pages
- Journal pages
- Minutes of committee meetings
- Audio tapes of the proceedings of committee meetings. 1998 to the present date are available from House or Senate Docket. Prior to that date, audio tapes are available at the Office of Archives & Records Management, La. Secretary of State: 225-922-1209.
Floor debate is not transcribed, nor are minutes of floor debate prepared in print. However, House committee and floor debates, beginning with the 1999 Regular Session can be viewed (audio/video) at: http://house.louisiana.gov/H_Video/Hse_Video_OnDemand.htm.
House Docket (for House instruments): (225) 342-6458 Senate Docket (for Senate instruments): (225) 342-2365
- by a SPECIFIC law body and section
- by conducting a text search of the entire laws database
Committee Questions
Legislator Questions
Other Questions
How do I get information on a bill?
- There are several places to get information on legislation from the Louisiana Legislature.
First, on the home page, scroll down to the section labelled "Bill Search." Next, select the session in which you are interested.
Select from one of the five ways to retrieve a bill:
REMEMBER, you must first select a session before you can continue with your search.
The second place from which to retrieve a bill is to go to the specific session page. To get the list of sessions, click on "Session Information" which is located on the maroon navigation bar or click here. From the session page, you can do any one of the five searches mentioned above.
Once you have retrieved a specific bill, you have several choices available to you:
NOTE: You need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4 or higher installed on your computer to retrieve the bills. If you do not have version 4 or higher of Acrobat Reader, click here to download a free copy of the Reader.
How do I view the text of a bill?
- There are a couple of ways to do view the text of the bill.
First, on the home page, scroll down to the section labelled "Bill Search." Next, select the session in which you are interested.
Then select from one of the four ways to retrieve a bill:
REMEMBER, you must first select a session before you can continue with your search.
The second place from which to retrieve a bill is to go to the specific session page. To get the list of sessions, click on "Session Information" which is located on the maroon navigation bar or click here. From the session page, you can do any one of the four searches mentioned above.
Once you retrieve a bill, you will see the current status and summary of the bill. Note the hyperlinks below this area:
To view any of this information, click on the links provided.
NOTE: You need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4 or higher installed on your computer to retrieve the bills. If you do not have version 4 or higher of Acrobat Reader, click here to download a free copy of the Reader.
How do I find a bill if I don't know its number?
- If you don't know a specific bill number, you can conduct a TEXT SEARCH of the entire text of any bill.
Once you select the session, the text search on the bills is the fifth search option under "Bill Search" on each of the sessions' pages. Type a word (or group of words) that you think may appear in the bill. When conducting the text search, you can put quotes (") around the words if you are looking for a specific phrase or you can use the terms "AND", "OR", or "NOT" to narrow your search.
You can also do a full-text search of the "Subject Index to Bills" which is updated daily during legislative sessions. Click on "Session Info" on the maroon navigation bar and then selecting the session you want to research. The link can then be found under "Key Session Information" on that page. Click on the binoculars in the Adobe task bar to begin the search.
NOTE: You need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4 or higher installed on your computer to view the "Subject Index to Bills." If you do not have version 4 or higher of Acrobat Reader, click here to download a free copy of the Reader.
How do I find out how a bill becomes a law in Louisiana?
- You can see a graphical view of the process by clicking here.
How do I find out what all of these abbreviations mean?
- When looking at the bill information, there can be a lot of abbreviations that may appear confusing. To see what these abbreviations mean, click here.
How do I compile the legislative history?
Legislative History: The record of all legislative actions occurring in order to pass a bill. The steps taken in this procedure include: bill introduction, committee hearings, floor debate, amendments (committee and floor) to the bill, enrollment, action taken by the governor (veto, enactment without action, or approval), and the assignment of an act number.
In order to obtain the legislative history of a section from the Louisiana Revised Statutes, an article from a particular code (Children's Code, Civil Code, etc.), or an act, the researcher must know the original bill number and session of the legislature in which it was enacted.
Statutes and codes are available in print or they can be accessed through the Internet from the Louisiana Legislature’s joint website. Locate the statute or code article and check the end notes at the bottom of the section paragraphs. An act number will be listed after most sections of the law (e.g., Acts 1986, No. 697).
- USING THE INTERNET:
- USING PRINTED MATERIALS:
- WHERE TO FIND MORE ASSISTANCE:
- HOUSE AND SENATE SERVICES:
The following items may be obtained from the Docket of the House or Senate:
How do I view the broadcasts of committee meetings?
- All committees that meet in House committee rooms (those with numbers, i.e. Committee Room 1, etc.) can be viewed over the internet, as well as Senate committee rooms A, E, and the John J. Hainkel, Jr. Room. (Committee Rooms C and F can not be viewed over the internet.) On the home page, the list of committees meeting for the current day are listed. When a committee is meeting, the words "In Progress" appear next to the name of the committee. By clicking on "In Progress," a window will open up and the meeting broadcast will begin. You can also see live broadcasts of the House and Senate chambers when the Legislature is in session.
You can also view certain prior committee meetings in the House committee rooms by going to the archived video section. This is located on the House website. You can get to it by either clicking on the link in the previous sentence or by going to http://house.louisiana.gov and clicking on "Archived Video" which appears on the blue navigation bar on the left hand side of the home page. (Meetings held in the Senate committee rooms are not archived.)
You will need either a G2 player or RealPlayer version 8 to view the broadcasts. If you do not have RealPlayer on your computer, click here to download a free version of the software.
How do I get the schedule and the agendas of interim committee meetings?
- There are two places to retrieve this information. On the home page, you can see all of the meetings that are scheduled for the current day. At the end of the list, there is a link that says "Upcoming Meetings." This will show you a complete list of ALL scheduled meetings. You can also see a complete list of the committee meetings by clicking here. This link will take you to the "Committees" section of the website.
To view an agenda of a committee meeting, click on the committee name in which you are interested. This will take you to the specific meeting's web page from which there is a link that says "Agenda."
NOTE: To view the agendas, you will need Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4 or higher. If you do not have version 4 or higher of Reader installed on your computer, click here to download a free copy of the program.
How do I sign up to receive email notification of committee meetings?
- You can receive FREE email notification of future interim committee meetings by clicking here. This notice will include links to the specific committee agenda. To subscribe, click on the link that says, "Interim Legislature Committee Notification" and then the link "Subscribe to email notification." A new email message will open with all of the necessary information. All you will need to do is to "send" this message. You will then be sent a confirmation of your subscription and be notified of future meetings. To UNsubscribe to this free service, follow the instructions that appear on your email confirmation.
How do I determine who is my legislator?
- To find your legislator is as easy as typing in your street address and city or zip code. Once you type in your address and click "Search," you will see a list of the names of and links to your state representative, state senator, U.S. congressmen, and the state's two United States senators. Links to their respective websites is provided by clicking on their name. Click here to try it out.
How do I contact my legislator?
- There are several different ways by which you can contact your legislator, including mail, e-mail, telephone, fax, or in person. (If you do not know who is your legislator, click here.)
Most members maintain a legislative district office. (It is advisable, however, to first make an appointment should you want to meet in person with your legislator.) The following hyperlinks will give you the district office addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers, and email addresses of your legislators:
| HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MEMBER INFORMATION | SENATE MEMBER INFORMATION |
| HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES DISTRICT OFFICE ADDRESSES WORD FORMAT WORDPERFECT FORMAT | SENATE DISTRICT OFFICE ADDRESSES WORD FORMAT WORDPERFECT FORMAT |
During legislative sessions, you can contact your legislator using any of the above ways mentioned OR you can send correspondence to the Capitol at the following address:
| U.S. Mail Representative John Doe State Capitol P.O. Box 44486 Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4486 |
Senator Jane Doe State Capitol P.O. Box 94183 Baton Rouge, LA 70804-4183 |
UPS, Federal Express or other delivery services: Representative or Senator John Doe State Capitol 900 North Third Street Baton Rouge, LA 70804 |
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To talk directly to a Representative or Senator, contact the House switchboard (225-342-6945) or the Senate switchboard (225-342-2040).
Also during legislative session, written notes and other materials intended for distribution to the membership may be received on the House or Senate floor, provided the recipient's name and the sender's name or organization is clearly noted on the document itself. Notes to individual members can be presented to the sergeant-at-arms stationed in or near the chambers.
How do I view the district map for each legislator?
- You can access the district maps for your state legislator by clicking on the "District Maps" icon on the home page. It appears on the right hand side of the home page in the shape of the state of Louisiana. This will take you to a page with the two applicable sections: "House Districts Maps" and "Senate District Maps."
All of the district maps are in PDF format, which requires you to have Adobe Acrobat Reader version 4 or higher installed on your computer. If you do not have version 4 or higher of Reader installed, click here to get a free copy.
How do I view Louisiana's laws?
- Louisiana's laws are provided by clicking here or by going to the home page of this website and clicking on "Louisiana Laws" which is on the blue navigation bar on the left hand column of the page.
You can view the laws by one of two ways:
To view a specific law body, select the law body (i.e. RS, CONST, CC, CHC) and then type in the title, article, or rule number. If the law body you are retrieving has a section number, you must type it in the box called "Section Number"; otherwise, leave this box blank.
To conduct a text search, first select the body (or bodies) of law you want to search. (There is a box to check "All of the Above" which will search the entire database. You mayselect as few or as many as you would like.) Once you have selected the law body or bodies, enter the text you want to search. Examples of different ways to input text appear below the text box on that page.
How do I submit/edit/search NGO Funding Request(s)?
- If you are required to do so, you can submit NGO (Non-Governmental Organization) Funding Requests by clicking here.
To edit previously submitted NGO Funding Requests, click here.
To search NGO Funding Requests, click here.
How do I view the PDF documents on the website?
- Adobe PDF is a universal file format that preserves all of the fonts, formatting, colors, and graphics of any source document, regardless of the application and platform used to create it. PDF files are printed exactly as intended by anyone with a free Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have Reader installed, click here to get a free copy.
How do I get RealPlayer in order to view the broadcasts?
- All committees that meet in committee rooms with numbers (Committee Room 1, etc.), and Committee Rooms A, E, and the John J. Hainkel, Jr, Room, as well as both the House chamber and Senate chamber, can be viewed over the internet. (Committee Rooms C and F can not be viewed over the internet.)
To get a free copy of RealPlayer version 8 to view the broadcasts, click here.
How do I talk to a "live person?"
- The Public Update Legislative Services Line, or PULS Line, is available to you by dialing 342-2456 in the Baton Rouge area or toll free (Louisiana only) 800-256-3793 outside Baton Rouge.
Legislative staff will answer your questions about bills on various topics, direct you to the proper place for committee information, explain aspects of the legislative process and more. The PULS Line is operated jointly by the House and the Senate.
The following are the hours of operation for the PULS Line: During Session - 8:30 a.m. until adjournment if the House or Senate is meeting, otherwise 8:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. During the interim (not in legislative session), the hours of operation are 9:30 a.m. til 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. til 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
To talk directly to a Representative or Senator, contact the House switchboard (225-342-6945) or the Senate switchboard (225-342-2040).
How do I get a glossary of legislative terms?
- Legislative terms can be confusing. To see the glossary of terms for the Louisiana Legislature, click here. The appropriate House, Senate or Joint rule that applies to the term is listed along with the term. If you would like to read the corresponding rule, just click on the rule.
How do I get to the state Capitol?
- To get directions and maps to get to the Capitol, click here. A new window will open up providing you written directions as well as a map of the Capitol area. There is also parking information within the map that appears on the page. If you would like a larger version of the map, just click on it. You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view this information. (If you do not have the free Reader installed on your computer, click here to download the program.)