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HB205 • 2026

ELECTIONS/COMMISSIONERS: Provides for compensation for election commissioners (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

ELECTIONS/COMMISSIONERS: Provides for compensation for election commissioners (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

Elections Labor
Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor
Tony Bacala
Last action
2026-06-02
Official status
Signed by the Governor - Act 627
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide details on how often this extra compensation will be used or if it applies to all types of emergencies declared by the governor, leaving these points uncertain.

Election Commissioners' Compensation

This act allows parish governing authorities to pay extra money to election day commissioners if there is a gubernatorial declaration of an emergency within one year before the election.

What This Bill Does

  • Amends and reenacts R.S. 18:426.1(B) and enacts R.S. 18:426.1(C), providing for supplemental compensation to election day commissioners in certain circumstances.
  • Allows the Secretary of State to approve additional payments up to $100 per election or each day of assistance, if applicable, when there is a gubernatorial declaration of an emergency within one year before the election.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Election commissioners who work during elections in Louisiana.
  • Parish governing authorities responsible for paying election workers.
  • The Secretary of State, who can approve extra payments to election day workers.

Terms To Know

Gubernatorial declaration
A statement made by the governor declaring a state of emergency or other significant event that affects the state's operations.
Parish board of election supervisors
The group in charge of overseeing elections within each parish, responsible for ensuring fair and accurate voting processes.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This act only applies to elections held after a gubernatorial declaration of an emergency within one year before the election.
  • It is not clear how often this extra compensation will be used or if it will apply to all types of emergencies declared by the governor.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Filed

Plain English: The amendment changes who can pay election commissioners extra money and adds rules about when this payment can happen.

  • Changes the secretary of state, instead of parish governing authority, to be responsible for paying supplemental compensation to election commissioners.
  • Adds that the supplemental payment must have funding approved by the government.
  • The exact amount and conditions for the supplemental payment are not detailed in this summary.
Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes how election commissioners get paid by allowing local governments to give them extra money for their work.

  • Changes the language that talks about increasing compensation to allow parish governing authorities to pay additional compensation.
  • Adds a new section (C) which allows each commissioner to receive an extra $100 per day of election or assistance work, in addition to existing compensation.
  • The exact details on how the current and proposed laws interact are not fully explained by this amendment text alone.
Draft

Plain English: The amendment changes how election commissioners get paid by allowing the clerk of court to give them extra money and adding new rules about what that extra pay can be.

  • Changes the language from 'to increase compensation' to 'authorize the clerk of court to pay supplemental compensation'.
  • Adds a new section (C) which allows parish governing authority to provide additional $100 per election day or assistance day, in addition to existing compensation.
  • The exact details about how much extra money commissioners will get and under what conditions are not fully explained in the amendment text provided.
Draft

Plain English: The amendment changes how election commissioners get paid by allowing the clerk of court to give them extra money for their work.

  • Changes the language about increasing compensation to authorizing the clerk of court to pay supplemental compensation.
  • Adds a new section that allows the clerk of court to pay each commissioner an additional $100 per election day or assistance day, in addition to existing compensation.
  • The exact details about how much extra money commissioners will get before this amendment are not clear from the provided text.
  • It's unclear what specific changes are made by deleting and inserting certain lines without seeing the full context of the original bill.
Filed

Plain English: The amendment to HB205 allows the election commissioners to receive compensation for their work.

  • Election commissioners will be eligible for payment for their duties.
  • The official text does not specify how much compensation or under what conditions it would be given, so these details are unknown.
Adopted

Plain English: The amendment adds a provision allowing the secretary of state to pay election commissioners an extra $100 for each day they work on election days or provide assistance, in addition to their regular compensation.

  • Adds a new section that allows the secretary of state to give election commissioners an additional $100 per day for working on election days or providing assistance.
  • The amendment does not specify how often this supplemental payment can be given, only that it is 'subject to appropriation of funds.'
Filed

Plain English: The amendment modifies and reenacts sections related to senatorial districts in Louisiana, providing detailed precinct compositions for specific districts.

  • Adds references to R.S. 24:35.1(33), (34), and (35) after a certain section of the bill.
  • Inserts text before 'compensation' on page 1, line 3, to provide for elections.
  • Includes additional language following 'services;' on page 1, line 5, to specify certain election districts for the Senate.
  • The amendment includes detailed precinct compositions which are too technical and extensive to summarize fully here.
  • Some parts of the amendment text may be incomplete or unclear without additional context from the original bill.

Bill History

  1. 2026-06-02 H

    Effective date: 01/01/2027.

  2. 2026-06-02 H

    Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 627.

  3. 2026-06-01 H

    Sent to the Governor for executive approval.

  4. 2026-06-01 S

    Signed by the President of the Senate.

  5. 2026-05-31 H

    Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.

  6. 2026-05-29 H

    Read by title, roll called, yeas 93, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.

  7. 2026-05-29 H

    Scheduled for concurrence on 05/29/2026.

  8. 2026-05-28 H

    Received from the Senate with amendments.

  9. 2026-05-27 S

    Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 38 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

  10. 2026-05-27 S

    Called from the Calendar.

  11. 2026-05-21 S

    Read by title and returned to the Calendar, subject to call.

  12. 2026-05-21 S

    Rules suspended.

  13. 2026-05-18 S

    Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.

  14. 2026-05-14 S

    Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

  15. 2026-05-13 S

    Reported favorably.

  16. 2026-05-07 S

    Read by title. Recommitted to the Committee on Finance.

  17. 2026-05-06 S

    Reported favorably.

  18. 2026-04-28 S

    Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs.

  19. 2026-04-27 S

    Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.

  20. 2026-04-27 H

    Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 100, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

  21. 2026-04-23 H

    Scheduled for floor debate on 04/27/2026.

  22. 2026-04-22 H

    Read by title, ordered reengrossed, passed to 3rd reading.

  23. 2026-04-21 H

    Reported favorably (15-0).

  24. 2026-04-01 H

    Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, recommitted to the Committee on Appropriations.

  25. 2026-03-31 H

    Reported with amendments (10-0).

  26. 2026-03-09 H

    Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.

  27. 2026-02-20 H

    First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/20/2026.

  28. 2026-02-19 H

    Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.

  29. 2026-02-19 H

    Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

ELECTIONS/COMMISSIONERS: Provides for compensation for election commissioners (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text 
ENROLLED
ACT No. 6272026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 205
BY REPRESENTATIVES BACALA, ADAMS, BAYHAM, BEAULLIEU, BILLINGS,
BOUDREAUX, BOURRIAQUE, BOYD, BRASS, BRAUD, BROUSSARD,
WILFORD CARTER, CHASSION, DICKERSON, EDMONSTON, EGAN,
FARNUM, GADBERRY, GREEN, DANA HENRY, HORTON, JACKSON, MIKE
JOHNSON, KERNER, KNOX, LAFLEUR, LARVADAIN, LYONS, MARCELLE,
MOORE, MURRAY, MUSCARELLO, PHELPS, SCHAMERHORN, TAYLOR,
THOMAS, VILLIO, WALTERS, WILEY, WYBLE, YOUNG, AND ZERINGUE
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 18:426.1(B) and to enact R.S. 18:426.1(C), relative to
3 compensation for election commissioners; to authorize the parish governing
4 authority to pay supplemental compensation to certain election day commissioners;
5 to provide for the scope of compensated services; to provide for effectiveness; and
6 to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 18:426.1(B) is hereby amended and reenacted and R.S. 18:426.1(C)
9 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
10 §426.1. Election commissioners; compensation
11 * * *
12 B. The compensation provided for in Subsection A of this Section shall serve
13 as compensation for time worked on election day and for participation in any courses
14 of instruction provided for in this Part.
15 B. C.(1) For an election held within one year following the date of the
16 issuance of any gubernatorial declaration of an emergency, upon application of a
17 parish board of election supervisors, the secretary of state may approve payment of
18 up to one hundred dollars per election or each day of assistance, if applicable, as
19 compensation to each commissioner in addition to compensation provided for in
20 Subsection A of this Section.
21 (2) The secretary of state may pay each commissioner as provided in
22 Paragraphs (A)(1), (2), and (4) of this Section a supplemental payment of one
23 hundred dollars per election day or each day of assistance, if applicable, in addition
Page 1 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 205 ENROLLED
1 to the compensation provided in Subsection A of this Section, subject to
2 appropriation of funds.
3 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2027.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
Page 2 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.