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HB205 • 2026

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

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

Elections Labor
Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Tony Bacala
Last action
2026-05-29
Official status
Adopted in House concurrence
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact amounts of regular pay before the additional $100 are not specified in the official summary.

Election Commissioners' Pay

This bill allows parish governments to pay an additional $100 to certain election commissioners on election days and in emergency situations.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the rules about how much money election commissioners can get for working on election days.
  • Adds a new rule that lets parishes pay an additional $100 to specific types of election commissioners in addition to their regular pay.
  • Specifies which kinds of election workers are eligible for this extra payment: those who work at multiple precincts, the main commissioner-in-charge, and those who get training before the election.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Election commissioners who work on election days in Louisiana parishes.
  • Parish governing authorities responsible for paying election workers.

Terms To Know

Commissioner-in-charge
The main person overseeing the polling place on election day.
Precinct
A specific area within a parish where voting takes place.

Limits and Unknowns

  • This bill only affects parishes in Louisiana.
  • It does not change how much money is given to uncertified or less experienced election workers.
  • The extra payment of $100 applies only on election days and for emergency situations declared by the governor.

Amendments

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

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 funds appropriated by the government before it can be given.
  • The exact amount and conditions under which the supplemental payments will be made are not detailed in this summary.

Plain English: The amendment changes how election commissioners are compensated by allowing parish governing authorities to provide additional pay beyond what is already set.

  • Replaces the phrase 'to increase compensation paid' with 'authorize the parish governing authority to pay supplemental compensation'.
  • Adds a new section that allows each parish governing authority to give election commissioners an extra $100 per day for their work, in addition to existing compensation.
  • The amendment text does not specify how this additional compensation will be funded or the exact conditions under which it can be provided.

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

  • Changes the way compensation is described, from increasing existing payments to authorizing supplemental payments.
  • Adds a new section (C) that allows parish governing authorities to provide additional $100 per election day or assistance day to commissioners.
  • Removes some lines and replaces them with asterisks.
  • The exact details of the removed text are not provided, so it's unclear what was originally there before being replaced by asterisks.

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 that talks about increasing compensation to authorize the clerk of court to pay supplemental compensation.
  • Adds a new section (C) which 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 is unclear without further context.
  • Some technical legal language has been changed but its full impact isn't explained clearly in the provided text.

Plain English: The amendment to HB205 by the Senate is being considered for approval in the House, but no specific changes are described in the provided text.

  • The official amendment text does not provide details about the concrete changes made or proposed.

Plain English: The amendment allows the secretary of state to give election commissioners an extra $100 for each day they work on election days or provide assistance, as long as there is enough money available.

  • Adds a new provision that lets the secretary of state pay election commissioners an additional $100 per day for their work during elections or when providing assistance.
  • The amendment only applies if funds are appropriated, meaning there must be money set aside specifically for this purpose.

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

  • Inserts references to R.S. 24:35.1(33), (34), and (35) after a certain section of the bill.
  • Adds language before 'compensation' on page 1, line 3, to provide for elections.
  • Includes additional text following 'services;' on page 1, line 5, to specify certain election districts for the Senate.
  • The amendment includes detailed precinct compositions which may be too technical or specific to explain fully in plain English.
  • Some parts of the amendment are truncated and incomplete, making it difficult to provide a complete summary.

Bill History

  1. 2026-05-29 H

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

  2. 2026-05-29 H

    Scheduled for concurrence on 05/29/2026.

  3. 2026-05-28 H

    Received from the Senate with amendments.

  4. 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.

  5. 2026-05-27 S

    Called from the Calendar.

  6. 2026-05-21 S

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

  7. 2026-05-21 S

    Rules suspended.

  8. 2026-05-18 S

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

  9. 2026-05-14 S

    Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

  10. 2026-05-13 S

    Reported favorably.

  11. 2026-05-07 S

    Read by title. Recommitted to the Committee on Finance.

  12. 2026-05-06 S

    Reported favorably.

  13. 2026-04-28 S

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

  14. 2026-04-27 S

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

  15. 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.

  16. 2026-04-23 H

    Scheduled for floor debate on 04/27/2026.

  17. 2026-04-22 H

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

  18. 2026-04-21 H

    Reported favorably (15-0).

  19. 2026-04-01 H

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

  20. 2026-03-31 H

    Reported with amendments (10-0).

  21. 2026-03-09 H

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

  22. 2026-02-20 H

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

  23. 2026-02-19 H

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

  24. 2026-02-19 H

    Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

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

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
HLS 26RS-466 ENGROSSED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 205
BY REPRESENTATIVES BACALA, BEAULLIEU, BILLINGS, BOYD, FARNUM,
GADBERRY, LARVADAIN, MARCELLE, THOMAS, WALTERS, AND WYBLE
ELECTIONS/COMMISSIONERS: Provides for compensation for election commissioners
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.
Page 1 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HLS 26RS-466 ENGROSSED
HB NO. 205
1 (2) The parish governing authority may pay each commissioner provided for
2 in Paragraphs (A)(1), (2), and (4) of this Section one hundred dollars per election day
3 or each day of assistance, if applicable, in addition to the compensation provided for
4 in Subsection A of this Section.
5 Section 2. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 2027.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 205 Engrossed 2026 Regular Session Bacala
Abstract: Authorizes the parish governing authority to pay certain election commissioners
supplemental compensation of $100 per election.
Present law provides that each commissioner who serves at the polling place on election day
shall be paid according to the following:
(1) A commissioner-in-charge shall receive $250.
(2) A commissioner-in-charge who serves at more than one precinct shall receive $350.
(3) A commissioner who has received a general certificate of instruction from the annual
training conducted by the clerk of court shall receive $100.
(4) A commissioner who has received a certificate of instruction from the training
conducted by the clerk of court after being selected to serve in an election shall
receive $200.
(5) An uncertified commissioner shall receive $35.
Proposed law retains present law.
Proposed law provides that the compensation as provided for in present law shall serve as
compensation for time worked on election day and for participation in any courses of
instruction provided to election officials.
Proposed law provides that the parish governing authority may pay each
commissioner-in-charge, commissioner-in-charge who serves at more than one precinct, and
commissioner who has received a certificate of instruction from the training conducted by
the clerk of court after being selected to serve in an election $100 per election day or each
day of assistance, if applicable, in addition to the compensation provided for in present law.
Present law provides that for an election held within one year following the date of the
issuance of any gubernatorial declaration of an emergency, upon application of a parish
board of election supervisors, the secretary of state may approve payment of up to $100 per
election or each day of assistance, if applicable, as compensation to each commissioner in
addition to compensation provided for by proposed law.
Proposed law retains present law.
Page 2 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HLS 26RS-466 ENGROSSED
HB NO. 205
Effective Jan. 1, 2027.
(Amends R.S. 18:426.1(B); Adds R.S. 18:426.1(C))
Summary of Amendments Adopted by House
The Committee Amendments Proposed by House Committee on House and
Governmental Affairs to the original bill:
1. Remove proposed increase to the pay schedule for certain commissioners.
2. Authorize the parish governing authority to pay an additional $100 to
commissioners-in-charge, commissioners who serve more than one precinct, and
commissioners who receive instruction prior to election day.
Page 3 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.