HB301 • 2026

LABOR: Creates the Independent Contractor Voluntary Portable Benefits Act

Labor

Enacted

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

Sponsor: John Wyble
Last action: 2026-05-22
Official status: Signed by the Governor - Act 299
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide additional details on the specific impacts of contributions on employment classification beyond what is already stated in the bill text.

Independent Contractor Voluntary Portable Benefits Act

This act establishes a new chapter in Louisiana's laws that allows independent contractors to have portable benefit accounts funded by contributions from hiring parties or the contractors themselves.

What This Bill Does

Creates Chapter 11-B of Title 23 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, which includes R.S. 23:1821 through 1823.
Defines key terms such as 'bank', 'hiring party', and 'portable benefit account'.
Allows contributions to portable benefit accounts from hiring parties or independent contractors by agreement.

Who It Names or Affects

Independent contractors who want portable benefits like health insurance, disability pay, life insurance, and retirement.
Companies or individuals hiring independent contractors.

Terms To Know

Portable benefit account: An account owned by an independent contractor for funding the purchase of one or more benefit plans such as health insurance, disability pay, life insurance, and retirement benefits.
Hiring party: A person or entity that hires an independent contractor who meets the rebuttable presumption standard established in R.S. 23:1711.1.

Limits and Unknowns

The act does not apply to the Louisiana Workers' Compensation Law.
It is unclear how many hiring parties will choose to contribute to these accounts.

Amendments

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

Summary of Senate Amendments to HB301

Filed

Plain English: The amendment excludes the new portable benefits act from being applied to existing workers' compensation laws.

Excludes provisions of the proposed Independent Contractor Voluntary Portable Benefits Act from applying to workers' compensation law.

The exact impact on other employment-related laws and regulations is not specified in this amendment text.

House Committee Amendment #2047 L&IR Adopted

Adopted

Plain English: HCAHB301 4145 2047 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations to Original House Bill No.

HCAHB301 4145 2047 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations to Original House Bill No.
301 by Representative Wyble 1 AMENDMENT NO.
1 2 On page 2, line 6, after "account" and before "administered" change "is" to "shall be" Page 1 of 1 CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored are additions.

House Committee Amendment #1633 L&IR Draft

Draft

Plain English: HCAHB301 4145 1633 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations to Original House Bill No.

HCAHB301 4145 1633 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations to Original House Bill No.
301 by Representative Wyble 1 AMENDMENT NO.
1 2 On page 2, line 6, after "account" and before "administered" change "is" to "shall be" Page 1 of 1 CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored are additions.

House Vote on HB 301 CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENTS (#1223)

Filed

Plain English: 2026 Regular Session Sequence: 1223 HBS AMENDED BY SENATE TO BE CONCURRED IN HB 301 BY WYBLE CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENTS Date: 5/13/2026 Time: 2:13:48 PM ROLL CALL The roll was called with the following result: YEAS Mr.

2026 Regular Session Sequence: 1223 HBS AMENDED BY SENATE TO BE CONCURRED IN HB 301 BY WYBLE CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENTS Date: 5/13/2026 Time: 2:13:48 PM ROLL CALL The roll was called with the following result: YEAS Mr.
Speaker Adams Amedee Bacala Bagley Bamburg Bayham Beaullieu Berault Billings Boudreaux Bourriaque Boyd Boyer Brass Braud Broussard Bryant Butler Carlson Carrier Carter, R.
Carter, W.
Carver Chassion Chenevert Cox Crews Deshotel Dewitt Dickerson Domangue Edmonston Farnum Firment Fisher Fontenot Freiberg Gadberry Galle Geymann Glorioso Green Hebert Henry, C.

Senate Floor Amendment #3105 Luneau Adopted

Adopted

Plain English: SFAHB301 3648 3105 SENATE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Senator Luneau to Engrossed House Bill No.

SFAHB301 3648 3105 SENATE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Senator Luneau to Engrossed House Bill No.
301 by Representative Wyble 1 AMENDMENT NO.
1 2 On page 3, after line 12, insert the following: 3 "D.
The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to the Louisiana Workers' 4 Compensation Law, R.S.

Bill History

2026-05-22 H
Effective date: 08/01/2026.
2026-05-22 H
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 299.
2026-05-19 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-05-18 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-18 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-13 H
Read by title, roll called, yeas 90, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.
2026-05-12 H
Scheduled for concurrence on 05/13/2026.
2026-05-07 H
Received from the Senate with amendments.
2026-05-07 S
Rules suspended. Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 34 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-04-28 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-04-27 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-04-22 S
Reported favorably.
2026-04-08 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
2026-04-07 S
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-04-01 H
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 93, nays 1. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-04-01 H
Called from the calendar.
2026-03-26 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 04/01/2026.
2026-03-26 H
Notice given.
2026-03-26 H
Read by title, returned to the calendar.
2026-03-25 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 03/26/2026.
2026-03-24 H
Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-03-23 H
Reported with amendments (6-5).
2026-03-09 H
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
2026-02-27 H
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
2026-02-24 H
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
2026-02-24 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

LABOR: Creates the Independent Contractor Voluntary Portable Benefits Act

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 301
BY REPRESENTATIVE WYBLE
1 AN ACT
2 To enact Chapter 11-B of Title 23 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to be
3 comprised of R.S. 23:1821 through 1823, relative to voluntary portable benefits for
4 independent contractors; to provide a short title; to provide definitions; to provide
5 for contributions to a portable benefit account; to allow certain persons or entities to
6 contribute funds to a portable benefit account; and to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. Chapter 11-B of Title 23 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950,
9 comprised of R.S. 23:1821 through 1823, is hereby enacted to read as follows:
10 CHAPTER 11-B. INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR VOLUNTARY
11 PORTABLE BENEFITS
12 §1821. Short title
13 This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Independent Contractor
14 Voluntary Portable Benefits Act".
15 §1822. Definitions
16 For the purpose of this Chapter, the following terms have the meanings
17 ascribed to them:
18 (1) "Bank" means a banking corporation or trust company entitled to operate
19 within this state as provided in Title 6 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
20 (2) "Hiring party" means a person or entity that hires or enters into a contract
21 for the performance of work with an independent contractor who meets the
22 rebuttable presumption standard established in R.S. 23:1711.1.
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HB NO. 301 ENROLLED
1 (3) "Portable benefit account" means an account owned by an independent
2 contractor that is assigned to an individual beneficiary and is not associated with a
3 specific employer or hiring party. The account shall be administered by a portable
4 benefit account provider, as defined in this Section, for the purpose of funding the
5 purchase of one or more benefit plans, including but not limited to plans that provide
6 any of the following:
7 (a) Health insurance.
8 (b) Income replacement insurance.
9 (c) Disability pay insurance.
10 (d) Life insurance.
11 (e) Retirement benefits.
12 (4) "Portable benefit account provider" means the administrator of a portable
13 benefit account and includes any of the following:
14 (a) A bank.
15 (b) An investment management firm.
16 (c) A technology provider or program manager that offers services through
17 a bank or investment management firm.
18 §1823. Contributions of funds to portable benefit accounts
19 A. Any person or entity, including an internet- or application-based entity,
20 may contribute funds to one or more portable benefit accounts.
21 B. A contribution to a portable benefit account may be made using the funds
22 of the hiring party or a percentage of funds withheld from compensation owed to an
23 independent contractor if all of the following occur:
24 (1) The withholding of compensation is expressly agreed to in writing by
25 both parties.
26 (2) The written agreement is clear, unambiguous, and prominently displayed
27 either in a services agreement or other contract between the independent contractor
28 and the hiring party or in a separate notice.
29 (3) The withholding of compensation is voluntary and requires an
30 independent contractor to opt in.
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HB NO. 301 ENROLLED
1 (4) The independent contractor is allowed to opt out of the agreement at any
2 time.
3 C. Contributions to a portable benefit account are voluntary and shall not be
4 used as criterion for determining an individual's employment classification. Such
5 contributions are not evidence of employer liability, and a court shall not construe
6 them as an element of an employment relationship for any purpose pursuant to the
7 Louisiana Workers' Compensation Law or Louisiana Employment Security Law.
8 D. The provisions of this Chapter shall not apply to the Louisiana Workers'
9 Compensation Law, R.S. 23:1020 et seq.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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are additions.