HB697 • 2026

SUNSET LAW: Re-creates the Department of Environmental Quality

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Brett Geymann
Last action: 2026-05-11
Official status: Signed by the Governor - Act 83
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source does not provide specific details on what happens if the department is re-created before July 1, 2031.

Re-creating the Department of Environmental Quality

This act re-establishes and continues the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality until July 1, 2031.

What This Bill Does

Creates a new law that brings back the Department of Environmental Quality on June 30, 2026.
Sets a date for when the department will end its operations and lose all legal authority: July 1, 2031.

Who It Names or Affects

The Department of Environmental Quality in Louisiana
Statutory entities that are part of the Department of Environmental Quality

Terms To Know

Department of Environmental Quality: A government agency responsible for protecting and improving the environment.
Statutory entities: Organizations or agencies created by laws passed by the legislature.

Limits and Unknowns

The act does not specify what happens if the department is re-created before July 1, 2031.
It's unclear how existing environmental regulations will be affected after June 30, 2026.

Bill History

2026-05-11 H
Effective date: 06/30/2026.
2026-05-11 H
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 83.
2026-05-05 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-05-04 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-04-29 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-04-28 H
Received from the Senate without amendments.
2026-04-27 S
Read by title, passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-04-20 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-04-15 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-04-14 S
Rules suspended. Reported favorably.
2026-03-31 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Environmental Quality.
2026-03-30 S
Received in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-03-30 H
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 96, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-03-26 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 03/30/2026.
2026-03-25 H
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-03-24 H
Reported favorably (15-0).
2026-03-09 H
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Environment.
2026-02-27 H
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
2026-02-27 H
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Environment.
2026-02-27 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

SUNSET LAW: Re-creates the Department of Environmental Quality

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 832026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 697
BY REPRESENTATIVE GEYMANN
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 49:191(3)(b) and to repeal R.S. 49:191(1)(j), relative to the Department of
3 Environmental Quality, including provisions to provide for the re-creation of the
4 Department of Environmental Quality and the statutory entities made a part of the
5 department by law; to provide for the effective termination date for all statutory
6 authority for the existence of such statutory entities; and to provide for related
7 matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. Pursuant to R.S. 49:193, the Department of Environmental Quality and
10 the statutory entities made a part of the department by law shall be re-created effective June
11 30, 2026, and all statutory authority therefore is continued in accordance with the provisions
12 of Part XII of Chapter 1 of Title 49 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
13 Section 2. All statutory authority for the existence of the Department of
14 Environmental Quality and the statutory entities made a part of the department as re-created
15 by Section 1 of this Act shall cease as of July 1, 2031, pursuant to R.S. 49:191. However,
16 the Department of Environmental Quality may be re-created prior to such date in accordance
17 with the provisions of Part XII of Chapter 1 of Title 49 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of
18 1950.
19 Section 3. The provisions of R.S. 49:193 are hereby superseded to the extent that
20 those provisions are in conflict with the provisions of this Act.
21 Section 4. R.S. 49:191(3)(b) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
Page 1 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 697 ENROLLED
1 §191. Termination of legislative authority for existence of statutory entities; phase-
2 out period for statutory entities; table of dates
3 Notwithstanding any termination dates set by any previous Act of the
4 legislature, the statutory entities set forth in this Section shall begin to terminate their
5 operations on July first of each of the following years, and all legislative authority
6 for the existence of any statutory entity, as defined in R.S. 49:190, shall cease as of
7 July first of the following year, which shall be the termination date:
8 * * *
9 (3) July 1, 2030:
10 * * *
11 (b) The Department of Environmental Quality and all statutory entities made
12 a part of the department by law.
13 * * *
14 Section 5. R.S. 49:191(1)(j) is hereby repealed in its entirety.
15 Section 6. This Act shall become effective on June 30, 2026; if vetoed by the
16 governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become effective on
17 June 30, 2026, or on the day following such approval by the legislature, whichever is later.
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.