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ENROLLED
2026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 748
BY REPRESENTATIVES BRAUD AND CHASSION
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 17:157 (A) and (B) and 158(A)(1), relative to toll exemptions
3 on ferries, bridges, and roads for all Louisiana school board-owned or leased
4 vehicles; to provide for the free passage of all Louisiana school board-owned or
5 leased vehicles over all public tolled ferries operated by the state; to provide for the
6 free passage of all Louisiana school board-owned or leased vehicles over all public
7 tolled roads and bridges operated by the state; to provide for technical changes; to
8 provide for an effective date; and to provide for related matters.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 17:157(A) and (B) and 158(A)(1) are hereby amended and reenacted
11 to read as follows:
12 §157. Ferries, roads, and toll bridges; free passage to students; free passage to
13 school board-owned or leased vehicles
14 A. The free right of passage over all public ferries which are leased out or
15 controlled by the state, parish, or municipality, excluding the Greater New Orleans
16 Expressway, for which license is paid or toll exacted, shall provide for free passage
17 of all students in their passage to and from school between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and
18 9:30 a.m., and between 2:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., and any other vehicle owned, or
19 leased, and operated by Louisiana school boards, provided that rules are adopted in
20 accordance with the provisions of Subsection C of this Section.
21 B. The free right of passage over all bridges and roads which are leased out
22 or controlled by the state, parish, or municipality, excluding the Greater New Orleans
23 Expressway, for which license is paid or toll exacted, shall provide for free passage
24 of all students on a school bus, as defined in R.S. 32:1, in their passage to and from
25 school between the hours of 6:00 a.m. and 9:30 a.m., and between 2:30 p.m. and 9:30
26 p.m., and any other vehicle owned, or leased, and operated by Louisiana school
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HB NO. 748 ENROLLED
1 boards, provided that rules are adopted in accordance with the provisions of
2 Subsection C of this Section.
3 * * *
4 §158. School buses for transportation of students; employment of bus operators;
5 alternative means of transportation; improvement of school bus turnarounds;
6 loading and unloading students
7 A.(1) Except as provided by Subsection H of this Section and in accordance
8 with the requirements of Subsection F of this Section, each city, parish, and other
9 local public school board shall provide free transportation for any student attending
10 a school of suitable grade approved by the State Board of Elementary and Secondary
11 Education within the jurisdictional boundaries of the local board if the student
12 resides more than one mile from such school. This requirement shall not apply to any
13 student attending a nonpublic school pursuant to R.S. 17:4011 through 4025
14 R.S.17:4037.1 through 4037.12.
15 * * *
16 Section 2. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
17 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
18 by the governor, as provided in Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
19 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
20 effective on the day following such approval.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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