Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Legislation Votes topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Senate approves a string of bills on third reading; unanimous votes recorded on multiple measures
Summary
The Louisiana Senate passed a series of bills on final passage April 22, 2025 — including measures on court jurisdiction, drone restrictions, assault protections, retail theft, community college bonds, legislative continuances, drug-test strip exemptions, and nitrous oxide rules — with recorded unanimous votes on each roll call.
The Louisiana State Senate unanimously approved a series of bills on final passage during its April 22, 2025 session, recording roll-call tallies on at least a dozen items ranging from local governance to public-safety provisions.
The measures that received recorded final passage included Senate Bill 5 (raising a city court jurisdictional limit), Senate Bill 9 (prohibiting drone flights over military installations), Senate Bill 21 (extending assault-and-battery protections to veterinary staff), Senate Bill 38 (creating the theft of gift cards offense), Senate Bill 72 (bond financing for the Louisiana Community and Technical College System), Senate Bill 75 (reenacting legislative continuance protections), Senate Bill 78 (expanding permitted test strips), Senate Bill 98 (tightening nitrous-oxide controls), and a set of local finance and port-related bills (including Senate Bills 116, 118, 144, 146 and 147). Each roll call shown in the transcript produced either 36–0 or 37–0 tallies in favor.
Why it matters: Together, these votes enact a mix of statewide public-safety, procedural, and local economic measures. Several votes modify criminal definitions or protections for workers; others authorize local bond capacity or administrative reciprocity that will affect municipal or port operations.
Votes at a glance (bill — presenter — final tally — outcome) - Senate Bill 5 (Senator Wheat) — 36 yeas, 0 nays — approved. The bill raises the civil-jurisdiction amount for the Hammond city court from $30,000 to $50,000. - Senate Bill 9 (Senator Bass) — 36 yeas, 0 nays — approved. Adds federal and state military installations and other critical sites to areas where unmanned aircraft systems are prohibited. - Senate Bill 21 (Senator Wheat) — 36 yeas, 0 nays — approved. Adds veterinarians and veterinary clinics to the definition of health-care professionals/facilities for purposes of certain assault-and-battery protections. - Senate Bill 38 (Senator Henskins) — 36 yeas, 0 nays — approved. Creates a theft offense tied to gift cards or gift-card redemption information; replaces current valuation approach with the card’s loaded value. - Senate Bill 72 (Senator Reese) — 37 yeas, 0 nays — approved. Allows continued issuance of bonds for capital projects within the Louisiana Community and Technical College System and permits donated property to count toward required local match. - Senate Bill 75 (Senator Miller) — 37 yeas, 0 nays — approved. Reenacts a legislative-continuance statute previously enacted in the 2024 extraordinary session; an amendment clarified application to the Louisiana Supreme Court. - Senate Bill 78 (Senator Myers) — 37 yeas, 0 nays — approved. Removes certain testing equipment (test strips intended to detect controlled substances or life‑threatening chemicals) from the statutory definition of “drug paraphernalia,” following floor amendments. - Senate Bill 98 (Senator Myers) — 37 yeas, 0 nays — approved. Tightens restrictions on nitrous oxide sales and use, raises penalties for misuse, and narrows certain commercial exceptions after amendments for restaurants and other industries. - Senate Bill 116 (Senator Kleinpeter) — 37 yeas, 0 nays — approved. (Local notary reciprocity measure; technical amendments adopted.) - Senate Bill 118 (Senator Foyle) — 37 yeas, 0 nays — approved. (ABLE account tax treatment; provides state tax treatment for certain ABLE account deposits.) - Senate Bill 144 (Senator Wilmack) — 37 yeas, 0 nays — approved. (Local finance — Vidalia Port Commission bond limit adjustment.) - Senate Bill 146 (Senator Andrews) — 36 yeas, 0 nays — approved. (Lake Providence Port Commission; authority to acquire rail outside port district.) - Senate Bill 147 (Senator Jackson Andrews) — 37 yeas, 0 nays — approved. (Tensas Parish Port/Harbor/Terminal District bonding limits and obligations.)
Context and process notes: Several bills were advanced out of committee earlier in the session with committee amendments and then taken up on third reading for final passage. Where amendments were offered on the floor, the Senate adopted technical or substantive amendments prior to each final vote. The transcript records the teller and machine counts for each roll call shown above.
Next steps: Bills that passed on final passage will be transmitted to the House (if applicable) or sent to the governor as required by legislative process. Some measures are local in scope and apply only to the named parishes or authorities; others change statewide criminal or administrative law.
