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Regents summarize 2025 legislative session: UNO transfer, hazing rules, deferred maintenance and education policy among wins
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Summary
Board staff and Regents reviewed bills from the 2025 session that affect higher education, including funding for UNO's debt, creation of hazing prevention requirements and a task force, deferred‑maintenance reforms, and several scholarship and workforce alignment laws.
Board staff gave the Board of Regents an overview of priority bills from the 2025 Louisiana legislative session, highlighting items that passed, measures now pending on the governor’s desk, and new task forces assigned to the board.
Bree (last name not specified in transcript), director for legislative affairs at the Regents, walked members through major items. She said Senate Bill 202 (authored by Senator Harris) transferring the University of New Orleans (UNO) to the LSU system was on the governor’s desk; the Legislature included $20 million designated for UNO debt payments and $3 million for deferred maintenance tied to the transfer. Bree said the $20 million is restricted for those UNO debt payments and cannot be moved within the LSU system.
The session also produced a cluster of campus‑policing and student‑safety measures. Representative Hughes’ HCR 37 establishes a hazing prevention task force staffed by the Board of Regents and charged to convene by Aug. 1; Representative Boyd’s HB 279 requires two hours of anti‑hazing training for student organizations. Regents staff said the board will develop a two‑hour training resource for student organizations.
Deferred maintenance and procurement reforms were another focus. Representative Turner’s act to expand job order contracting (Act 88) was described as a “huge win,” allowing institutions to hire on‑call contractors to complete small, recurring repair projects under pre‑negotiated prices to speed work and reduce procurement time. Bree also noted Act 152 (HB 161) aligning financial aid for career technical programs and HB 109 (Go Teach) changing the Go Teach scholarship from last‑dollar to first‑dollar status.
Other session outcomes flagged by staff included: a new TOPS excellence tier pending on the governor’s desk (HB 77), retirement plan changes affecting optional retirement plan participation (Act 47), creation of a career alignment task force (SCR 38), a NIL (name, image, likeness) task force (HR 15), and a consolidation of health workforce task forces (HB 544 pending). Staff also highlighted actions that affect HBCU advisory council membership, dual‑enrollment membership changes, and LCTCS bond authorization.
Regents asked for follow‑up detail on UNO’s auditing and possible additional funding once audits are complete. Bree and other staff said the Legislature funded audits for UNO; if the audits indicate additional needs, lawmakers expect to revisit funding.
