House suspends 72‑hour late‑bill rule, setting new deadline; adopts several resolutions without objection

The Louisiana House of Representatives on April 16 suspended House Rule 7.683(b), which provides a 72‑hour deadline for requesting late introduction of bills, moving the late‑introduction deadline to Monday, April 21 at 6 p.m. The motion to suspend the rule was made by Representative Beaulieu and was adopted without objection.

The change shortens an administrative barrier for members who wished to file late introduction requests immediately after the Easter weekend; the rule ordinarily establishes a three‑day advance deadline for such requests. House leaders said the suspension was intended to shift the deadline that otherwise fell on Easter Sunday to the following Monday at a specified time.

During the same floor period the House also acted on messages from the Senate and adopted multiple resolutions honoring individuals and institutions. The clerk read a message from the Senate that it had concurred in HCRs 5, 6, 10, 12 and 14; on other Senate concurrent resolutions the House moved to concur and, where recorded in the transcript, concurrence motions were adopted without objection. The House adopted several House resolutions by suspension of the rules and without objection, including HR 31 (to commend Mary Mother E. Dupree), HR 32 (to commend Jack and Jill of America Inc.), HR 33 (to recognize America 250 Louisiana celebrations), HR 34 (to designate April 22 as Funeral Director Day at the State Capitol), and HR 35 (to designate April 22 as Southern University Day at the State Capitol).

Committee chairs reported a large set of committee actions and bills to the floor. Committees reporting included Criminal Justice, Education, Health and Welfare, House and Governmental Affairs, Natural Resources, Insurance, Transportation, Ways and Means and others. Examples read into the record by committee chairs and clerks included: HB 247 (expropriation of blighted property), HB 296 (sale/use tax distribution for certain events), HB 637 and HB 638 (conversion fees for large‑scale solar development assigned to different agencies), HB 639 (online sports wagering tax and special fund), and numerous bills reported favorably or with amendments across subject areas. The transcript records committee reporting actions and referral decisions but no roll‑call final passage votes on the bills listed during this floor period.

Representative Thompson moved that the House adjourn to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday; that motion was adopted without objection, and the House recessed at the close of the session.

Votes at a glance

- Suspension of House Rule 7.683(b) (late bill‑introduction deadline): Motion by Representative Beaulieu; adopted without objection; new late‑intro deadline set for Monday, April 21 at 6 p.m. (72‑hour deadline had fallen on Easter Sunday). - Concurrence motions on Senate concurrent resolutions (SCR 7 and SCRs 3–6 as read into the record): Movers included Representatives Freiburg, Coats, Wilder, Coates, and Carrier as noted in the transcript; concurrence motions recorded as adopted without objection where indicated. - Adoption of House resolutions (HR 31, HR 32, HR 33, HR 34, HR 35): Movers included Representatives Walters, LaFleur, Beham, Riser and Carpenter as noted; each adopted without objection. - Adjournment motion: Moved by Representative Thompson; adopted without objection (House adjourned to 5:00 p.m. Tuesday).

What the record shows and what it does not

The transcript records the motions, messages from the Senate, committee reports and unanimous or 'without objection' adoptions of ceremonial resolutions and procedural suspensions. It does not record roll‑call votes on substantive bills on third reading during this floor session. Several bills were read into the record as reported by committees (see body above); those committee reports were submitted for floor consideration or referral as recorded, but no final passage tallies for those bills appear in the provided transcript excerpt.

Looking ahead

House committee meetings were announced for the week following the session, including Appropriations, Civil Law, Commerce, Transportation and Ways and Means; the House will reconvene at the time set in the adjournment motion.