House moves to advance two election bills; suspension votes recorded for SB1 and SB2

The Louisiana House of Representatives on Oct. 27, 2025, moved to advance two election-related bills that were recently reported from committee, voting to suspend the normal rules so the measures could be considered the same day they were reported.

Representative Beaulieu moved to suspend the rules to advance Senate Bill 1. Representative Jordan objected, prompting a roll-call on the suspension. The clerk closed the voting machine and announced, as recorded in the transcript, "We have 71 yays, 22 yays," and stated the motion carried. The transcript text is internally inconsistent on the clerk's phrasing; the clerk’s announcement is the recorded evidence of the vote count and carries the motion to suspend the rules for SB1.

After the suspension motion, Chairman Boyer had Senate Bill 1 read by title. The bill, attributed in the transcript to Senator Klein Peter, is described in the record as proposing changes to provisions in Title 18 concerning the conduct of elections, including dates for spring elections and qualifying, nominating petitions for spring elections, campaign finance disclosure and filing deadlines for 2026, and certain authorizations for the Secretary of State. The transcript notes the bill "was reported from house and government affairs favorably, reported from the bureau without amendments." Chairman Boyer then moved to pass the bill to third reading; the transcript records an objection to that motion and does not record a final disposition of the pass-to-third-reading motion in the provided excerpt.

Representative Beaulieu also moved to suspend the rules to advance Senate Bill 2; the motion was approved "without objection" in the transcript. Senate Bill 2, likewise attributed to Senator Klein Peter, is described in the record as amending and reenacting various sections of prior acts to provide for designating statewide elections to submit proposed constitutional amendments and to establish a special statewide election on May 16, 2026, for that purpose. The transcript records that the bill "was reported from House of Criminal Affairs favorably from the bureau without amendments." Chairman Boyer moved to pass SB2 to third reading; an objection was recorded and the House took a brief standing-at-ease recess. The transcript does not show the final outcome of the motion to advance SB2 to third reading within the provided excerpt.

The transcript evidence for these actions comes from the committee report read into the record and from the series of suspension motions and roll-call announcements recorded on the floor. Where the transcript is inconsistent or does not record a final disposition, this article notes those gaps rather than inferring outcomes.

What the measures would do, as described on the floor: - Senate Bill 1 is described in the transcript as addressing Title 18 provisions related to conducting elections, including spring election dates and qualifying, nominating petitions, campaign-finance disclosure, and filing deadlines tied to 2026, and also references certain Secretary of State authorities. - Senate Bill 2 is described in the transcript as changing dates and procedures to designate a special statewide election on May 16, 2026, to submit proposed constitutional amendments to the electors and to set related conduct rules for that election.

Formal motions and vote records related to these items are summarized in the meeting actions array attached to this article. The transcript excerpt provided here does not include committee reports' underlying text, full bill text, or any subsequent floor action (such as final passage) beyond the motions and recorded suspension votes described above.