LouisianaLouisiana law sets port project match rates and funding standards
Port authorities must promise a local share before state-funded work begins, while state officials must set project standards and funding limits by rule.
What it does
Port authorities must match state support for approved port projects: 10 percent for standard projects and, if lawmakers add program money, 20 percent for large projects.
The Office of Multimodal Commerce must set, by rule, the standards projects must meet and the maximum state funding for each project type and port.
The joint committee must hold hearings on ranked projects and review each annual program; lawmakers cannot add projects when the final program is presented for funding.
Argument forDifferent match rates for standard and large projects could help port authorities plan their share of construction costs.
Argument againstThe local match could put added pressure on port authority budgets, especially when a large project requires a 20 percent match.
More detail
Port authorities must provide a local match for state-funded port projects. The match applies to port authorities involved in projects on the approved priority list that receive state funds. A standard project requires a 10 percent match. A large project requires a 20 percent match only if the legislature allocates additional Transportation Trust Fund money to the program. Before work begins, the department must require the port authority’s presiding officer to sign an agreement promising the required match.
The Office of Multimodal Commerce must set project standards and state funding limits by rule. These standards and funding limits apply to large and standard projects in the port priority program. Rules must set cost, benefit, and return requirements for large projects, and benefit and return requirements for standard projects. Rules must also set maximum state support for each project type and maximum yearly funding for each port. The text gives no deadline for issuing these rules.
The joint committee must hold public hearings on ranked project lists and review the final annual programs. The text covers the port construction and waterway dredging and deepening priority programs. The final program must reflect expected legislative funding or other funding authority, and lawmakers may not add projects when the program is presented for funding. Official notice for the annual program hearing begins July 1, 2027.
Where do you stand?
Choose your position
Tell your reps
Take a position to see your representatives and ways to contact them.
Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed House
- Passed Senate
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Jun 9Signed by the Governor Jeff Landry. Becomes Act No. 836.Became Law
- Jun 9Effective date: 08/01/2026.
- Jun 4Sent to the Governor for executive approval.To Governor
- Jun 1Rules suspended.
- Vote recorded CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENTS (#1831). Result: pass.Lower
- Jun 1Read by title, roll called, yeas 94, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.
- Jun 1Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.Minor
- Jun 1Signed by the President of the Senate.
- May 31Notice Senate discharged the Conference Committee.
- May 29Discharged from Conference Committee.
- May 29Notice the House discharged the Conference Committee.
- May 28House conferees appointed: Bourriaque, Fontenot, and Martinez.
- May 28Notice House Conference Committee members appointed.
- May 27Read by title, roll called, yeas 100, nays 0, Senate amendments rejected, conference committee appointment pending.
- Vote recorded REJECT SENATE AMENDMENTS (#1610). Result: pass.Lower
- May 27Notice House rejected the Senate amendments.
- May 26Scheduled for concurrence on 05/27/2026.
- May 25Received from the Senate with amendments.Minor
- May 20Rules suspended. Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 35 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.Passed Senate
- Vote recorded FINAL PASSAGE (#1079). Result: pass.Upper
- May 13Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.Minor
- May 12Committee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- May 11Reported with amendments.Minor
- Apr 8Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.Minor
- Apr 7Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 98, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.Passed House
- Vote recorded FINAL PASSAGE (#319). Result: pass.Lower
- Apr 7Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.Minor
- Apr 1Scheduled for floor debate on 04/07/2026.
- Mar 31Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.Minor
- Mar 30Reported with amendments (15-0).Minor
- Mar 9Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.Minor
- Feb 27Prefiled.Minor
- Feb 27Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.Minor
- Feb 27First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.Introduced
Transportation