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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana Authorizes Private Contracts for Ferry Operations and Exempts Them from Standard Bidding Laws
Last action · May 27, 2026: Effective date: 05/27/2026.Sponsor: Jacob Braud
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What This Bill Does
Louisiana empowers the Department of Transportation and Development to enter into contracts for building, running, and maintaining state ferry systems, allowing these agreements to use cost-plus payment structures and exempting them from certain standard public contract laws when deemed in the state's best interest.
Changes how public ferry services are procured and operated by permitting flexible contracting methods that bypass traditional competitive bidding statutes for specific projects.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Department of Transportation and Development
Gains new authority to enter into joint or private contracts for ferry services and utilize cost-plus contracting.
Public ferry users
Subject to ferry and transfer charges set by the department to cover service costs.
Key Facts
- The Department of Transportation and Development is authorized to enter into contracts for the construction, operation, and maintenance of ferries and related facilities.
- Ferry contracts may be let on a cost-plus basis if the department determines it is in the best interest of the state.
- Certain ferry operation and maintenance contracts are exempt from the provisions of R.S. 38:2221 or R.S. 48:255.4.
- The department may prescribe and collect ferry or transfer charges to maintain services at rates reasonably anticipated to generate revenue not exceeding service costs.
Show all 6 facts
- Contracts can be entered into in the name of the state, alone or jointly with parishes, municipalities, other states, or political subdivisions of other states.
- The Act became effective upon signature by the governor on May 27, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who has the authority to contract out ferry operations under this law?
Can ferry contracts use a cost-plus payment structure?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
20 actions- May 27, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 415.
- May 27, 2026HouseEffective date: 05/27/2026.
- May 25, 2026HouseEnrolledEnrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
- May 25, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate without amendments.
- May 22, 2026HouseSent to the Governor for executive approval.
- May 21, 2026SenateEnrolledSigned by the President of the Senate.
Show 14 earlier actions
- May 20, 2026SenateFloorRules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 35 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
- May 13, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- May 12, 2026SenateIntroducedRead by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- May 11, 2026SenateCommitteeReported favorably.
- Apr 21, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.
- Apr 20, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 84, nays 8. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Apr 20, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Apr 15, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/20/2026.
- Apr 14, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseCommitteeReported favorably (12-0).
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.
- Feb 27, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Voting Record
Favorably
Total
12
- Yes
- 12
- No
- 0
- Present
- 0
- Not voting
- 0
- Abstain
- 0
Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Exemption from Standard Public Works Procurement
The measure explicitly waives specific existing state statutes (R.S. 38:2221 and R.S. 48:255.4) to facilitate alternative contracting for ferry systems.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance45How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz10Current news / social attention level
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