Louisiana extends financial benefits to surviving spouses of reserve law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty

Original title: LAW ENFORCE/OFFICERS: Extends surviving spouse benefits for a reserve officer killed in the line of duty (EN +$250,000 GF EX See Note)

Last action · June 2, 2026: Effective date: 08/01/2026.Sponsors: Debbie Villio and 30 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.

Public stanceCommunity reactions are separate from the official record and reporting.

What This Bill Does

Louisiana law now guarantees surviving spouses and children of commissioned, reserve, or auxiliary law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty are eligible for financial security payments if the death occurs while traveling to or from an emergency, a public safety response, or their authorized work area in an agency vehicle.

Why it matters

Qualifying surviving spouses and children of reserve or auxiliary officers newly become eligible for state financial security payments when a fatal incident occurs during specific transit or emergency response conditions, carrying an estimated state general fund expenditure impact of $250,000.

Background

House Bill 12 was introduced during the 2026 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature and signed into law as Act 608 by the Governor. context

Who It Affects

Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.

Directly affected

reserve and auxiliary law enforcement officers

Their surviving spouses and children become explicitly eligible for financial security payments if the officer is killed while traveling to emergencies or commuting in agency vehicles.

Directly affected

surviving spouse or child of a law enforcement officer

They gain entitlement to statutory line-of-duty death benefit payments under expanded service and travel conditions.

Key Facts

Act 608 amends R.S. 40:1665.2(F) to extend survival benefits to reserve and auxiliary law enforcement officers.
Surviving spouses or children of commissioned reserve or auxiliary officers killed in the line of duty are entitled to payments provided in Paragraph (C)(1) of the statute.
Eligibility applies if the officer was traveling to or from a public safety emergency or responding to a public safety, health, or welfare assistance request.
Eligibility also applies if the officer was traveling between their residence and authorized work area using an employing agency's law enforcement vehicle.

Show all 6 facts

The measure carries an estimated state general fund expenditure increase of $250,000.
The designated effective date for the statutory change is August 1, 2026.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is newly covered under the updated surviving spouse benefit law?

Commissioned, reserve, and auxiliary law enforcement officers certified by the are covered if killed under qualifying transit or emergency response conditions.

What travel conditions qualify a reserve officer's family for benefits under this Act?

Qualifying travel includes journeying to or from a public safety emergency, responding to a public safety assistance request, or traveling between home and an authorized work area in an official law enforcement vehicle.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

No news coverage found yet. Articles are indexed twice daily.

Follow the record

Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

20 actions

Jun 2, 2026HouseEnrolled
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 608.
Jun 2, 2026House
Effective date: 08/01/2026.
May 27, 2026SenateEnrolled
Signed by the President of the Senate.
May 27, 2026House
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
May 26, 2026House
Received from the Senate without amendments.
May 26, 2026HouseEnrolled
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.

Show 14 earlier actions

May 25, 2026SenateFloor
Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 38 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
May 20, 2026SenateFloor
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
May 19, 2026SenateIntroduced
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
May 18, 2026SenateCommittee
Reported favorably.
Apr 28, 2026SenateCommittee
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Finance.
Apr 27, 2026HouseFloor
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 102, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
Apr 27, 2026Senate
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
Apr 23, 2026House
Scheduled for floor debate on 04/27/2026.
Apr 22, 2026HouseFloor
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
Apr 21, 2026HouseCommittee
Reported favorably (15-0).
Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Appropriations.
Jan 23, 2026House
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 1/23/2026.
Jan 16, 2026House
Prefiled.
Jan 16, 2026HouseCommittee
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Appropriations.

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 →