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HB 953LOUISIANASession 2026State BillSigned into law
Enacted

Louisiana dissolves State Plumbing Board and transfers regulatory authority to the State Licensing Board for Contractors

Original title: PLUMBERS: Provides relative to plumbing licenses

Last action · June 12, 2026: Effective date: See Act.Sponsor: Bryan Fontenot

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓
Introduced
Committee
Floor Vote
Passed
Law

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What This Bill Does

Louisiana abolishes the State Plumbing Board on January 1, 2027, transferring all its powers, duties, employees, and assets to the State Licensing Board for Contractors. The legislation creates an eleven-member Plumbing Contractors Subcommittee, establishes updated licensing requirements for apprentice, journeyman, and master plumbers, and mandates a report on minority workforce recruitment by April 12, 2027.

Why it matters

Plumbers and plumbing contractors statewide must now obtain licenses and deal with regulatory oversight through a consolidated state contracting board instead of a specialized standalone agency.

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

Plumbers and Plumbing Contractors

Plumbers and contractors must obtain licenses from and submit to regulatory oversight by the State Licensing Board for Contractors rather than the former State Plumbing Board.

Directly affected

State Licensing Board for Contractors

The board assumes all regulatory powers, duties, assets, employees, and obligations previously held by the State Plumbing Board.

Directly affected

State Plumbing Board

The board is entirely abolished, and its functions are transferred to the State Licensing Board for Contractors.

Key Facts

  • Abolishes the State Plumbing Board on January 1, 2027, and transfers all its powers, duties, funds, records, and employees to the State Licensing Board for Contractors.
  • Establishes an eleven-member Plumbing Contractors Subcommittee within the State Licensing Board for Contractors to oversee plumbing rules, licenses, and enforcement.
  • Grants existing apprentice, journeyman, and master plumbers licensed on or before December 31, 2026, equivalent licenses under the new board on January 1, 2027.
  • Requires apprentice plumbers to register and verify employment semi-annually, journeyman applicants to complete 2,500 hours of verified work plus examinations, and master plumber applicants to complete 1,000 hours as a journeyman plus a written exam.
Show all 6 facts
  • Mandates that the Plumbing Contractors Subcommittee consult with educational boards to survey minority participation in plumbing and submit a report to legislative committees no later than April 12, 2027.
  • Provides that violators of the chapter face civil fines of up to 10 percent of the total contract or work value, plus administrative costs and attorney fees after notice and a hearing.

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens to my current plumbing license when this law takes effect?
Any person licensed as an apprentice, journeyman, or master plumber by the State Plumbing Board on or before December 31, 2026, will automatically hold the equivalent license under the State Licensing Board for Contractors on January 1, 2027.
Who is responsible for regulating plumbers under the new law?
The State Licensing Board for Contractors assumes regulatory authority, operating through a newly established Plumbing Contractors Subcommittee.
What are the experience requirements to become a journeyman plumber?
Applicants for a journeyman plumber license must complete 2,500 hours of verified work as an apprentice plumber and pass both a written examination and a practical administration.

What else do you want to know?

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Votes, people, money & the original source

Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

55 actions
  1. Jun 12, 2026HouseEnrolled
    Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 908.
  2. Jun 12, 2026House
    Effective date: See Act.
  3. Jun 4, 2026House
    Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
  4. Jun 1, 2026House
    House conferees appointed: Fontenot, Deshotel, and Jacob Landry.
  5. Jun 1, 2026Senate
    Notice House Conference Committee members appointed.
  6. Jun 1, 2026Senate
    The Senate recommitted the report to the Conference Committee.
Show 49 earlier actions
  1. Jun 1, 2026House
    Conference Committee report received.
  2. Jun 1, 2026House
    Rules suspended.
  3. Jun 1, 2026HouseFloor
    Conference Committee Report read, roll called, yeas 96, nays 2. The Conference Committee Report was adopted.
  4. Jun 1, 2026SenateFloor
    Notice House adopted the Conference Committee Report.
  5. Jun 1, 2026House
    Notice Senate recommitted the report to the Conference Committee.
  6. Jun 1, 2026SenateFloor
    Conference Committee Report read; adopted by a vote of 22 yeas and 14 nays.
  7. Jun 1, 2026House
    Notice of Senate adoption of Conference Committee Report.
  8. Jun 1, 2026HouseEnrolled
    Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
  9. Jun 1, 2026SenateEnrolled
    Signed by the President of the Senate on 6/2/2026.
  10. May 31, 2026House
    Discharged from Conference Committee.
  11. May 31, 2026Senate
    Notice the House discharged the Conference Committee.
  12. May 31, 2026House
    The House recommitted the bill to Conference Committee.
  13. May 31, 2026House
    Notice Senate discharged the Conference Committee.
  14. May 31, 2026Senate
    Notice House recommitted the report to the Conference Committee.
  15. May 29, 2026House
    Conference Committee report received. Lies over under the rules.
  16. May 29, 2026House
    Rules suspended.
  17. May 29, 2026HouseFloor
    Conference Committee Report read, roll called, yeas 94, nays 3. The Conference Committee Report was adopted.
  18. May 29, 2026Senate
    Conference committee report received.
  19. May 29, 2026SenateFloor
    Notice House adopted the Conference Committee Report.
  20. May 27, 2026House
    House conferees appointed: Fontenot, Deshotel, and Jacob Landry.
  21. May 27, 2026Senate
    Notice House Conference Committee members appointed.
  22. May 26, 2026HouseIntroduced
    Read by title, roll called, yeas 99, nays 0. The Senate amendments, not having received two-thirds vote of the elected members, were rejected. Conference committee appointment pending.
  23. May 26, 2026Senate
    Notice House rejected the Senate amendments.
  24. May 26, 2026Senate
    Senate conference committee members appointed: Abraham, Mizell, and Price.
  25. May 26, 2026House
    Notice of Senate conferees appointed.
  26. May 25, 2026House
    Scheduled for concurrence on 05/26/2026.
  27. May 19, 2026House
    Received from the Senate with amendments.
  28. May 18, 2026SenateFloor
    Rules suspended. The amended bill was read by title, passed by a vote of 34 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
  29. May 11, 2026SenateFloor
    Reported with Legislative Bureau amendments which were read and adopted. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
  30. May 7, 2026SenateFloor
    Committee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
  31. May 6, 2026Senate
    Reported with amendments.
  32. Apr 14, 2026SenateCommittee
    Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs.
  33. Apr 13, 2026Senate
    Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
  34. Apr 9, 2026House
    Called from the calendar.
  35. Apr 9, 2026HouseFloor
    Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 83, nays 4. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
  36. Apr 8, 2026House
    Called from the calendar.
  37. Apr 8, 2026HouseIntroduced
    Read by title, returned to the calendar.
  38. Apr 8, 2026House
    Notice given.
  39. Apr 8, 2026House
    Scheduled for floor debate on 04/09/2026.
  40. Mar 26, 2026HouseIntroduced
    Read by title, returned to the calendar.
  41. Mar 26, 2026House
    Notice given.
  42. Mar 26, 2026House
    Scheduled for floor debate on 04/08/2026.
  43. Mar 25, 2026House
    Scheduled for floor debate on 03/26/2026.
  44. Mar 24, 2026HouseFloor
    Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
  45. Mar 23, 2026House
    Reported with amendments (14-0).
  46. Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroduced
    Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Commerce.
  47. Feb 27, 2026House
    Prefiled.
  48. Feb 27, 2026HouseCommittee
    Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Commerce.
  49. Feb 27, 2026House
    First 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.

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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

Bryan FontenotHouse · District 55RepublicanPrimary sponsor

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.

policy shift95% confidence

Consolidation of Occupational Licensing Boards

The state is systematically folding specialized regulatory bodies into broader umbrella agencies like the State Licensing Board for Contractors.

State Plumbing BoardState Licensing Board for Contractors

Connected Entities

State Plumbing Board, Louisiana Associated General Contractors, Louisiana Community and Technology College System and 11 more
OrganizationState Plumbing Board“Abolished plumbing regulatory board”Map →
OrganizationLouisiana Associated General Contractors“Association appointing a member to the plumbing subcommittee”Map →
OrganizationLouisiana Community and Technology College System“Consulted for vocational and minority recruitment efforts”Map →
OrganizationHouse Committee on Commerce“Recipient of the minority recruitment report”Map →
OrganizationState Licensing Board for Contractors“Board absorbing the duties of the State Plumbing Board”Map →
OrganizationPlumbing-Heating-Cooling Contractors Association of Louisiana“Association submitting nominations for board and subcommittee members”Map →
OrganizationLouisiana Home Builders Association“Association appointing a member to the plumbing subcommittee”Map →
PersonBryan Fontenot“Representative who authored House Bill No. 953”Map →
OrganizationBoard of Elementary and Secondary Education“Consulted for minority recruitment survey efforts”Map →
OrganizationLouisiana State Law Institute“Directed to make technical statutory changes”Map →
OrganizationSenate Committee on Commerce, Consumer Protection and International Affairs“Recipient of the minority recruitment report”Map →
OrganizationLouisiana Pipe Trades Association“Association submitting nominations for board and subcommittee members”Map →
OrganizationAssociated Builders and Contractors of Louisiana“Association appointing a member to the plumbing subcommittee”Map →
OrganizationPlumbing Contractors Subcommittee“New subcommittee created within the State Licensing Board for Contractors”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.legis.la.gov

Analysis Score

0–100
  • Significance85
    How much this matters to a regular citizen
  • Controversy35
    Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
  • Entertainment5
    Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
  • Buzz25
    Current news / social attention level

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