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HB 549LOUISIANASession 2026State BillSigned into law

Enacted

Louisiana creates Bayou Growth Opportunity Workforce Program for employer training awards

Original title: WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT: Creates the Bayou Growth Opportunity Workforce Program (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF RV See Note)

Last action · June 8, 2026: Effective date: 06/08/2026.Sponsor: Stephanie Berault

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Does

Louisiana establishes the Bayou Growth Opportunity Workforce Program to provide competitive workforce training awards of up to $2,000 per employee to qualified employers, funded through a newly created state treasury special fund.

Why it matters

Local businesses can secure state-backed funding for employee skill development, talent enhancement, and leadership training capped at $2,000 per qualified worker, while the state enforces strict reporting rules and spending prohibitions.

Background

State workforce development funds are regularly created by legislatures to enhance regional economic competitiveness and support employer-driven training partnerships with community and technical colleges. 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

Qualified employers

Qualified employers can apply for and receive competitive training awards to fund workforce development and employee skill training.

Directly affected

Louisiana Works

The department is tasked with operating the program, developing evaluation criteria, coordinating with workforce development boards, and submitting annual legislative reports.

Key Facts

Creates the Bayou Growth Opportunity Workforce Fund in the state treasury to receive donations, grants, and legislative appropriations for program awards and administration.
Caps program award expenditures at no more than $2,000 per qualified employee or apprentice.
Prohibits awardees from spending program funds on equipment, licensing fees, curriculum development, employee travel costs, online training subscriptions, or offsetting tuition reimbursement.
Requires training plans to last no longer than six months, conclude within a year of award approval, be conducted by a qualified training provider, exclude basic training, and result in a transferable industry-recognized credential.

Show all 6 facts

Mandates that the department submit an annual written report by March 1st of each year to specified legislative committees detailing funding, applications, awardees, and employment outcomes.
Requires evaluation criteria under R.S. 23:1863(E) to be completed and posted no later than July 1, 2028.

Frequently Asked Questions

What expenses are covered by the program awards?

Awards may be used for the actual cost of classroom training including instructor costs and instructional materials, the actual cost of on-the-job training including wage reimbursement, and other costs determined relevant by the department.

Who is eligible to receive training under this program?

Qualified employees who are U.S. citizens or authorized to work, employed when training begins, work primarily in Louisiana, have applicable taxes paid by the employer, and are determined by the department to be permanent, full-time employees.

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

26 actions

Jun 8, 2026HouseEnrolled
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 811.
Jun 8, 2026House
Effective date: 06/08/2026.
Jun 1, 2026SenateEnrolled
Signed by the President of the Senate.
Jun 1, 2026House
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
May 31, 2026HouseEnrolled
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
May 29, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read by title, roll called, yeas 95, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.

Show 20 earlier actions

May 27, 2026House
Scheduled for concurrence on 05/29/2026.
May 26, 2026SenateFloor
Rules suspended. Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 34 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
May 26, 2026House
Received from the Senate with amendments.
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 29, 2026SenateCommittee
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
Apr 28, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read by title, returned to the calendar.
Apr 28, 2026House
Called from the calendar.
Apr 28, 2026HouseFloor
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 91, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
Apr 28, 2026Senate
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
Apr 23, 2026HouseFloor
Read by title, amended, ordered reengrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
Apr 23, 2026House
Scheduled for floor debate on 04/28/2026.
Apr 22, 2026House
Reported with amendments (19-0).
Apr 13, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, recommitted to the Committee on Appropriations.
Apr 9, 2026House
Reported with amendments (10-0). To be recommitted to the Committee on Appropriations.
Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.
Feb 27, 2026House
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
Feb 26, 2026House
Prefiled.
Feb 26, 2026HouseCommittee
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Labor and Industrial Relations.

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 →

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.

Discoveries

1 pattern noticed across the record

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

policy shift95% confidence

Establishment of Dedicated Training Fund

The legislation establishes a specialized state treasury fund dedicated specifically to workforce training awards administered through Louisiana Works and local workforce boards.

Bayou Growth Opportunity Workforce Fund Louisiana Works

Connected Entities

House Committee on Appropriations, Louisiana Works, Senate Committee on Finance and 1 more

OrganizationHouse Committee on Appropriations“Legislative committee receiving the annual report.”Map →

OrganizationLouisiana Works“State department responsible for operating the workforce program and administeri”Map →

OrganizationSenate Committee on Finance“Legislative committee receiving the annual report.”Map →

OrganizationBayou Growth Opportunity Workforce Fund“Special fund established in the state treasury to support the program.”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.legis.la.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance65
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy10
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz30
Current news / social attention level

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