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HB 944LOUISIANASession 2026State BillSigned into law

Enacted

Louisiana creates the Women's Health Consortium within the Department of Health

Original title: HEALTH SERVICES: Creates the Louisiana Women's Health Consortium (EN NO IMPACT See Note)

Last action · June 9, 2026: Effective date: 06/09/2026.Sponsors: Stephanie Hilferty and 20 others

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

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What This Bill Does

Louisiana establishes the advisory Women's Health Consortium within the Louisiana Department of Health to evaluate women's health issues, medical training, and funding needs through June 30, 2027.

Why it matters

The measure sets up a multi-agency state body to study systemic healthcare barriers and research priorities for women, requiring a comprehensive report before the 2027 legislative session without creating new funding or mandatory policy adoption.

Background

The Louisiana Legislature regularly establishes temporary or advisory task forces and consortiums to address specialized public health priorities within state agencies. 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

Louisiana Department of Health

Serves as the host agency, records custodian, and recipient of the consortium's Interagency Women's Health Agenda and recommendations.

Directly affected

Consortium Members

Participate in advisory meetings, develop policy recommendations, and serve without compensation from the department.

Key Facts

Establishes the Women's Health Consortium within the Louisiana Department of Health, office on women's health and community health.
Specifies that consortium membership includes the surgeon general, medical examiners, researchers from Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Tulane School of Medicine, legislative appointees, and agency heads.
Requires the consortium to develop the Funding Priority Program for Women's Health Initiatives and an Interagency Women's Health Agenda.
Focuses attention on specific health issues including perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause.

Show all 7 facts

Mandates that the consortium submit a written report summarizing its activities, findings, and recommendations prior to the convening of the 2027 Regular Session.
Sets the domicile of the consortium in East Baton Rouge Parish and establishes that members serve without compensation from the Department of Health.
Provides that the provisions of the act terminate on June 30, 2027, unless extended by the legislature.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the primary purpose of the Women's Health Consortium?

The consortium is established to study women's health issues across the lifespan, identify systemic healthcare barriers, develop an Interagency Women's Health Agenda, and create a funding priority program for women's health initiatives.

Who serves as members of the consortium?

Members include the surgeon general, the executive director of the State Board of Medical Examiners, representatives from Pennington Biomedical Research Center and Tulane School of Medicine, legislative appointees, healthcare agency leaders, and appointed health professionals such as rural nurse practitioners and epidemiologists.

Does the consortium have the authority to bind state agencies to new contracts or spending?

No, the act explicitly states that the consortium serves solely in an advisory capacity and its recommendations do not obligate agencies to enter into contracts, create new positions, or spend funds without separate legislative appropriation and agency approval.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

Current status: Signed into law.

Procedural history

30 actions

Jun 9, 2026HouseEnrolled
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 855.
Jun 9, 2026House
Effective date: 06/09/2026.
Jun 4, 2026House
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
Jun 1, 2026HouseEnrolled
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
Jun 1, 2026SenateEnrolled
Signed by the President of the Senate on 6/2/2026.
May 31, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read by title, returned to the calendar.

Show 24 earlier actions

May 31, 2026House
Called from the calendar.
May 31, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read by title, roll called, yeas 96, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.
May 29, 2026SenateFloor
Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 37 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
May 29, 2026House
Received from the Senate with amendments.
May 29, 2026House
Scheduled for concurrence on 05/31/2026.
May 28, 2026Senate
Rules suspended. Recalled from Committee.
May 28, 2026SenateIntroduced
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
May 28, 2026SenateFloor
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
May 25, 2026SenateIntroduced
Read by title. Recommitted to the Committee on Finance.
May 21, 2026SenateCommittee
Reported favorably.
May 20, 2026Senate
Rules suspended. Recalled from Committee.
May 20, 2026SenateIntroduced
Read by title. Recommitted to the Committee on Education.
May 18, 2026SenateCommittee
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.
May 14, 2026Senate
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
May 13, 2026HouseFloor
Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 87, nays 3. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
May 12, 2026HouseFloor
Read by title, ordered reengrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
May 12, 2026House
Scheduled for floor debate on 05/13/2026.
May 11, 2026HouseCommittee
Reported favorably (14-0).
Apr 7, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, recommitted to the Committee on Appropriations.
Apr 1, 2026House
Reported with amendments (11-0).
Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.
Feb 27, 2026House
Prefiled.
Feb 27, 2026HouseCommittee
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Health and Welfare.
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.

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 Specialized Women's Health Coordination

The state is formally establishing a multi-institutional advisory framework specifically targeting conditions such as perimenopause, menopause, and postmenopause.

Louisiana Department of Health Pennington Biomedical Research Center Tulane School of Medicine

Connected Entities

Louisiana House of Representatives, Louisiana Works, Tulane School of Medicine and 13 more

OrganizationLouisiana House of Representatives“Appoints a member to the consortium and receives its final report”Map →

OrganizationLouisiana Works“Has its secretary or designee serve on the consortium”Map →

OrganizationTulane School of Medicine“Appoints a member to the consortium”Map →

OrganizationOur Lady of the Lake Health“Consulted by the consortium as an interested party”Map →

OrganizationLouisiana Hospital Association“Consulted by the consortium as an interested party”Map →

OrganizationLouisiana Association of Health Plans“Consulted by the consortium as an interested party”Map →

OrganizationLouisiana Senate“Appoints a member to the consortium and receives its final report”Map →

OrganizationBaton Rouge General Medical Center“Consulted by the consortium as an interested party”Map →

OrganizationLouisiana Department of Health“Houses the newly established Women's Health Consortium”Map →

OrganizationUniversity of Louisiana at Monroe College of Pharmacy“Consulted by the consortium as an interested party”Map →

OrganizationXavier University of Louisiana College of Pharmacy“Consulted by the consortium as an interested party”Map →

locationEast Baton Rouge Parish“Serves as the domicile of the consortium”Map →

OrganizationWoman's Hospital of Baton Rouge“Consulted by the consortium as an interested party”Map →

OrganizationPennington Biomedical Research Center“Appoints a member to the consortium”Map →

OrganizationOchsner Health System“Consulted by the consortium as an interested party”Map →

OrganizationDavid R. Poynter Legislative Research Library“Receives the written report from the consortium”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.legis.la.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance45
How much this matters to a regular citizen
Controversy10
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz25
Current news / social attention level

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