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HB 615LOUISIANASession 2026State Billdead

Did Not Advance

Louisiana House Bill 615 requires certain state and local public bodies to live-stream and archive public meetings

Original title: PUBLIC MEETINGS: Requires certain public meetings to be broadcast live (RE INCREASE SG EX See Note)

Last action · April 28, 2026: Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs.Sponsors: Mike Johnson and 1 other

Bill progressHistory & official text ↓

Introduced

Committee

Floor Vote

Passed

Law

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What This Bill Proposed

Certain nonelected tax-levying boards, state rule-making boards, state fee-imposing boards, and local parish and municipal governing bodies must broadcast their public proceedings live and archive the video online for at least two years. Written meeting notices must include viewing instructions for the public. The live broadcast mandate excludes volunteer-run committees and closed s, and exempts bodies in smaller municipalities and parishes.

Why it matters

Residents gain real-time digital access and two-year archival viewing for proceedings of specific local and state governing bodies, while affected public agencies must provide broadcast links on meeting notices and maintain video storage.

Who It Would Have Affected

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

Directly affected

State and local public bodies

Qualifying state boards, tax-levying commissions, parish authorities, school boards, and municipal councils must implement live video broadcasting equipment, update meeting notices with viewing links, and maintain online video archives for two years.

Directly affected

General public and residents

Residents gain real-time digital access to public proceedings and can review archived meeting videos online for a minimum of two years.

Key Facts

You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which local bodies are required to broadcast their meetings live?

Parish governing authorities and school boards in parishes with 25,000 or more residents, and municipal governing authorities in cities with 10,000 or more residents, must broadcast their proceedings live.

How long must public bodies keep the video recordings online?

Qualifying public bodies must maintain video recordings of their meetings in an online archive on their website or on a social media platform for at least two years.

What happens if a technical failure prevents a public body from broadcasting a meeting?

The bill explicitly states that a failure to broadcast live due to a technological failure beyond the control of the public body or beyond its ability to resolve timely is not a violation of the law.

What else do you want to know?

News Coverage

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Where This Stands

This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · passed the House · in Senate committee.

Procedural history

14 actions

Apr 28, 2026SenateCommittee
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs.
Apr 27, 2026Senate
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
Apr 22, 2026House
Called from the calendar.
Apr 22, 2026HouseFloor
Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 97, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
Apr 15, 2026House
Notice given.
Apr 15, 2026House
Scheduled for floor debate on 04/22/2026.

Show 8 earlier actions

Apr 9, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read by title, returned to the calendar.
Apr 8, 2026House
Scheduled for floor debate on 04/09/2026.
Apr 7, 2026HouseFloor
Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
Apr 1, 2026House
Reported with amendments (13-0).
Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroduced
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.
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 House and Governmental Affairs.

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

Mandatory Digital Access for Local and State Boards

The bill shifts public meeting rules from discretionary recording allowances to strict live-streaming and long-term archiving obligations for specified local authorities and state rule-making boards.

Mike Johnson Alonzo Knox

Connected Entities

Alonzo Knox, Administrative Procedure Act, Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs and 1 more

PersonAlonzo Knox“Representative who co-sponsored House Bill 615”Map →

otherAdministrative Procedure Act“Statutory framework governing state board rulemaking”Map →

OrganizationCommittee on Senate and Governmental Affairs“Senate committee currently reviewing the bill”Map →

PersonMike Johnson“Representative who authored House Bill 615”Map →

Sources

Open source document

www.legis.la.gov

Analysis Score

0–100

Significance20
Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 60)
Controversy15
Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
Entertainment5
Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
Buzz35
Current news / social attention level

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