Louisiana Senate Bill SB47

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/12/26
• Refer: 2/12/26
• Refer: 3/9/26
• Report Pass: 3/18/26
• Engrossed: 3/25/26
• Refer: 3/26/26
• Report Pass: 4/23/26
• Enrolled: 5/19/26
• Chaptered: 6/1/26
• Passed: 6/1/26

Caption

PUBLIC RECORDS: Requires certain email and telephone contact information for individual members of a board and commission. (8/1/26) (EN NO IMPACT See Note)

Summary

SB 47 requires certain public-facing websites for Louisiana boards, commissions, and similar entities to list more detailed contact information for members. Under the bill, the website must include contact information such as the name and phone number of at least two contacts, a mailing address, and an email address for each member if applicable, along with a website address and a phone number for the board or commission. The chairman is designated as the emergency point of contact, and the bill clarifies that no public funds are required to provide a phone to an individual member. The bill also creates a specific exception for parish boards of election supervisors. For those entities, individual member email addresses are not required, and the listed phone number and website must instead be the Department of State elections hotline number and website. Section 2 of the act, which amends the Official Journal posting requirements in R.S. 43:82, becomes effective July 1, 2027.

Impact

SB 47 amends two Louisiana statutes governing website disclosure requirements for boards and commissions: R.S. 49:1302(D) and R.S. 43:82(5). It expands the categories of contact information that must be posted online for covered entities, while preserving an exception for parish boards of election supervisors and making clear that the law does not obligate agencies to spend public funds to furnish phones to members. The bill also aligns the Official Journal posting statute with the updated disclosure rules and delays the effective date of that section until July 1, 2027.

Sentiment

The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the Senate 38-0, the House 86-0, and Senate concurrence 35-0, indicating unanimous approval in both chambers. The final status shows it became law without the Governor's signature as Act 592, and the caption notes no fiscal impact, suggesting the measure was viewed as a straightforward transparency and administrative update rather than a major policy change.

Contention

There is little evidence of substantive opposition in the available record, and no committee transcript excerpts were provided. The only notable policy nuance is the balance between transparency and practicality: the bill requires more direct contact information for board and commission members, but it also limits the burden by stating that public funds need not be used to provide phones and by exempting parish boards of election supervisors from the individual email requirement. Those provisions suggest the main concern was administrative feasibility rather than disagreement over the transparency goal.