Louisiana Senate Bill SB513

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/31/26
• Refer: 4/1/26
• Report Pass: 4/22/26
• Engrossed: 5/12/26
• Refer: 5/13/26
• Report Pass: 5/26/26
• Enrolled: 6/1/26

Caption

PUBLIC CONTRACTS: Provides for public works project delivery methods. (8/1/26)

Summary

SB 513 amends Louisiana law governing public works contracts to expand when public airports may use the design-build project delivery method. Under current law, airports may use design-build for certain projects such as air traffic control towers and hangars; this bill broadens that authority to include vertical facilities on airport property, so long as the project is not a passenger terminal at a commercial service airport and is not equipment. The bill specifically identifies examples of covered projects such as education or workforce development facilities, airport air traffic control towers, parking garages, and aircraft hangars. The measure keeps the existing requirement that the airport determine the design-build method is in the public interest and beneficial to the entity, and that the project follow applicable legal procedures. In practical terms, it gives public airports more flexibility in how they procure and deliver construction projects, potentially allowing faster or more integrated planning and construction for airport-related facilities.

Impact

SB 513 amends R.S. 38:2225.2.6(A), a statute in Louisiana’s public works contracting law, by expanding the list of airport projects eligible for design-build procurement. The change affects public airports and the contractors, architects, engineers, and developers who bid on or participate in airport construction projects. It does not broadly rewrite public procurement law, but it does enlarge an existing exception for airports and clarifies that certain vertical facilities on airport property may be delivered through design-build, while excluding passenger terminal facilities at commercial service airports and equipment.

Sentiment

The available record suggests the bill was noncontroversial and received favorable treatment, as reflected by its enactment and final status as Act 917. No committee transcripts or recorded votes are provided, so there is no evidence of significant opposition or debate in the materials supplied. The bill’s purpose appears technical and operational, aimed at giving airports more procurement flexibility rather than advancing a broader policy dispute.

Contention

No specific points of contention are documented in the provided materials. The main policy boundary in the bill is the exclusion of passenger terminal facilities at commercial service airports and equipment, which suggests lawmakers intended to limit the expanded design-build authority to non-terminal vertical facilities. If there were concerns, they would likely have centered on procurement oversight, the scope of airport projects eligible for design-build, or whether the expansion should include terminal construction, but none are reflected in the record provided.