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Louisiana / State / 2026 Regular Session, HB 450

Act 160 Added 180 days of service as an alternative route to fire and police hiring preference

Needs reviewEnactedScope changed

2026 Regular Session, HB 450Takes effect

Expands benefits Adds 180 days of service as a route to the fire and police hiring preference, which had required wartime service.

Before the amendment the five-point preference reached service "during times of war." The act adds "or for one hundred eighty days or more" as an alternative, so a peacetime veteran with six months of service who previously got nothing now gets the points. The Department of Veterans Affairs release described it as setting a 180-day minimum requirement, which reads as a new hurdle and has the effect backwards.

Progress

Path to law: Bill in a two-chamber legislature

  1. Introduced Done, Prefiled
  2. In committee Done, House Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs
  3. Passed one chamber Done, House, 89-0
  4. Passed both chambers Done, Senate, 35-0
  5. Signed by the governor Done, Act 160
  6. In effect Done,

Sponsors

  • Timothy P. KernerSponsor, Republican, House, District 84
  • Regina Ashford BarrowCo-sponsor, Party and district not on the record
  • Gary CarterCo-sponsor, Party and district not on the record
  • Patrick ConnickCo-sponsor, Party and district not on the record
  • Rick EdmondsCo-sponsor, Party and district not on the record
  • Cameron HenryCo-sponsor, Party and district not on the record
  • Katrina Jackson-AndrewsCo-sponsor, Party and district not on the record
  • Samuel JenkinsCo-sponsor, Party and district not on the record
  • Caleb KleinpeterCo-sponsor, Party and district not on the record
  • Ed PriceCo-sponsor, Party and district not on the record
  • Jeremy StineCo-sponsor, Party and district not on the record
  • William "Bill" Wheat, Jr.Co-sponsor, Party and district not on the record

What it touches

  • La. R.S. 33:2491(E)
  • La. R.S. 33:2551(5)

Catalog entry

Official record

Read Act 160 on the jurisdiction's own record