Labor Policy Wins

Louisiana’s working families are impacted by many different types of policies, and not all of them are directly related to labor regulations. Fixing the same problems that everyone faces, like excessive fines and fees, over-aggressive public-sector debt collection practices, unnecessary driver’s license suspensions, inefficient government agencies, and difficulty expunging criminal records of minor crimes that might limit job opportunities, can benefit all Louisianans, and especially our working families. 

• House Bill 544 (2024) by Rep. Delisha Boyd

• Require more transparency and accountability at the New Orleans Regional Transit Authority (RTA)

• Increase worker and rider voice and power in RTA governance

• Partner organization: Louisiana AFL-CIO

• House Bill 683 (2024) by Rep. Chuck Owen

• Reform debt creation and collection practices at the Louisiana Office of Motor Vehicles (OMV)

• Partner organization: Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana 

• House Bill 954 (2024) by Rep. Shaun Mena

• Remove the vague, undefined term “moral turpitude” from the list of reasons someone can be denied an occupational license

• Partner organization: Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana

• House Bill 89 (2023) by Rep. Denise Marcelle

  • Require the Louisiana State Police to collect and publish traffic stop data 

• House Bill 286 (2023) by Rep. Delisha Boyd

• Make it easier and cheaper for people with first-time convictions for simple marijuana possession to expunge those arrests from their records 

• Partner organizations: Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana, Marijuana Policy Project

• House Bill 447 (2023) by Rep. Vincent Pierre 

• Require agencies that refer debt to ODR to provide more data/transparency 

• Partner Organizations: Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana 

• House Bill 129 (2022) by Rep. Richard Nelson 

  • Creates a 180-day grace period when someone misses a court date before the Office of Motor Vehicles can suspend their driver’s license, allowing them time to rectify their legal situation without automatically losing driving privileges.

  • Partner organizations: Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana, Louisiana Appleseed

• House Bill 639 (2022) by Rep. Thomas Pressly 

  • Allows people with criminal records to ask an occupational licensing board if their record disqualifies them from obtaining a license before they begin their educational and/or licensure process, provides for individual consideration of applicants, and sets up a framework that licensing boards can use to determine if a person’s conviction is related to the profession in which they are seeking a license. 

  • Partner organizations: Right on Crime, Pelican Institute, Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana, Louisiana Budget Project, Americans for Prosperity–Louisiana

• House Bill 726 (2022) by Rep. Rodney Lyons 

  • Outlaws debt-based incarceration, aka debtors’ prisons, in Louisiana. 

  • Partner organizations: Justice & Accountability Center of Louisiana, Southern Poverty Law Center 

• House Bill 988 (2022) by Rep. Mandie Landry 

  • Establishes workplace protections for certain state workers who have medical marijuana recommendations. 

  • Partner Organization: Marijuana Policy Project

• House Bill 568 (2023) by Rep. Tammy Phelps

• Create a 5-day grace period the first time someone’s auto insurance lapses before they are assessed OMV fines 

• House Bill 553 (2022) by Rep. Scott McKnight 

  • Reduces barriers people with criminal records face when trying to find work in the medical marijuana industry.