Regular Legislative Session Wrap Up
LOUISIANA REALTORS • June 9, 2020
Louisiana REALTORS® was once again successful in advocating on behalf of the real estate industry and defending the rights of property owners in the 2020 Regular Legislative Session. While the atmosphere was a little different at the Capitol, your advocacy team defeated bills that would have harmed the industry and moved the ball forward with others. Below is a summary a few of the items in which you may be interested. We will provide a final report after the governor’s veto period expires.
The Louisiana Legislature is currently in special session, and Louisiana REALTORS® continues to monitor legislation and advocate on your behalf.
Remote Online Notarization
House Bill No. 274, Representative Garofalo
Status: Sent to the Governor
This bill seeks to authorize the performance of notarial functions remotely using technology. Remote online notarization allows documents to be notarized in an electronic form where the signer uses an electronic signature and appears before the notary using online audio-video technology.
However, this bill would not allow for an “authentic act” to be done by remote means. This is significant to the real estate industry because most transactions with a mortgage are done by authentic act. This is done so the lender can foreclose by executory process. The legal and notary community is not currently comfortable completing these acts by remotely, so authentic acts are excluded from the proposed authorization in this legislation.
If passed, remote online notarization would not be available until February 1, 2022, or until remote online notarization is authorized by federal law (whichever comes first). This could make real estate closings more efficient, and NAR has supported similar efforts since November of 2018.
Lease Eviction Requirements
House Bill No. 388, Representative Mandie Landry
Status: Involuntarily Deferred in the House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure
House Bill No. 388 sought to delay the time in which a landlord can evict a tenant for nonpayment of rent. The proponents of the bill failed to recognize the inherent time delays built into legally evicting a tenant for non-payment. The landlord must first file a rule for possession with the proper court or justice of the peace. The sheriff or constable must then serve the tenant with notice of the rule and then a hearing must be scheduled. None of this happens overnight. This bill would have further delayed a landlord from placing a paying tenant in his or her property. Like tenants, landlords have bills to pay. Any time a landlord does not receive a payment or timely receive a payment there is a ripple effect that may cause the landlord to not be able to pay other bills or to provide for his or her family.
This is exactly the message Louisiana REALTORS® sent to all legislators on the committee. and it resonated. The bill was soundly defeated, with many legislators echoing the reasons above as to why they were against the bill.
Legal Deadlines Affecting Eviction Moratoriums
House Bill No. 805, Representative Thomas Pressly
Status: Sent to the Governor
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Governor Edwards has issued a series of orders suspending prescription and legal deadlines. The suspension of legal deadlines has effectively prevented legal proceedings such as evections for nonpayment of rent from taking place until the suspension is lifted. The current order suspends all legal deadlines including evictions through June 14th, but that is subject to change.
House Bill No. 805 seeks to (1) affirm the Governor’s previous orders; and (2) provide that the suspension of legal deadlines will end July 6th. However, the bill provides that evictions could move forward earlier than July 6th if Governor Edwards does not suspend the laws pertaining to evictions in future orders.
Louisiana REALTORS® has been in communication with Governor Edwards’ office about this issue to ensure that the suspension of legal deadlines pertaining to evictions ends sooner rather than later. As of the date of this posting, non-CARES Act evictions may proceed on June 15th but that is subject to change. We will continue to communicate with Governor Edwards on this issue.
COVID-19 Limitation on Liability
House Bill No. 826, Representative Thomas Pressly
Status: Sent to the Governor
Senate Bill No. 435, Senator Mark Abraham
Status: Sent to the Governor
These bills seek to limit the liability of persons and businesses for injury or death resulting from or related to the actual or the alleged exposure to COVID-19 in the course of the persons’ or business’ operations unless the person or business acted in such a way that was negligent or intentional or not in substantial compliance with applicable governmental COVID-19 procedures.
These bills extend the limitation of liability to the business of real estate including but not limited to agents, brokers, appraisers, and inspectors.
CARES Act Funding for Small Businesses
Senate Bill No. 189, Senator Bodi White
Status: Sent to the Governor
This bill has to do with the money that is part of the $1.8 billion sent to Louisiana through the $2 trillion CARES Act stimulus passed by Congress. Approximately $1 billion of this may be used to plug holes in the state budget once one is finalized. The governor wants the remaining dollars to go to local governments. The legislature wants to take some of the remaining dollars to go to local governments and to small businesses, including real estate-related businesses.
If this bill becomes law, SB No. 189 takes $300 million and puts it in the Main Street Recovery Fund in the State Treasurer’s office to allocate grants for small businesses with 50 or fewer employees. The theory is that local governments will make up the money in sales taxes, etc. if more small businesses survive, and then there will not be a need for a direct bailout for them.
The bill provides for minority-owned businesses and those who have not received other federal programs like the PPP to have access first, then the fund would be open to all Louisiana based small business owners.
Omnibus Premium Reduction Act of 2020
Senate Bill No. 418, Senator Kirk Talbot
Status: Sent to the Governor
This is what has been referred to as the Omnibus Premium Reduction Act of 2020. The goal of legislation is to reduce the cost of auto insurance by bringing Louisiana’s legal structure in line with the rest of the country.
This is significant because in a 2019 survey where more than 800 realtors responded, you told us that keeping up with technology is your first concern, and a close second was fear of litigation. This bill, if it becomes law, would transform the Louisiana civil legal structure, and reduce the chances of your being a defendant in a tort lawsuit by doing the following:
- The jury trial threshold for tort actions would be $10,000 instead of $50,000. A higher jury threshold allows attorneys to “shop” for a more favorable judge for a plaintiff’s case.
- The jury trial threshold for all other actions would be $35,000. This would allow for anything less than $35,000 to be heard by a judge, thereby ensuring that these matters can be handled in a timely manner. Louisiana REALTORS® helped business interests and courts in reaching this agreement.
- A person would have two years to bring a claim after an auto accident instead of one year. This would give parties time to work out a settlement instead of running to the courthouse to preserve their claim.
- When a plaintiff's medical expenses have been paid by a health insurance company or Medicare, his recovery of medical expenses is limited to the amount actually paid to the health care provider by the insurer or Medicare, and not the amount billed. However, there was a last-minute amendment that muddied the waters on this and could potentially provide a windfall to plaintiffs. If signed or allowed to become law, legislators seek to fix this in the special session.
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Week seven of the 2026 Regular Session was one of the most active weeks yet for legislation affecting the real estate industry. Louisiana REALTORS® remained heavily engaged as lawmakers advanced bills dealing with property disclosures, appraiser liability, rent regulation, insurance, blight, redevelopment and other issues that directly affect real estate professionals, property owners and consumers across the state. One of the most important bills this week was HB 1166 by Rep. Kim Carver , which would require disclosures for vacant residential property. The bill was reported from House Commerce with amendments on a 14-0 vote and then amended on the House floor, ordered engrossed, and passed to third reading. Louisiana REALTORS® testified on the bill in committee and worked closely with the author to better posture the legislation. Amendments advanced by our team were accepted by the author, helping improve the bill while preserving a practical disclosure framework that increases transparency without creating unnecessary confusion in the transaction process. Another closely watched issue this week was consumer-fee disclosure legislation. HB 617 by Rep. Mandie Landry moved this week, advancing from House Commerce and then the House floor, while HB 580 , another hidden-fee disclosure bill touching real estate transactions, remains pending. Louisiana REALTORS® is opposed to these measures in their current form to the extent they apply to real estate professionals because they are not well-tailored to the realities of real estate transactions, where many costs are negotiated, variable or controlled by third parties. Louisiana REALTORS® testified in opposition to the bills we oppose and is actively working with the author to better posture the legislation and remove real estate professionals from its scope altogether. On HB 472 by Rep. Alonzo Knox , the rent stabilization bill, the author is expected to try to bring the measure back before the committee next week with amendments. Even so, Louisiana REALTORS® remain opposed to the bill on principle. Price gouging is already illegal under existing law, and government-imposed rent regulation is not the right answer to housing affordability challenges. Louisiana REALTORS® testified in opposition to the bill and continues to oppose the measure because policies like this risk discouraging investment, reducing housing supply, and creating further market distortions rather than solving the underlying problem. HB 468 by Rep. Troy Hebert , which regulates the wholesale of residential real property, remains pending in the Senate Commerce Committee and continues to be an important bill for the industry. Likewise, HB 1027 by Rep. Troy Hebert , dealing with appraiser liability, had a strong week, passing the House 90-0 and moving to the Senate. Both measures are significant because they promote greater clarity, consumer protection and confidence in the real estate marketplace. Blight and redevelopment issues also remained active. HB 284 by Rep. John Wyble , which would allow certain local governments to expropriate blighted property through a declaration-of-taking process, remains subject to call and continues to raise serious concerns about private property rights. By contrast, HB 214 and HB 217 by Rep. Chance Henry , which create tax incentives for the rehabilitation of blighted property, represent a more constructive redevelopment approach by encouraging reinvestment rather than expanding government taking authority. Insurance legislation also remained a major focus this week, with multiple bills heard that could affect homeownership costs, market stability and post-storm recovery. Measures dealing with Louisiana Citizens assessments, pre-suit insurance claim review, the Fortified Homes Program and insurance market transparency all carry real implications for affordability and transaction viability. In Louisiana, insurance remains one of the most important issues affecting the real estate market, and Louisiana REALTORS® continues to closely track that legislation. Taken together, week seven showed that Louisiana REALTORS® remains actively engaged where it matters most: supporting practical transaction standards, protecting private property rights, testifying for and against legislation when necessary, pushing back on unworkable regulation and rent-control-style policies, and advancing policies that strengthen housing opportunity and market stability across Louisiana. Please view the weekly bill tracking report provided by our lobbying team over at Harris, DeVille and Associates.
NAR is pleased to share the latest consumer guide helping buyers navigate shifting interest rates. The one-page guide covers how lenders set rates, the impact of small shifts on monthly payments and strategies to get the lowest rate possible. As a reminder, all guides in this series are available for download—in both English and Spanish—on facts.realtor . Please allow up to two weeks for the Spanish version of the latest resource to be translated and uploaded. For ease of reference, below is a list of the most recent guides: NEW: Navigating Interest Rate Shifts Financing a Renovation When You Buy Staging Your House for a Sale Spotting Deepfake Scams in Real Estate Are You Ready to Invest in Real Estate? Thank you for your continued engagement with the “Consumer Guide” series and for sharing the resources with prospective clients to ensure they have the information they need to find success in their home buying or selling journey. Remember that these guides are for informational purposes only and are not meant to enact or change any existing NAR policy. Be on the lookout for the next consumer guide, which looks at how solar installations may impact home sales transactions.
