SB 8 Louisiana Senate · 2025 Regular Session

CIVIL SERVICE: Constitutional amendment to provide for persons in the unclassified service and for appointment of persons on the State Civil Service Commission. (2/3 - CA13s1(A))

This constitutional amendment changes Louisiana's civil service rules by preventing the State Civil Service Commission from removing certain appointed employees without new legislation. It specifically affects employees in the Governor's Office of Homeland Security, railroad workers regulated under federal law, and other positions added by the legislature. The key provision requires that any removal of these employees must be authorized by a new law passed by the legislature, rather than by commission action. The amendment must be approved by voters in a 2026 election to take effect.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2025

Committee Review

Jun 2025

Senate Passage

Jun 2025

House Passage

Jun 2025

Signed into Law

Jun 2025

Introduced Mar 11, 2025 Signed Jun 16, 2025

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB8 Original → SB8 Act · 3 edits

MINOR

The bill was enrolled as Act No. 223, adding Representative Chassion as a co-sponsor and updating the header to reflect its status as an enrolled act. The core legislative text regarding the civil service amendment remains substantively unchanged, though the page count was reduced from six to three pages. A critical procedural change was added to the resolution, specifying that the constitutional amendment will be submitted to voters on April 18, 2026, contingent on the effectiveness of a related House bill, with a backup date of November 3, 2026 if that condition is not met.

Scope change

The scope of the civil service amendment itself remains unchanged; however, the procedural timeline for voter submission was explicitly defined in the resolution section.

TIMELINE

Added specific election dates (April 18, 2026, or November 3, 2026) and a contingency clause linking the election to the effectiveness of House Bill No. 625.

SCOPE

Added Representative Chassion as a co-sponsor alongside Senator Morris.

TECHNICAL

Updated document headers to reflect the bill's status as 'ENROLLED ACT No. 223' and reduced the total page count from six to three.

Floor votes · Senate May 14, 2025 · House Jun 9, 2025

How they voted

27–8

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 38

May 14, 2025

D Democratic11

8 Nay 3

72% Nay

R Republican27

27 Yea

100% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

Jun 11, 2025

Upper · Passed

Amendments proposed by the House read and concurred in by a vote of 28 yeas and 9 nays.

upper

Jun 9, 2025

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 70, nays 28. The bill, having received two-thirds vote of the elected members, was finally passed, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Jun 3, 2025

Introduced

Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments.

lower

Jun 2, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported with amendments (12-0). Referred to the Legislative Bureau.

lower

May 29, 2025

Committee

Read by title, amended, recommitted to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.

lower

May 28, 2025

Lower · Passed

Reported with amendments (9-4). To be recommitted to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.

lower

May 19, 2025

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.

lower

May 14, 2025

Upper · Passed

Read by title, passed by a vote of 28 yeas and 8 nays, and sent to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

Apr 30, 2025

Upper · Passed

Reported with amendments.

upper

Apr 14, 2025

Committee

Introduced in the Senate; read by title. Rules suspended. Read second time and referred to the Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs.

upper

1 primary · 1 co-sponsor