INSURANCE: Creates the Paid Family Leave Insurance Act
HB 591 proposes creating a new "Paid Family Leave Insurance Act" in Louisiana, allowing insurers to offer voluntary wage replacement coverage for employees taking time off for specific family reasons. The bill would enable employers or employees to purchase insurance policies covering up to 12 weeks of paid leave annually for qualifying events like a new child’s birth/adoption, caring for a family member with a serious health condition, or addressing military-related exigencies. Key provisions require policies to specify minimum benefit amounts (at least two weeks of coverage within 52 weeks), define eligibility, and detail how benefits are calculated based on wages. This legislation, currently pending in the Louisiana legislature, would establish a state-regulated insurance framework but does not mandate employer coverage or create a state-run program.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
May 2026
House Passage
May 2026
Senate Passage
May 2026
Signed into Law
Jun 2026
Introduced Feb 26, 2026
Signed Jun 8, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons
What changed between versions
HB591 Original
→
HB591 Act 817
·
3 edits
MINOR
The bill was enrolled and amended to add Representative Chassion as a sponsor. The text includes formatting corrections to remove duplicate words and reorganize the definitions of 'Family leave insurance' and 'Family member' to align with federal standards. A new eligibility criterion was added to cover care for a family service member injured in the line of duty.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains focused on creating a paid family leave insurance program in Louisiana, but the eligibility criteria were expanded to include specific protections for injured service members.
ELIGIBILITY
Added eligibility for leave to care for a family service member who was injured in the line of duty.
DEFINITION
Reorganized and clarified the definitions for 'Family leave insurance' and 'Family member' to ensure consistency with federal law.
TECHNICAL
Corrected text errors, removed duplicate words, and updated the bill header to reflect the enrolled status and additional sponsor.
Floor votes · Senate May 26, 2026 · House Apr 8, 2026
How they voted
36–0
Passed · 4 other
Total votes 40
May 26, 2026
D
Democratic12
83% Yea
R
Republican28
92% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
22
Key actions
5
Committee
5
May 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read by title, roll called, yeas 93, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.
lower
May 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Rules suspended. The amended bill was read by title, passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
upper
May 21, 2026
Committee
Committee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
upper
May 20, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported with amendments.
upper
Apr 8, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 95, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
lower
Mar 31, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported with amendments (14-0).
lower
Mar 9, 2026
Committee
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Insurance.
lower
Feb 26, 2026
Committee
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Insurance.
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor
Sponsors
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