HB 661 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

ETHICS/NEPOTISM: Provides an exception for hiring the immediate family member of a school board member or superintendent for certain positions

HB 661 allows Louisiana school boards to hire immediate family members of board members or superintendents as paraprofessionals or custodians, provided the family member meets the standard job requirements for those roles. The bill requires school board members or superintendents with family members in these positions to recuse themselves from decisions about that employee’s promotion or assignment. It directly affects school boards, superintendents, and their immediate family members seeking these specific school support roles. The law modifies existing ethics rules to create this limited exception while maintaining oversight through recusal. This is a policy change to school hiring practices, not a broader legislative action.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

May 2026

Introduced Feb 27, 2026 Signed May 15, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB661 Original → HB661 Act · 3 edits

MINOR

This bill modifies Louisiana's nepotism laws for school boards by adding new exceptions that allow them to hire immediate family members of board members or superintendents as paraprofessionals, custodians, or cafeteria workers. The change matters because it expands the types of positions eligible for these family hiring exceptions, while simultaneously removing a separate exception for custodians that existed under a different legal provision. The bill retains the requirement that the hiring official must recuse themselves from decisions regarding the employee's promotion or assignment.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of eligible positions for family hiring exceptions to include cafeteria workers in addition to paraprofessionals and custodians, and removes a redundant custodian exception from a different statute.

ELIGIBILITY

Added 'cafeteria worker' to the list of positions where a school board may hire an immediate family member of a board member or superintendent.

Removed the existing exception for hiring a custodian found in R.S. 42:1119(B)(2)(a)(v) to prevent redundancy and streamline the law.

REQUIREMENT

Updated the enacted text to explicitly list paraprofessional, custodian, and cafeteria worker as the only positions covered by the family hiring exception.

Floor votes · Senate May 5, 2026 · House Mar 30, 2026

How they voted

36–0

Passed · 4 other

Total votes 40

May 5, 2026

D Democratic12

11 Yea 1

91% Yea

R Republican28

25 Yea 3

89% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 11, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read by title, roll called, yeas 99, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.

lower

May 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 35 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

Apr 20, 2026

Committee

Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

upper

Apr 15, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably.

upper

Mar 30, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 94, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Mar 24, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (12-0).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

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

lower

Feb 27, 2026

Committee

Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors