HB 996 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

CAMPAIGN FINANCE DISCLOS: Provides for the use of campaign funds for clothing required for holding office

This bill allows campaign funds to be used for clothing required to hold a public office in Louisiana, such as uniforms, belts, and shoes, without those expenses being automatically treated as personal use. It creates specific exceptions to the rule that normally prohibits using campaign money for personal clothing, permitting these costs if they are necessary for official duties or related fundraising events. The law also covers expenses for cleaning and maintaining such required clothing. Candidates and their committees must still demonstrate that these expenditures were not for personal use unless they fall under the new exceptions. This change affects state candidates and elected officials by clarifying when campaign funds can legally cover wardrobe needs tied to their official roles.
Bill status in committee 1 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2026
Committee Review
Floor Vote
Governor
Introduced Mar 23, 2026 Last action Apr 14, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 1 comparison

What changed between versions

HB996 Original → HB996 Engrossed · 3 edits
MINOR
The bill was amended to restrict its benefits exclusively to members of the state legislature, removing its application to other candidates or elected officials. Additionally, a new annual spending cap of $2,500 was introduced for clothing and related maintenance expenses that are not presumed to be for personal use.
Scope change
The bill's applicability was narrowed from all candidates and elected officials to only members of the Louisiana legislature.
ELIGIBILITY

Restriction added to limit the law's benefits specifically to state legislators, excluding other candidates and officeholders.

The definition of eligible expenses was expanded to include specialized apparel for fundraising events and maintenance costs for legislators' clothing.

FISCAL

A new limit of $2,500 per calendar year was established for allowable clothing and maintenance expenditures.

Floor votes

How they voted

No floor votes recorded yet.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
6
Key actions
1
Committee
2
Apr 8, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported with amendments (11-2).
lower
Mar 24, 2026
Committee
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on House and Governmental Affairs.
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Jason DeWitt
Jason DeWitt
RRepublican
LA
25