2023 Louisiana Legislative Sessions Update

Posted August 18, 2023

In 2023, the Louisiana State Legislature convened into an Extraordinary (Special) Session on Monday, Jan. 30 and adjourned on Friday, Feb. 3. The legislators went into their regularly scheduled session from April 10 until June 8, but were then called back into special session on July 18 and adjourned on the same day.

There were several pieces of legislation passed during the 2023 sessions that are of note.

Insure Louisiana Incentive Program is Created HB1 / HB2 (Special Session) created the framework and funding to attract property insurance carriers back into Louisiana. Following the major hurricanes that the state experienced and record damage claims over the last several years, many property insurers either went under or left the state, leaving Louisiana residents hanging on by a thread with the expensive Louisiana Citizens policies. The legislation sends $45 million to the Department of Insurance with framework to attract new insurance companies and have them underwrite $200 million in premiums.

Sales Tax Collection to Move to a Single Online Remittance Portal HB 558 moves responsibility for the management and supervision of the uniform electronic local return and remittance system from the Department of Revenue to the Louisiana Uniform Local Sales Tax Board and requires the board to design and implement a single remittance system so taxpayers can remit state and local sales and use taxes through a single transaction. For a business operating in all 64 parishes, it would see a reduction from 54 sales tax return transactions to two transactions (a state sales tax submission and a local sales tax submission) on a single portal.

Simplifying the Qualification for Online, Out-Of-State Sales Tax Dealers HB 171 removes the number of transaction limitation that was previously set at 200 transactions for qualification of those out-of-state companies doing online business in Louisiana that must collect and remit sales taxes for online purchases made by residents in Louisiana. Previously, an out-of-state company only had to collect sales taxes if they had 200 transactions in Louisiana AND at least $100,000 in sales. Under the new law, only $100,000 in sales will trigger the qualification.

UTMA (Uniform Transfers to Minors Act) Age of Majority Changed to 22 HB 142 increases the age at which a minor in Louisiana takes control of the custodial account to 22. Beginning Aug. 1, 2023, the majority age is no longer 18. By increasing the Louisiana threshold from 18 to 22, the custodian can spend UTMA funds on post-secondary education, transportation, extracurricular activities, etc. beyond the age of 18, up to the age of 22.

Retirement Systems to Report Boycotting of Energy Companies HCR 70 requests the state treasurer and the state and statewide retirement systems to report on certain investment advisors and companies used by the treasurer and the retirement systems. The request includes reporting any advisor or company that discriminates against the fossil fuel industry through environmental, social, and governance policies, the investment of state and pension plan funds using non-pecuniary factors and the asset allocation of all their investments, prior to Oct. 1, 2023.

State’s Corporate Franchise Tax Phased Out VETOED SB1 phased the state’s corporate franchise tax. The plan was to begin a phase out of the franchise tax on Jan. 1, 2025, and save corporations hundreds of millions of dollars, making Louisiana a more attractive place to do business. The original plan reduced the franchise tax by 25% each year, as long as certain revenue targets are met. However, the measure was vetoed by the governor. There is hope that this measure will once again gain traction in future legislative sessions.

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In 2019, Beau Beaullieu was elected to the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 48. He serves as vice chair of the Ways and Means Committee and sits on the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, Atchafalaya Basin Program Oversight Committee, Joint Legislative Committee on Capital Outlay and House Select Leadership Committee. Beau is vice chair of the Acadiana Delegation and serves on the Louisiana Republican Legislative Delegation and Louisiana Rural Caucus. He is eligible to serve through the 2028 term.

Beau Beaullieu

As a veteran of the retirement plan industry and a partner in CoSource Financial Group, LLC, Beau specializes in the implementation, maintenance, and ongoing service of qualified retirement plans. His main role is to create a comprehensive retirement plan program that meets the fiduciary needs of business owners and their executives, as well as to provide ongoing educational services to their employees. For more than 20 years, Beau has worked with plan sponsors to coordinate appropriate retirement plan design and fiduciary governance protocol. He has improved the retirement readiness of thousands of employees by delivering the fundamentals of retirement planning, asset allocation, and the need for increased savings in a proven manner to employers and their plan participants. Beau is the leader of CoSource’s Fiduciary Task Team, which researches legislative trends that affect the fiduciary obligations of plan sponsors.