(The Center Square) — Louisiana’s 2026 legislative session was defined less by one sweeping package than by a few major fights over political power, workforce needs and the structure of New Orleans’ justice system.
The highest-profile issue was redistricting, which has spread well beyond Louisiana.
Lawmakers approved a new congressional map through Senate Bill 121, now Act 2, after months of uncertainty over Louisiana’s House districts. The new map reduces the state from two majority-Black congressional districts to one and is expected to improve Republican chances of winning five of Louisiana’s six U.S. House seats.
The Legislature heard hours and hours of testimony against the new map. Witnesses came from all over the state to implore the Republican-controlled legislature to keep two majority-Black districts.
State legislatures have broad redistricting authority, but maps can still be challenged if they unlawfully dilute voters’ power or rely too heavily on race without justification. Sen. Gerald Boudreaux, D-Lafayette, admmited in a recent panel hosted by the Public Affairs Research Council that “if the tables were turned” his party would have and has done the same thing.
Workforce development was another central theme.
Lawmakers advanced a series of measures aimed at better connecting schools, colleges and training programs with the jobs state leaders say are coming from new investments.
The workforce bills did several different things: expanded TOPS-Tech so more students can qualify through dual enrollment credits and, in some cases, part-time enrollment; pushed career and technical education earlier into K-12 so students are exposed to trades and high-demand fields before graduation; expanded apprenticeships and work-based learning through youth apprenticeship and “learn to earn” models; put more attention and funding behind the MJ Foster Promise Program, which helps adults pay for training in high-demand fields; and loosened/expanded parts of the state’s workforce training grant system so businesses can use funds for internships, apprenticeships.
The budget also includes hundreds of millions of dollars for workforce development through Louisiana Works, the state’s workforce agency, and for the construction of several “workforce training hubs.”
Another GOP−backed effort that earned the ire of many Democrats was the overhaul of New Orleans’ court system.
Lawmakers passed legislation restructuring parts of the Orleans Parish court system, leaving the parish with two court systems, one clerk and potentially fewer judges.
The changes came after Calvin Duncan, a wrongfully convicted exoneree who spent nearly three decades in prison before becoming an attorney, was elected Orleans Parish Criminal District Court clerk with more than two-thirds of the vote. Before he could fully take office, lawmakers approved Act 15, which abolished the separate criminal court clerk’s office and transferred its duties to the civil district court clerk, Chelsey Richard Napoleon.
The changes to the courts are not borne of novelty. In fact, current New Orleans Mayor Helena Moreno once carried a bill when she was a state representative that would have reduced the number of Orleans Parish Juvenile Court judges from six to four, though her proposal was narrower than the current court overhaul.
The 2026 legislation went much further, touching the criminal and civil district courts, municipal court, appellate court and the clerk’s offices.
The legal fight has moved quickly. A federal district judge initially blocked the law, but the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals froze that ruling, forcing Duncan to stop acting as clerk while litigation continued.
The Louisiana Supreme Court later ruled 4-3 that the Legislature had authority to abolish the office and that Napoleon could continue serving as the parish’s consolidated clerk of court. The ruling also blocked the New Orleans City Council from creating a new combined clerk position and appointing someone to serve temporarily.
One of the surprises of the 2026 session was the passage of several aerospace-related bills. Much like the Legislature approved tax incentives for data centers before major projects were publicly announced, lawmakers this session advanced a package of bills aimed at attracting the aerospace industry to Louisiana.
The bills could offer major benefits to aerospace companies. They include state and local sales tax breaks for aerospace equipment, machinery and facility expenses, along with expanded property tax exemptions for aerospace manufacturing and infrastructure.
Gov. Jeff Landry has issued the first veto, which would have increased the compensation cap for people wrongfully convicted.
Other new laws expand eligibility for the death penalty, increase confidentiality protections for college athlete compensation agreements, direct the Department of Justice to study electronic monitoring systems and provide additional funding for fortified roof grants.
