POLICY & ADVOCACY
As the voice of Louisiana’s economic development professionals, LEAD was actively engaged this legislative session, advocating for policies that position our state for long-term prosperity. Our 2025 priorities focus on supporting measures that provide LED with the flexibility and agility needed to compete, securing funding for site readiness, expanding the workforce pipeline, and enhancing tax and business competitiveness.
Below is an overview and outcome report of the key bills LEAD supported this session as submitted by Policy & Advocacy Committee Chair, Mandi D. Mitchell:
Louisiana Economic Development
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SB 161 (Mizell) – Streamlining LED
SB 161 by Senate Commerce Chairwoman, Beth Mizell, served as a continuation of the 2024 legislative effort to modernize and streamline LED’s departmental structure. SB 161 streamlines and consolidates several LED offices and functions into a unified Office of Economic Development; establishes the Louisiana Innovation Fund; authorizes the secretary to enter into strategic agreements to lease, sublease, buy or sell property for economic development purposes; and converts the Louisiana Board of International Commerce to an advisory board and modernizes the makeup of the board to align with LED’s new strategic plan. SB 161 will provide for the continuation of the effort to modernize the state’s economic development framework.
Economic Development Tools
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HB 507 (Emerson) – High Impact Jobs Program
Rep. Julie Emerson’s HB 507 establishes a new LED incentive, designed to incentivize the creation of new high-wage, high-quality jobs in the State of Louisiana. This program will provide reimbursable grants to companies that create high wage positions with basic health benefits. This new grant incentive will be awarded in three tiers: 8% for jobs in distressed areas paying at least 110% of the parish or regional average wage; 18% for jobs paying at least 125% of the parish average wage; and 22% for jobs paying at least 150% of the parish average wage. The grant percentage will be applied to the first $200,000 of each eligible qualifying job.
Economic Development Infrastructure
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HB 433 (Deshotel) / HB 461 (McFarland) – Site Investment & Infrastructure Fund
Originally proposed within HB 433 by House Commerce Committee Chairman, Rep. Daryl Deshotel, the effort to establish a new statutory fund administered by LED to support site development and infrastructure projects was amended onto HB 461 (the ‘funds bill’), authored by Appropriations Chairman Jack McFarland. The newly established Site Investment and Infrastructure Improvement Fund provides LED and its partner regional and local EDOs with a long-sought after tool to go beyond site certification and move into investments into site readiness. The legislature’s $150 million investment into this new fund will bring much-needed resources to enhance Louisiana’s economic competitiveness.
Click here to learn more about the LED Sites Fund
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SB 79 / Act 36 (Bass) – Modernizing Industrial Growth
Senator Adam Bass’ SB 79 (Act 36) recognizes data centers as part of industrial zones, expands access to essential services through cooperative agreements, and facilitates access to public infrastructure, supporting smart, future-ready industrial development.
Workforce Readiness
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HB 533 (Carver) – Work-Based Learning Tax Credit
HB 533 by Rep. Kim Carver consolidates two existing tax credits into a single tax credit program to incentivize employers to hire youth workers and disadvantaged youth for apprenticeships and internships in alignment with the state’s new work-based learning requirements. This bill will expand access to meaningful work-based learning, strengthen our talent pipeline, and support employer-driven training initiatives.
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HB 395 (Brass) – Alignment of MJ Foster Promise Award Program with High Demand Occupations
HB 395 by Ways & Means Vice Chairman, Rep Ken Brass, sought to expand and align the eligibility for M.J. Foster Promise Awards to jobs resulting from Louisiana Economic Development (LED) business recruitment and expansion projects. This bill did not complete the legislative process as the author decided to slow down the effort to allow further collaborative deliberation between LED, LWC, the Commissioner of Higher Education and all public higher education systems.
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HB 161 /Act 152 (Hughes) – Alignment of TOPS and TOPS Tech Early Start with High Demand Occupations
Applicable to TOPS-Tech and TOPS-Tech Early Start awards for the 2026-2027 school year and thereafter, HB 161 (Act 152) by Appropriations Chairman Rep. Jason Hughes requires alignment of the program to which these awards apply with Louisiana’s target industries by requiring any course taken with the award to be identified by the MJ Foster Promise Program Advisory Council. This bill is part of a broader effort to improve career readiness and alignment.
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SB 233 (Edmonds) – Workforce Child Care Tax Credit
Senate Education Chairman, Sen. Rick Edmonds, authored SB 233 which further incentivizes employers to invest in supporting high quality childcare statewide while supporting growth in the number of Louisiana families able to enroll their children in early childcare. SB 233 provides for an increase to the tax credit that support employers’ investments in child care slots and child care facilities and increases the level of tax credits available for investments in higher rated child care facilities.
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SCR 38 (Edmonds) – Louisiana Talent Retention through Enhanced Career Connectedness
SCR 38 by Senate Education Chairman Rick Edmonds creates a task force to study ways to implement education-to-career counseling at Louisiana colleges to help connect students to career and job opportunities in Louisiana early in their studies. The overarching goal is to enhance career connections so as to better retain talent in Louisiana after graduation which will lead to declining outmigration.
If you would like additional details on any of the bills LEAD supported, please feel free to reach out to Mandi Mitchell, Chair of LEAD’s Policy & Advocacy Committee.
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