LINK TO BILL WITH ALL VERSIONS, AMENDMENTS, DIGESTS, and VOTES

03/09/2026 - Read by Title on House Floor and referred to House Commerce Committee

• Proposed choice of licensing of plumbing professionals by either State Plumbing Board of Louisiana or State Licensing Board for Contractors.

• Required no training to be licensed by SLBC

03/23/2026 - House Commerce Committee Meeting - Passed with Amendments

• PHCCLA members and leadership testified in opposition of the bill.

• Amendments proposed and passed that gave authority of SLBC to define an equivalent license for individual licensing

• Included ability to set eligibility requirements for licensing to be set by rule for SLBC

03/25/2026 - Postponed for House Floor debate as negotiations for a newly proposed set of amendments was held over the next week with stakeholders

04/09/2026 - Debated on House Floor - Passed with Amendments

• Dissolve the State Plumbing Board of Louisiana

• Regulatory authority to be by a newly created Plumbing Sub-Committee under the State Licensing Board for Contractors

• Eliminate the Residential-Limited Plumbing license

• Reduce OJT hours to at least 2,000 for Journeyman Plumbing license with approved apprenticeship program

• Added OJT requirement for Master Plumbing license

• Eligibility for Journeyman (after exam) and Master to become a Residential Plumbing Contractor

04/16/2026 - Read by Title on Senate House Floor and referred to Senate Commerce Committee

05/05/2026 - Senate Commerce Committee Meeting - Passed with Amendments

• Amendments eliminate the previous amendments and only amend the Plumbing Board statute

• Plumbing Board maintained as plumbing regulatory body

• Training requirements reduced from 7,000/8,000 hours for journeyman plumber to 2,000/2,500 hours for journeyman

• Eliminates Residential-Limited license

• Adds requirements for master plumber: 1,500 hours as journeyman; responsible master plumber course; requirement to pass background check

• Increases ratio of apprentice to journeyman from 1:1 to 3:1

• Adds two contractors to the board, nominated by ABC Louisiana and LHBA

• Acknowledges programs offered through LCTCS for credited OJT hours

• Acknowledges re-entry programs for credited OJT hours

• Requires report to Senate Committee in 2027 of marketing data to recruit workforce, specifically minority driven marketing and resulting registration

Current PHCCLA Position - PHCCLA is pleased with the decision of the Senate Commerce Committee to propose amendments to maintain the State Plumbing Board of Louisiana. This body is critical to maintaining oversight over the plumbing workforce, particularly with the reduction of required on the job experience. While we believe more hours are necessary for proper training, we appreciate the lawmakers’ willingness to work with us on this bill. We continue to work with our lobbying team to see the bill through the next steps. We will also continue to work with industry to build appropriate guardrails to ensure the continued quality of licensed individuals.

Remaining Steps for Bill:

1. Senate Floor Debate (anticipated week of May 12th)

2. Return to House floor for final vote of the Senate amended bill

• Scenario 1: House accepts the amendments, bill then sent to Governor for signature.

  • If Governor signs, bill effective January 1, 2027.

  • If Governor vetos, bill dies.

• Scenario 2: House rejects the amendments, bill sent to a six-member Conference Committee which will be made up of the bill author (Rep. Fontenot), House Commerce Chair (Rep. Deshotel), a House Rep at large (to be appointed by Speaker of the House), presenting Senator (not yet known), Senate Commerce Chair (Sen. Mizell), and a Senator at large (to be appointed by Senate President).

  • Conference Committee works on a resolution for the bill

  • If agreement reached, and both chambers concur, bill sent to Governor (to sign or veto).

  • If agreement reached, but one chamber rejects, bill dies.

  • If no agreement, bill dies.

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT HB827 (JORDAN)

HB827 was amended on the house floor to be identical to HB953 with added language relative to the re-entry program inititiatives.  The bill was involuntarily deferred during the Senate Commerce Committee hearing on 5/6/26 as the committee felt it was a duplication bill.