Beau Beaullieu
Louisiana State Representative (R-New Iberia); Chair, House and Governmental Affairs Committee
2 articles
Power
Landry Signs HB 842 as Act 7, Locking In Louisiana's Fall Open Primary Calendar; Map Bill Still in House Committee
Governor Jeff Landry signed HB 842 as Act 7 of the 2026 Regular Session on May 14, formally canceling the suspended U.S. House primaries and establishing a November 3 open primary and December 12 runoff for congressional races. The companion redistricting bill, SB 121, passed the Senate 27-10 on May 14 but as of May 19 remained in the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, leaving the district map unsettled with August qualifying just eleven weeks away.
Power
Louisiana Legislature Moves on Two Bills the Callais Cascade Required: a New Five-to-One Map and a Reverted Open Primary
Five days after the Callais cascade article ran, the bills it anticipated have taken shape on the legis.la.gov docket. The Louisiana Senate passed SB 121 on May 14 along party lines, 27 to 10 — a congressional map that reduces the state's majority-Black districts from two to one and absorbs Representative Cleo Fields' Sixth District into surrounding Republican-leaning territory. The same week, both chambers adopted the conference report on HB 842, which voids the May 16 and June 27 U.S. House ballots, returns the 2026 congressional races to a jungle primary, and sets a November 3 open primary with a December 12 runoff. As of Tuesday morning SB 121 sits with the House awaiting committee assignment; HB 842 has been signed by both chamber presidents but not yet by Governor Jeff Landry. Neither bill is law. Litigation has not yet been filed.