2025 Legislative Bills

 

 

Two Louisiana House Bills (HB) were filed in the 2025 State Legislative Session that will impact BREC. 

 

House Bill 86 will change the make-up of the BREC Commission. 

Update: HB 86 has passed in the Senate. It now awaits signature by the governor. 

 

 What is House Bill 86?

House Bill 86 (as amended) is a state bill proposed in the 2025 Louisiana legislative session that would change the makeup of the BREC Commission.  

Click here to review the original bill document. 

Click here to review the bill amendment. 

Current: The current makeup of 9 Commissioners with appointments as follows 

  • 6 Appointed by the Metro Council 
  • 1 Appointed by the Mayor-President of Baton Rouge
  • 1 Appointed by the East Baton Rouge Parish (EBRP) School Board 
  • 1 Appointed by the East Baton Rouge Parish (EBRP) Planning Commission 

Proposed: This amended bill proposes to restructure the BREC Commission to remain 9 Commissioners, but with a different composition. The proposed structure would be: 

  • 5 Mayors or mayor-appointed designees of the 5 cities within East Baton Rouge Parish
    • Mayor-President of Baton Rouge
    • Mayor of the City of Baker 
    • Mayor of the City of Zachary 
    • Mayor of the City of Central 
    • Mayor of the City of St. George 
  • 4 members appointed by the Metro Council
    • At least 2 of those members must live in the city of Baton Rouge
    • At least 1 member must live within an unincorporated area of the parish
  • The Commission makeup is set forth by the law that created BREC and has been the same for almost 80 years while BREC has won 3 National Gold Medal Awards and been a finalist for the Gold Medal almost two dozen times. 
  • This model of regional oversight has proven highly effective, placing BREC among the top-performing park systems in the country.  
  • BREC is one of only 2% of park and recreation agencies nationwide to be accredited by the Commission for Accreditation of Park and Recreation Agencies (CAPRA).  
  • The success of this model is evident in both community engagement and public outcomes.
 

What is House Bill 649?

House Bill 649 (as amended) requires that the BREC commission shall submit a written report annually to each municipality and to the state senators and representatives that represent these municipalities that provides the amount of funds received from taxpayers in each municipality, the amount of funds spent by BREC on facilities in each municipality, and the amount of money generated at BREC facilities in each municipality.

Originally, introduced during the 2025 Louisiana Regular Legislative Session, HB 649 aimed to separate the City of Central from BREC’s nationally accredited, parish-wide park system and establish a separate state-created recreation and park district, duplicating BREC’s current responsibilities and run solely by the City of Central.

Click here to review the original bill document. 

Click here to review the bill amendment.