Authorizes the governor and legislators to accept and deposit campaign contributions during a regular session of the Legislature of Louisiana

House Bill 307 repeals existing statutory prohibitions on campaign contributions and fundraising activities by legislators and the governor during legislative sessions. Specifically, the bill repeals R.S. 18:1505.2(Q) and (R), which prohibit legislators and the governor from accepting or depositing campaign contributions, loans, transfers of funds, or in-kind contributions for their current office during regular legislative sessions. The governor's restrictions additionally prohibited such activities within thirty days after a regular session adjourns. The bill also repeals R.S. 24:56(A) through (E), which require thirty days' advance notice before holding fundraising functions for legislators during regular sessions and restrict lobbyists from providing contributions from fundraising functions held during legislative sessions without compliance with notice requirements. Finally, the bill repeals R.S. 24:56.1, which prohibits fundraising functions for or by legislators during any extraordinary session unless notice is filed within two business days after the session proclamation is issued.

The practical effect of this legislation is to remove all temporal restrictions on when the governor and state legislators may solicit, receive, and deposit campaign contributions and conduct fundraising activities. Previously, legislators were barred from accepting contributions during regular sessions unless specific procedural safeguards were followed, and the governor faced an additional thirty-day window of restriction after sessions ended. Fundraising events required advance notice and were subject to restrictions involving lobbyist participation. After this bill's enactment, governors and legislators will be able to accept contributions and hold fundraising functions at any time, including during active legislative sessions when lawmakers are performing their official duties. This removes transparency mechanisms that previously allowed the public and legislative bodies to monitor and regulate the intersection of fundraising activity and legislative work.

The repealed statutes operated within Louisiana's campaign finance regulatory framework established primarily in Title 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes and Title 24 addressing legislative ethics and lobbying restrictions. The contribution restrictions being eliminated were designed to minimize conflicts of interest and the appearance of quid pro quo arrangements during periods when legislators are actively voting on legislation. The bill leaves intact other provisions of R.S. 24:56 governing state employee lobbying restrictions and requirements for lobbyist registration, demonstrating that the legislature is selectively modifying only the temporal restrictions on campaign activity. This change raises considerations regarding constitutional guarantees of free speech and political participation rights, as any campaign finance regulation affecting speech must satisfy constitutional scrutiny, though the repeal itself does not implicate constitutional limitations in a manner requiring specific constitutional analysis beyond the general framework within which campaign finance laws operate.