HIGHWAYS: Provides that any Louisiana school board-owned vehicles be exempt from paying tolls on any bridges and highways in the state (EN DECREASE GF RV See Note)

2026 Regular Session Introduced by Jacob Braud and 1 co-sponsor

Exempts all Louisiana school-board owned vehicles from tolls on most tolled ferries, bridges, and roads (excluding the Greater New Orleans Expressway).

Effective date: 06/08/2026.

Purpose and intent

HB 748 seeks to exempt all motor vehicles owned by Louisiana school boards from paying tolls on bridges and highways in the state, with the following exception: tolls on the Greater New Orleans Expressway would remain payable.

The bill adds exemptions for school-board owned vehicles to both tolled ferries and tolled bridges/roads operated by the state, parish, or municipality, subject to existing rules and procedures.

Key provisions and changes

Toll exemptions for school-board vehicles on ferries

Adds a provision that all public tolled ferries operated or controlled by the state, parish, or municipality (excluding the Greater New Orleans Expressway) must provide free passage for any Louisiana school-board owned vehicle traveling to and from school, consistent with current rules for student passage.
Specifically references free passage for school-board vehicles overall, with rules to be adopted under Subsection C.

Toll exemptions for school-board vehicles on bridges and roads

Extends free passage to all public tolled bridges and roads that are leased out or controlled by the state, parish, or municipality (excluding the Greater New Orleans Expressway) for any Louisiana school-board owned vehicle.
Maintains the existing exemption for students in their school commutes, but now adds the broader exemption for school-board owned vehicles.

General scope and exclusions

The Greater New Orleans Expressway (GNO Expressway) remains excluded from toll exemptions.
The bill modifies R.S. 17:157(A) and (B) to codify these exemptions.

Who/what would be affected

Entity affected: Louisiana school boards (and their owned and operated vehicles, including school buses fleet and other school-board vehicles).

Operational impact: School-board vehicles would not pay tolls on most state, parish, and municipal tolled ferries, bridges, and roads (with the GNO Expressway excluded).

Drivers affected: School-board fleet operators and other districts’ personnel utilizing school-board vehicles on toll facilities.

Procedural and timeline aspects

Filing status: Introduced in the 2026 Regular Session.

Legislative history:

February 27, 2026: Provisionally referred to the Committee on Education.
March 9, 2026: Read by title and referred to the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.

Implementation: If enacted, the toll exemptions would apply to school-board owned vehicles as specified, with rules for implementation to be adopted under existing statutory provisions.

Practical considerations

Financial impact: Potential reduction in toll revenue from school-board transportation operations on tolled facilities; exact fiscal effects would depend on the volume of school-board vehicle tolls currently paid.

Policy impact: Aligns toll policy with public school transportation needs, potentially reducing operating costs for school districts.

Administrative: Requires rules to be adopted per Subsection C of RS 17:157 for implementation of these exemptions.

If you’d like, I can provide a section-by-section comparison with current law or a quick pros/cons brief for policymakers.

Bill