---
type: "Bill"
title: "HORTICULTURE: Provides an exemption for certain contractors to the licensure requirements of the Horticulture Commission. (gov sig)"
description: "HORTICULTURE: Provides an exemption for certain contractors to the licensure requirements of the Horticulture Commission. (gov sig)"
jurisdiction: "us/states/la"
legislature: "Louisiana Legislature"
session: "2020"
identifier: "SB 163"
citation: "Louisiana SB 163 (2020)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Stewart Cathey , Jr."]
version_count: 8
action_count: 19
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2020-02-26"
last_action: "2020-06-12"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/fd7ae5da-1873-4495-be69-70de1bce9688"
source_url: "http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=237815"
source_hash: "7a7de6bd99a32b66cdb264ec1956403305611b171d3a3be4e9df5313dcf93140"
vintage: "2026-07-01"
source_snapshot: "https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump"
retrieved_at: "2026-07-06"
confidence: "reported"
tags: ["legislation", "bill", "us-la"]
---

# Louisiana SB 163 (2020) — HORTICULTURE: Provides an exemption for certain contractors to the licensure requirements of the Horticulture Commission. (gov sig)

## Version chain

The bill's text revisions, in order — the diff chain from filing to enrollment.

1. **SB163 Original** (filed) — [source](http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1160044)
2. **House Committee Amendment, #1828, AGRI, Draft** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1171518)
3. **House Committee Amendment, #2370, AGRI, Adopted** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1174515)
4. **House Floor Amendment, #2450, McFarland, Adopted** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1174954)
5. **SB163 Act 308** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1182495)
6. **SB163 Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1169681)
7. **Senate Committee Amendment, #920, AGRI, Adopted** (committee substitute) — [source](http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1168711)
8. **SB163 Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](http://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1178047)

## Votes

- FINAL PASSAGE (#544) — **99–0** (pass) · lower
- CONCUR (#606) — **35–0** (pass) · upper
- FINAL PASSAGE (#169) — **32–3** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Stewart Cathey , Jr. — primary (person)
- Jack McFarland — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

The legislative action history — every referral, reading, and vote.

- **2020-06-12** Effective date 6/12/2020.
- **2020-06-12** Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 308. `executive-signature`
- **2020-06-01** Sent to the Governor by the Secretary of the Senate on 6/2/2020. `executive-receipt`
- **2020-06-01** Signed by the Speaker of the House.
- **2020-05-31** Enrolled. Signed by the President of the Senate.
- **2020-05-29** Amendments proposed by the House read and concurred in by a vote of 35 yeas and 0 nays.
- **2020-05-28** Received from the House with amendments.
- **2020-05-28** Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 99, nays 0. Finally passed, ordered to the Senate. `passage`
- **2020-05-28** Called from the calendar.
- **2020-05-28** Read by title, returned to the calendar.
- **2020-05-22** Scheduled for floor debate on 05/28/20.
- **2020-05-22** Read by title, amended, passed to 3rd reading.
- **2020-05-21** Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments.
- **2020-05-20** Reported with amendments (15-0). Referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- **2020-05-13** Received in the House from the Senate, rules suspended, read by title, referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development. `referral-committee`
- **2020-05-13** Read by title, passed by a vote of 32 yeas and 3 nays, and sent to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled. `passage`
- **2020-05-07** Reported with amendments. Rules suspended. Read by title; Committee amendments read and adopted. Ordered engrossed and passed to third reading and final passage.
- **2020-03-09** Introduced in the Senate; read by title. Rules suspended. Read second time and referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development. `referral-committee`
- **2020-02-26** Prefiled and under the rules provisionally referred to the Committee on Agriculture, Forestry, Aquaculture, and Rural Development. `filing, referral-committee`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/fd7ae5da-1873-4495-be69-70de1bce9688`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Louisiana legislature records).