---
type: "Bill"
title: "WILDLIFE & FISHERIES: Provides relative to oyster seed ground vessel permits"
description: "WILDLIFE & FISHERIES: Provides relative to oyster seed ground vessel permits"
jurisdiction: "us/states/la"
legislature: "Louisiana Legislature"
session: "2023"
identifier: "HB 438"
citation: "Louisiana HB 438 (2023)"
classification: ["bill"]
subjects: []
status: "enacted"
primary_sponsors: ["Robert \"Bob\" Owen"]
version_count: 6
action_count: 24
vote_count: 3
first_action: "2023-03-30"
last_action: "2023-06-07"
source: "openstates"
source_identifier: "ocd-bill/b7b4dc66-4269-4774-a2f6-f5ecf960f361"
source_url: "https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/BillInfo.aspx?i=244378"
source_hash: "9b4ed263376f71f66e9dcdf41dc6dc99bc871d5cd545dae6d60d5172adf4f9d1"
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 HB 438 (2023) — WILDLIFE & FISHERIES: Provides relative to oyster seed ground vessel permits

## Version chain

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

1. **HB438 Original** (filed) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1308832)
2. **HB438 Act** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1332140)
3. **HB438 Engrossed** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1316281)
4. **Senate Committee Amendment, #1892, NATR, Draft** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1323579)
5. **Senate Committee Amendment, #1934, NATR, Adopted** (committee substitute) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1323681)
6. **HB438 Enrolled** (enrolled) — [source](https://www.legis.la.gov/Legis/ViewDocument.aspx?d=1328321)

## Votes

- CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENTS (#806) — **92–0** (pass) · lower
- FINAL PASSAGE (#258) — **103–0** (pass) · lower
- FINAL PASSAGE (#495) — **32–0** (pass) · upper

## Sponsors

- Robert "Bob" Owen — primary (person)
- Ray Garofalo — cosponsor (person)

## Timeline

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

- **2023-06-07** Effective date: 08/01/2023.
- **2023-06-07** Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 170. `became-law, executive-signature`
- **2023-06-04** Sent to the Governor for executive approval. `executive-receipt`
- **2023-06-02** Signed by the President of the Senate.
- **2023-06-02** Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House. `enrolled`
- **2023-05-31** Read by title, roll called, yeas 92, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.
- **2023-05-31** Called from the calendar.
- **2023-05-31** Read by title, returned to the calendar.
- **2023-05-30** Scheduled for concurrence on 05/31/2023.
- **2023-05-30** Received from the Senate with amendments. `receipt`
- **2023-05-26** Rules suspended. The amended bill was read by title, passed by a vote of 32 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled. `passage`
- **2023-05-23** Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage. `reading-3`
- **2023-05-22** Committee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- **2023-05-18** Reported with amendments. `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-05-10** Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Natural Resources. `reading-2, referral-committee`
- **2023-05-09** Received in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading. `reading-1`
- **2023-05-09** Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 103, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate. `passage`
- **2023-05-04** Scheduled for floor debate on 05/09/2023.
- **2023-04-27** Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading. `reading-3`
- **2023-04-26** Reported favorably (10-0). `committee-passage-favorable`
- **2023-04-10** Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Environment. `referral-committee`
- **2023-04-03** First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 4/3/2023.
- **2023-03-30** Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Natural Resources and Environment. `referral-committee`
- **2023-03-30** Prefiled. `filing`

## Source

OpenStates / OpenCivicData bulk snapshot [2026-07-01](https://data.openstates.org/daily/2026-07-01/public.pgdump); origin `ocd-bill/b7b4dc66-4269-4774-a2f6-f5ecf960f361`. Confidence: reported (aggregated from official Louisiana legislature records).