As the second week of the legislativesession drew to a close, 832 House bills hadbeen prefiled, and 477 had been introduced.

On Wednesday, the Senate Committeeon Finance approved Senate Bill 177, aproposed constitutional amendment thatwould repeal the tax on inventory held bymanufacturers, distributors and retailers, aswell as natural gas used in storage facilities.

The House Ways & Means Committeewill consider House Bills 119, 218, 366, 402,466, 531, 775 and 779 on Monday, April 27, and House Bills 212, 276, 355, 555 and 565on Tuesday, April 28.

The following are highlights of someof the issues considered this week.

BLOOD TYPE/LICENSE* House Bill 37, pending House finalpassage, authorizes a blood type designationto be included on the front of a person'sdriver's license or special identification card atno cost, if the driver requests the designation.

CAPITAL OUTLAY* House Bill 495, pending House finalpassage, requires the Joint LegislativeCommittee on Capital Outlay to approvenonstate entity line of credit recommendationsbefore the Division of Administration submitsthe list to the State Bond Commission forconsideration of funding.

CLASS E DRIVERS LICENSES* House Bill 499, pending House finalpassage, provides for a one-time issuance of aprovisional one-year Class "E" driver's licenseto a person released from incarceration withsuspended, revoked, or cancelled drivingprivileges.

CONSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS* House Concurrent Resolution 2,pending House floor action, asks Congress tocall a convention of the states to propose U.S.constitutional amendments to impose fiscalrestraints on the federal government, limitfederal power and provide term limits forfederal officials and Congressional members.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE* House Bill 139, pending House finalpassage, retains the elements and penalties ofthe present law crimes of aggravated rape,forcible rape, and simple rape and changesthose terms to provide that any reference tothe crime of "aggravated rape" is the same asa reference to the crime of "first degree rape,"any reference to the crime of "forcible rape" isthe same as a reference to the crime of"second degree rape," and any reference to thecrime of "simple rape" is the same as areference to the crime of "third degree rape."

HOUSE NOTESLouisiana House of Representatives

Communications Office2015 Regular Session

Week Two, April 24, 2015

EARLY INTERVENTION PROGRAM* House Bill 292, pending House finalpassage, requires the Sixteenth JudicialDistrict prosecutor's early interventionprogram be used as a model in implementingthe early intervention programs in East BatonRouge, Iberia, St. Martin and St. Maryparishes.

ELECTRONIC SIGNATURE* House Bill 697, pending House finalpassage, provides that a record, electronicrecord, or reproduction of a record orelectronic record which contains an electronicsignature or a reproduction of an electronicsignature is presumed to be genuine ifaccompanied by a certification that isexecuted by a representative of a financialinstitution or its assignee and complies withthe proposed form.

EXPUNGEMENTS* House Bill 284, pending House finalpassage, amends provisions of law providingfor expungements.

HB284 provides that no personarrested for a violation of operating a vehiclewhile intoxicated and placed by theprosecuting authority into a pretrial diversionprogram shall be entitled to an expungementof the record until five years have elapsedsince the date of arrest for that offense. Also,the proposed law provides that motions toexpunge a record of arrest that did not resultin a conviction shall be served in the samemanner as all other expungement motions.

HB284 provides that when service ofa motion of expungement is made by U.S.mail, the motion shall be accompanied by anotice indicating the date the motion wasplaced in the U.S. mail for service.

Under present law, a misdemeanorconviction which arose from circumstances

involving a sex offense cannot be expunged.HB284 changes the provisions of

present law to provide that if the misdemeanorconviction is the result of an arrest for a sexoffense, the record cannot be expunged andadds that a misdemeanor conviction for thecrime of stalking cannot be expunged.

HB 284 provides that when adefendant who has entered a plea pursuant topresent law in a DWI case seeks anexpungement, the clerk of court may send acopy of a letter issued by DPS&C in lieu ofsending the documents and fingerprints again,if the clerk had previously sent thosedocuments at the time of the plea.

HB284 authorizes the clerk of court tochange the statutory forms to provide for theappropriate name of the court ordering theexpungement.

Present law provides that juvenileswho successfully participate in a drug courtprogram are exempt from expungement fees.HB284 retains this provision and amendsprovisions to include participation in drugcourt programs as eligible for a fee exemption.

HIGHER ED* House Bill 66, pending House flooraction, authorizes each institution of highereducation to establish its own tuition and fees,including the base tuition, tuitionenhancements, differential tuition , tieredtuition, proportional tuition for part-timestudents or summer school, per credit-hourtuition, online tuition, tuition incentives andtuition waivers, independent of legislativeaction or performance measures under theGRAD Act..* House Bill 152, pending House flooraction, authorizes the management boards ofpublic higher education to establish fees andmodify fee amounts at institutions under theirrespective management and supervision.

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HB152 specifically includes authority toimpose per credit fees and differential fees forcertain programs and to charge proportionalamounts for part-time students and summersessions.

Additionally, HB152 requires that each management board establish a need-basedfinancial assistance fund at each of its memberinstitutions and allocate funds from itsoperating budget in an amount not less than5% and utilized to provide need-basedfinancial assistance to students who areeligible to receive a PELL Grant.* House Bill 168, pending House flooraction, authorizes the management boards ofpublic higher education to modify tuition,fees, and fee amounts for graduate programs atinstitutions under their management. Further,HB168 authorizes the boards to establishproportional amounts for part-time studentsand summer sessions, provide for tuitionwaivers and fees in cases of financial hardshipor extraordinary merit.* House Bill 462, pending House flooraction, makes changes to the TOPScurriculum and the Early Start AssessmentTest.

HB462 changes the social studiescurriculum requirements to include Civicsamong the specified course choices andremoves Economics, AP Macroeconomics, orAP Microeconomics as possible choices.

The proposed law also changes thecurriculum requirements for studentsgraduating from high school in 2017-18 andthereafter to align the curriculum in all areasto receive a career diploma.

Finally, HB462 adds that a studentmay be eligible for a TOPS-Tech Early StartAward if he attains at least 15 on the Englishsection and 15 on the mathematics section ofthe ACT or equivalent on the SAT or attainsa silver level score on the assessments of the

ACT WorkKeys system.

IMPAIRED DRIVING* House Bill 448, pending House finalpassage, adds another professionalaccreditation organization to the list ofprofessional organizations who determine thequalifications and labs that perform chemicalanalyses of a person's blood, urine, breath, orother bodily substance, to be used as evidenceof intoxication related to impaired driving.

HB448 adds the American Associationfor Laboratory Accreditation, and changes thename of the American Society of Crime LabDirectors to the American Society of CrimeLaboratory Directors/Laboratory AccreditationBoard.

INSURERS* House Bill 199, pending House flooraction, enacts the National Association ofInsurance Commissioners' CorporateGovernance Annual Disclosure Model Actrelative to corporate governance of insurersand insurance groups. The proposed law provides for theauthority of the insurance commissioner torequire corporate governance annualdisclosures, provides for the confidentiality ofinformation, and provides for sanctions fornoncompliance.

JUDGES/JUSTICES OF THE PEACE* House Bill 350, pending House flooraction, exempts justices of the peace andconstables in office or elected to the officebefore Aug. 15, 2006, from age requirementsto qualify for office.

JUDGES AND LAWYERSASSISTANCE PROGRAM* House Bill 197, pending House finalpassage, expands the purpose, privileges and

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immunities of the Lawyer's AssistanceProgram to include mental health issues andchanges the name of the program to theJudges and Lawyers Assistance Program.

NALOXONE PRESCRIPTION* House Bill 210, pending House finalpassage, authorizes a licensed medicalpractitioner to directly or by standing order,prescribe or dispense the drug naloxone oranother opioid antagonist without havingexamined the individual to whom it may beadministered if:

1) the licensed medical practitionercompletes required training by the Departmentof Health and Hospitals; and

2) the naloxone or other opioidantagonist is prescribed or dispensed throughan FDA- approved device for the intranasaladministration of liquid drugs.

The proposed law requires pharmaciststo dispense the drug directly or by standingorder by a licensed medical practitioner, andlimits civil, criminal, and professional liability for licensed medical practitioners andpharmacists who dispense the drug.

NAME CHANGE/MINORS* House Bill 134, pending House finalpassage, authorizes the name change for aminor without the need for notice to andconsent of a parent whose parental rights havebeen terminated.

NEIGHBORHOOD VEHICLES* House Bill 248, scheduled to be heardby committee on Monday, April 27,establishes neighborhood vehicles as off-roadvehicles, and provides for required safetyfeatures, speeds and eligible roadways to beused by neighborhood vehicles. Under the proposed law, aneighborhood vehicle means an electric

four-wheeled vehicle originally intended foruse off-road on golf courses whose maximumspeed is 25 mph.

A neighborhood vehicle may beoperated at a speed not to exceed 25 mph. onany roadway or street where the posted speedlimit is 35 mph. or less and may cross anydivided highway, highway, roadway, or streetwith a posted speed limit in excess of 35 mphat an intersection.

A neighborhood vehicle operated onany roadway or street would be required to beequipped with the minimum motor vehiclesafety equipment including headlamps, frontand rear turn signal lamps, tail lamps, stoplamps, reflex reflectors, including one on eachside as far to the rear as practicable, and onered reflector on the rear of the vehicle, anexterior mirror mounted on the driver's side ofthe vehicle and either an exterior mirrormounted on the passenger's side of the vehicleor an interior mirror, a parking brake, a safetyglass windshield, a windshield wiper,speedometer, odometer, braking for eachwheel, seatbelts and a vehicle identificationnumber.

Neighborhood vehicles would berequired to be registered with the office ofmotor vehicles (OMV) as an off-road vehicleand shall display an OMV-issued decal.

No neighborhood vehicle shall beoperated by an unlicensed driver.

Any neighborhood vehicle operatedupon a state highway shall have liabilityinsurance with the same minimum limits as allinsured motor vehicles.

Finally, the proposed law provides thatthe Department of Transportation andDevelopment or parish or municipalgovernments would be allowed to prohibit theoperation of neighborhood vehicles on roadsunder their jurisdictions.

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NONCONSENSUAL DISCLOSURE OF APRIVATE IMAGE* House Bill 489, pending House finalpassage, creates the crime of nonconsensualdisclosure of a private image when certaininstances occur:

1) the person intentionally disclosed animage of another person who is 17 yrs of ageor older, who is identifiable from the image orinformation displayed in connection with theimage, and whose intimate parts are exposedin whole or in part,

2) the person obtained the image undercircumstances in which a reasonable personwould know or understand that the image wasto remain private,

3) the person knew or should haveknown that the person in the image has notconsented to the disclosure of the image,

4) the person has the intent to harass orcause emotional distress to the person in theimage, or the person who commits the offenseknew or should have known that thedisclosure could harass or cause emotionaldistress to the person in the image.

HB489 provides for a maximum$10,000 fine for the offense and/or amaximum 2 years imprisonment.

NOTARY EXAMINATIONS* House Bill 372, pending House finalpassage, requires the Secretary of State to postthe passage rate of the uniform notarialexamination and subjects notaries tosuspension or revocation of their commissionsfor failure to fully complete the requiredannual report.

PUBLIC SAFETY* House Bill 490, pending House finalpassage, restricts the use of improvedopenings, crossovers or turnarounds oninterstates by unauthorized vehicles.

The proposed law defines an"authorized vehicle" to mean authorizedemergency vehicles and towing and recoveryvehicles.

PUBLIC TAG AGENTS* House Bill 445, pending House finalpassage, provides for duties of public tagagents, bond requirements, qualifications,suspension, revocation or cancellation ofcontracts and for the authority of the Office ofMotor Vehicles to issue cease and desistorders to public tag agents for violating certainconduct or activities.

House Bill 445 requires each publiclicense tag agent other than a municipalgoverning authority to execute a good andsufficient surety bond with a Louisianaqualified surety company in a sum of$100,000 if the public tag agent has only oneoffice in this state and a sum of $125,000 ifthe public tag agent has more than one officein this state.

HB 445 clarifies that financialinstitutions, licensed new or used car dealers,state departments, offices, or entities andentities included in the public tag agent systemestablished by the commissioner can collectmotor vehicle registration license taxes.

SAFE HAVEN LAW* House Bill 603, pending House finalpassage, promotes public awareness of thesafe haven law and provides forcommunications plans and dissemination ofpublic information by the Department ofChildren and Family services and authorizesfunding by the Children's Trust Fund ofoutreach concerning the safe haven law.

SMOKING CESSATION TRUST* House Bill 158, pending House finalpassage, requires the Department of Health

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and Hospitals to establish a link on its websiteto the Smoking Cessation Trust, along withinformation on programs and services offeredby the trust.

Additionally, HB158 requires that onor before Jan. 1, annually, the secretary ofDHH engage with the executive director of theSmoking Cessation Trust to evaluate meansand best practices for promoting smokingcessation, and to identify opportunities forincreasing access to smoking cessationprograms and services.

TAX APPEALS* House Bill 338, pending House finalpassage, expands the jurisdiction of the Boardof Tax Appeals (BTA) on local cases toinclude incidental demands, rules to ceasebusiness and payments under protest,authorizing the BTA to hear all sales tax casesthat would otherwise go to District Court.

TOLL CREDITS* House Bill 645, pending House finalpassage, requires DOTD to utilize toll creditsgenerated by past toll collections on theCrescent City Connection Bridge and notobligated on or before April 3, 2015, to meetthe nonfederal share requirement ontransportation infrastructure projects on theCrescent City Connection Bridge itself, or theWestbank Expressway or its approaches, orany combination.

The proposed law specifies that tollcredits are considered a supplemental fundingsource and not as a replacement for any otherform of state transportation funding.

HB645 defines toll credit as afinancing tool approved by the FederalHighway Administration that allows states touse federal obligation authority without therequirement of nonfederal matching dollars.

T R A N S P O R T A T I O NINFRASTRUCTURE BANK/FUND* House Bill 767, pending HouseAppropriations, creates the Louisiana StateTransportation Infrastructure Bank within theState Treasury, whose purpose is to select andassist in financing eligible transportationprojects by providing loans and other financialassistance to municipalities, parishes, andpolitical subdivisions of the state for planning,constructing, and improving transportationfacilities necessary for public purposes.

TRANSPORTATION TRUST FUND* House Bill 208, pending House finalpassage, is a proposed law that seeks to limitthe amount of funds that can be appropriatedfrom Transportation Trust Fund to theDepartment of Public Safety, Office of StatePolice (OSP).

HB208 specifies that in any givenfiscal year, monies appropriated collectivelyfor ports, the Parish Transportation Fund, theStatewide Flood-Control Program and Officeof State Police (OSP) for traffic controlpurposes shall be limited to 20% of all moniesdeposited into the Transportation Trust Fund(TTF), including but not limited to stategenerated tax monies, fees, penalties orinterest earnings.

HB208 would disallow $25.1 millionof TTF currently in the executive budgetrecommendation for OSP in FY16, $40.1million in FY17 compared to the currentrecommendation and $55.1 million in FY18and beyond compared to the currentrecommendation.

Additionally, HB208 would make anadditional $25.1 million TTF available forappropriation to either the DOTD operating orCapital Outlay budgets for FY16, $40.1million for FY17 and $55.1 million in FY18and beyond when compared to the current

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budget recommendation.

UNAUTHORIZED ENTRY/CRITICALINFRASTRUCTURE* House Bill 7, pending House finalpassage, expands the crime of unauthorizedentry of a critical infrastructure by addingthree additional elements to the crime:

1) The use or attempted use offraudulent documents to enter a criticalinfrastructure.

2) Remaining upon or in the premisesof a critical infrastructure after having beenforbidden to do so.

3) The entry into a restricted area ofthe critical infrastructure which is marked asa restricted or limited access area when theperson is not authorized to enter that area.

VETERANS* House Bill 72, pending House finalpassage, provides a tuition exemption at astate university for certain former members ofthe armed forces.

The tuition exemption is limited foruse to pursue an undergraduate or graduatedegree and is prohibited to be used to pursuea professional degree. The tuition exemptionis prohibited from being transferred to anotherperson.The exemption applies as follows:

1) For active duty service of 12-24months, the tuition exemption shall be grantedfor 90 credit hours.

2) For active duty service of 24-36months, the tuition exemption shall be grantedfor 120 credit hours.

3) For active duty service of 36 monthsor more, the tuition exemption shall begranted for 150 credit hours.* House Bill 485, pending House finalpassage, requires the Board of Regents toestablish a process for designating a public

postsecondary education institution as a "Governor's Military and Veteran FriendlyCampus," eligibility criteria and applicationprocedures.

To be eligible to receive thedesignation, an institution must completerequirements relative to articulation programs,fee waivers, orientation programs, deploymentand readmission policies, priority classscheduling, tutoring, and workshops offeredby the institution for military veterans.

HB485 additionally provides forapplication procedures for institutionsinterested in receiving the initial designationand requirements for the submission ofrenewal applications. HB485 also requiresthe Board of Regents to review theapplications and to submit the applicationsand a report to the governor that indicates if aninstitution meets the eligibility requirementsfor initial designation. Such a designationapplies for one year, and renewal applicationsmust be verified by the Board of Regents thatan institution continues to meet the eligibilityrequirements to receive the designation eachyear.

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