HOUSE NOTES

Louisiana House of Representatives Communications Office 2014 Regular Session Week Two, March 21, 2014

As the second week of the legislative session drew to a close, 1,017 bills were introduced, and House members have passed 43 bills.

REAL ESTATE LICENSE EXAMS * House Bill 869 provides that after a person obtains an initial real estate broker or salesperson license and completes the 45hour post-license education course within 180 days after the initial license date, that person shall not be required to pass an exam on the course contents. HB869 is pending consideration by the full House. EXCEPTIONAL PERSONS * House Bill 63, which awaits action by the full House, revises terminology in present law referring to persons with disabilities and other persons with exceptionalities by deleting and making substitutions for obsolete, derogatory or offensive terms. Additionally, the proposed law corrects the names of agencies, institutions, private organizations, and other entities; and removes references to offices, bureaus, and other subdivisions of state agencies and programs and services that have been repealed or no longer exist.

BOOTING/MOTOR VEHICLES * House Bill 929 provides for the regulation of motor vehicle booting businesses in Louisiana, requires booting businesses to comply with all parish or municipality licensing requirements, and clarifies guidelines for booting operations. Under this legislation: No person shall boot a motor vehicle parked on private property unless the booting business has a written contract with the owner of the private property to boot motor vehicles illegally parked on the property. No person shall boot a motor vehicle parked on private property unless a minimum of two signs are conspicuously posted and maintained by the owner of the private property in the manner prescribed by the parish or municipality. Each sign shall include the name of the private property owner, the hours during which vehicles are prohibited from parking on the private property and are subject to booting, and the fees to be charged to release a motor vehicle that has been booted. Additionally, each sign shall contain the name, business address, business telephone number, and business license number of the person authorized by the property owner to boot a motor vehicle and the telephone number of the office located within the parish or municipality responsible

for receiving complaints regarding the booting of motor vehicles. No release charge for a vehicle that has been booted may be imposed in excess of what is posted on the sign. HB929 also requires identification of booting business employees and those authorized to accept payments to release the booted vehicles. The legislation also provides for sticker information and removal requirements: receipt requirements; and information advising the owner of the vehicle of the right to a hearing. HB929 is pending action by the full House. NOTARIES PUBLIC * House Bill 243, pending consideration by the full House, requires notary public applicants to take a pre-assessment test administered by the secretary of state. The legislation also requires applicants to have satisfied all requirements to be commissioned as a notary public in their parish, except for passing the examination. House Bill 243 exempts from the preassessment test applicants who are admitted to practice law or who hold a valid notarial commission. FIREARMS/SEIZURE * House Bill 145, pending House floor action, provides for an exemption from seizure a debtor's firearms and firearm accessories to satisfy debts. Present law provides an exemption from seizure of a firearm that has a maximum value of $500. House Bill 145 would repeal this, and instead, provides for a maximum value of $2,500. GAMBLING * House Bill 293 outlaws gambling by

an electronic sweepstakes device. Gambling by electronic sweepstakes device is defined as the intentional conducting of, or directly assisting in the conducting of, as a business any game, contest, lottery, or contrivance whereby a person risks the loss of anything of value in order to realize a profit, through the operation of an electronic gaming machine or device that conducts or promotes a sweepstakes through the use of a simulated gambling device, including the entry process or the revealing of a prize. The proposed law provides penalties of a fine of $20,000, imprisonment with or without hard labor for five years, or both. PURPLE HEART RECOGNITION DAY * House Bill 11 recognizes August 7 as Purple Heart Recognition Day, and dedicates the day to the remembrance and recognition of those members of the armed forces of the United States who have earned the Purple Heart Medal for wounds received in combat. HB11 awaits consideration by the full House. CRIMINAL JUSTICE/VICTIMS * House Bill 227 would increase the penalties for assault against a school or recreation athletic contest official. Whoever commits the crime of battery of a school or recreation athletic contest official shall be fined $1,000 to $5,000, and imprisoned for five days to three months. If the offense results in an injury to the victim that requires medical attention, the fine increases to $1,000 to $5,000, and imprisonment for 10 days to six months. HB227 awaits consideration by the full House. * House Bill 530, pending action by the full House, repeals the crime of incest and places the elements and penalties for the crime

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into the offense of crime against nature. Additionally, HB530 directs the Louisiana Law Institute to change all references in Louisiana law accordingly. * House Bill 259 adds "arrests for any aggravated offense or any sexual offense against a minor" to the types of arrest records provided to institutions of postsecondary education when the institution requests criminal history information on an applicant or prospective employee. * House Bill 278 adds "correctional facility employee" to the list of specific victims of the crime of first degree murder. The proposed law defines correctional facility employee as any employee of any jail, prison, or correctional facility who is not a peace officer.. * House Bill 308 would increase the term of imprisonment for the crime of aggravated flight from an officer from two years to ten years. SCHOOL BUS SAFETY * House Bill 600, pending action by the full House, would require the governing authority of public schools, including charter schools, in parishes with a municipality having a population of 300,000 or more to prohibit the loading or unloading of students from a school bus at a school while the bus is in a traffic lane. Further, HB600 requires the governing authorities to adopt policies and procedures providing for the loading and unloading of students at a school in an appropriate off-road location. REGULATION OF EXPLOSIVES * House Bill 337, which seeks to regulate the storage of explosives, would require facilities that store explosives to possess a valid explosives license issued by

the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms, and authorizes the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to inspect such facilities to make sure they are in compliance. NATURAL RESOURCES * House Bill 913 creates the Louisiana Finfish Task Force. The legislation provides for the composition and duties of the task force, which would study and monitor the finfish industry, coordinate efforts to increase finfish production and marketability, and make recommendations to issues pertaining to the finfish industry. HB913 awaits consideration by the full House.
UNSAFE ABORTION PROTECTION ACT

* House Bill 388, pending consideration by the full House, provides additional requirements of physicians who perform abortions in Louisiana. HB388 would require physicians who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles from the location where the abortion takes place, and requires that the pregnant woman be provided with all of the following before the abortion is performed or induced: 1.) A telephone number by which the pregnant woman may reach the physician, or other health care personnel employed by the physician or facility at which the abortion was performed or induced, who has twenty-four hour per day access to the woman's relevant medical records so that the woman may request assistance related to any complication that arises from the performance or induction of the abortion, or to ask health-related questions regarding the abortion. 2.) The name and telephone number of the nearest hospital to the home of the pregnant

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woman at which an emergency arising from the abortion would be treated. 3.) Written notice informing the pregnant woman whether the outpatient abortion facility follows the practice of imposing abortion sales quotas on its employees. No drug or chemical can be administered to the pregnant woman unless the physician has obtained the voluntary and informed consent of the pregnant woman. When any drug or chemical is used for the purpose of inducing an abortion, the legislation requires the physician who prescribed the drug or chemical be in the same room and in the physical presence of the pregnant woman when the drug or chemical is initially administered to the pregnant woman. The legislation imposes the same restrictions on abortions induced by medication as those carried out through surgery. Additionally, HB388 provides for definitions of terms in the Outpatient Abortion Facility Licensing Law; for penalties; for application of laws; for legislative intent; and for related matters. ELECTIONS/CANDIDATES * House Bill 193 , which awaits House final passage, provides that a person who is not affiliated with any political party would be designated as "independent" instead of "no party" on voter registration records, notices of candidacy and a ballot. HB193 would become effective January 1, 2015. PARDONS * House Bill 8 would reduce the length of time required to wait before filing a subsequent application with the Board of Pardons for applicants who are serving a life sentence. The proposed law would reduce the

amount of time an applicant is required to wait before filing a new application, after a prior application has been denied, from seven years to five years. INTERNATIONAL DRIVERS LICENSE * Under House Bill 967, only an international driver's license issued in the foreign individual's country of origin and issued in accordance with the applicable treaty shall be a valid noncommercial driver's license in Louisiana. HB967 prohibits operating a commercial motor vehicle with an international driver's license, and prohibits anyone to issue an international driver's license in this state. HB967 is pendi ng House consideration. TANNING BED SAFETY * House Bill 746, approved in the House by a vote of 97-1, prohibits the use of tanning equipment in a tanning facility for anyone under the age of 18. Further, HB746 requires a sign of at least 8" by 10" posted at the entrance of the tanning facility that states the following: "LOUISIANA LAW PROHIBITS PERSONS UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE FROM USING ANY TANNING FACILITY EQUIPMENT WHICH EMITS ULTRAVIOLET LIGHT FOR THE PURPOSE OF SKIN TANNING"

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