DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part of
the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute part of
the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
Stuart Bishop HB No. 874
Abstract: Requires state agencies to provide an annual report to the legislature of all civil
lawsuits initiated by the agency.
Proposed law institutes a litigation reporting requirement for all state agencies.
More specifically, proposed law requires the head of each agency to make and publish an annual
report to the legislature containing a list of all civil actions wherein the agency is a plaintiff in the
lawsuit. Proposed law also requires the Attorney General to make and publish an annual report
to the legislature containing a list of all civil actions initiated by the State of Louisiana. "Civil
action" is defined in proposed law as any suit, action, or cause instituted in a court of law,
exclusive of criminal matters, matters before an administrative law judge, matters involving
interstate compacts, and actions to recognize judgments.
Proposed law requires the reports to cover all lawsuits instituted, pending, or concluded during
the preceding calendar year. Proposed law requires the reports to contain the following:
(1)The name of all plaintiffs and defendants, the court and docket number, the cause of
action, and the relief sought.
(2)The current status of the case, including whether the case has been heard, whether there is
a final judgment therein, whether the case has settled, and whether an appeal has been
taken.
(3)The names of all outside counsel representing the agency and the monetary agreement
with the agency.
Proposed law generally applies to civil actions filed by state agencies listed in proposed law but
provides exceptions for the following types of matters: lawsuit brought pursuant to the Louisiana
Children's Code; Medicaid fraud and recovery cases; cases involving the Motor Vehicle Safety
Responsibility Law (compulsory motor vehicle insurance); cases brought by the Dept. of
Revenue to collect less than $10,000 of state taxes owed; cases brought for wildlife and fisheries'
class one violations; and, cases involving recovery of unemployment insurance payments and
worker's compensation fraud.
Proposed law requires the report to be submitted to the legislature one week before the convening
of each annual legislative session. (Adds R.S. 36:8.1)