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)]
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP ORT DIGEST
HB 196 2015 Regular Session Schexnayder
Keyword and oneliner of the instrument as it left the House
PROPERTY/SERVITUDES: Provides relative to utility servitudes
Report adopts Senate amendments to:
1. Delete comments prepared by the Louisiana State Law Institute.
Report rejects Senate amendments which would have:
1. Made technical and substantive amendments to add provisions relative to a servitude of
passage on or across levees for enclosed estates.
Report amends the bill to:
1. Provide detailed provisions establishing a servitude of passage on or across levees for
enclosed estates.
Digest of the bill as proposed by the Conference Committee
Present law (C.C. Arts. 693, 694, and 696.1, as amended by Acts 2012, No. 739, apply, in addition
to estates that have no access to a public road, to estates that have no access to a public utility.
Accordingly, principles relative to utilities and utility servitudes have been combined with Civil
Code Articles relative to the right of passage for enclosed estates.
Present law (C.C. Art. 693) provides that if an estate becomes enclosed as a result of a voluntary act
or omission of its owner, the neighbors are not bound to furnish a passage to him or his successors.
Proposed law provides the same result relative to utility servitudes.
Present law (C.C. Art. 694) provides in cases of partition or voluntary alienation that the passage
shall be furnished gratuitously even if the route is not the route that otherwise would be selected. Proposed law retains present law and adds a similar provision for utility servitudes.
Present law (C.C. Art. 696.1) defines "utility" as a service such as electricity, water, sewer, gas,
telephone, cable television, and other commonly used power and communication networks required
for the operation of an ordinary household or business.
Proposed law provides instead that a utility is a service such as electricity, water, sewer, gas,
telephone, cable, and power and communication networks of the kind commonly used in the
operation of an ordinary household, whether the service is provided to a household or business.
Proposed law (C.C. Art. 696.1) specifies that the burden imposed on the servient estate shall not be
substantially different from that required to provide the utility to an ordinary household.
Proposed law provides that any new or additional maintenance burden on the servient estate shall
be the responsibility of the dominant estate.
Proposed law authorizes levee boards and drainage boards to grant servitudes of passage along
existing levee roads.
Proposed law authorizes an owner of an estate that has no access to a public road to claim a servitude
of passage across the neighbor's land to reach an existing levee road and to traverse the levee road
to the nearest public road whether or not there is a public road nearer to the enclosed estate.
Proposed law provides that if an owner of an enclosed estate obtains a servitude of passage to run
along a levee road that requires construction of a road connecting the enclosed estate to the levee
road, the owner of the enclosed estate shall build the connecting road at his cost.
Proposed law provides that an owner of an enclosed estate who avails himself of a servitude of
passage along a levee road shall retain his legal status as an owner without access to a public road
and shall remain entitled to pursue a remedy against his neighbor as if he had not obtained a
servitude of passage along a levee road.
Proposed law provides that the levee board or drainage board whose levee road becomes subject to
a servitude of passage shall be entitled to impose reasonable rules, costs, fees, and conditions for the
use of the servitude passage, including but not limited to the condition that the owner of the enclosed
estate be subject to any condition imposed on other authorized users of the levee road and the right
to require locked gates to the levee road, but in such case, the levee board or drainage board shall
provide the owner with keys or codes to open the gates.
Proposed law provides that a servitude under proposed law shall be subject to approval and
concurrence, with or without conditions, of the Department of Transportation and Development, or
for the levees or integrated coastal protection projects in the coastal area as defined in R.S.49:214.2,
the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority.
Proposed law provides that if an owner of an enclosed estate obtains a servitude of passage, neither he, nor his agents, nor his invitees shall have any claims against the state, any division of the state,
the levee board, or the drainage board from whom the owner obtains the servitude of passage or any
owner of land over which the servitude of passage exists for any personal injury, property damage,
or other loss, unless the state, or the division of the state, or the levee board or drainage board from
which the owner obtained the servitude of passage.
Proposed law provides that a servitude of passage granted under proposed law is regulated by
application of the rules governing predial servitudes to the extent their application is compatible with
the rules of propose law and the statutory and regulatory authority of the levee or drainage district
authorizing the servitude of passage.
Proposed law prohibits application of proposed law to any action brought pursuant to Title 19 of the
Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
(Amends C.C. Arts. 693, 694, and 696.1; Adds R.S. 9:1262 - 1268)