ENROLLED
2018 Third Extraordinary Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 4
BY REPRESENTATIVES MARINO, DUPLESSIS, HAZEL, MUSCARELLO, PYLANT,
AND STEFANSKI
Requests the La. State Law Institute to study and make recommendations relative to
expungement fees
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Louisiana State Law Institute to study and make recommendations
relative to fees for the expungement of arrest and conviction records.
WHEREAS, Louisiana law provides for the expungement of certain arrest and
conviction records under limited circumstances; and
WHEREAS, the provisions of law regarding expungement have been revised over
the years with the goal of simplifying, consolidating, and clarifying expungement
procedures; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana law provides for the mandatory expungement of certain
records when the defendant was arrested and not convicted, the district attorney declines to
prosecute, or the time limitations for the institution of prosecution have expired, without cost
to the defendant; and
WHEREAS, expungement of other records of arrest and conviction not falling into
any of the above categories requires the defendant to pay certain nonrefundable fees to the
Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information, the sheriff of the parish in
which the arrest was made, the district attorney of the parish in which the conviction was
obtained, and the clerk of court; and
WHEREAS, while the maximum amounts of these fees are set by law, the actual
amounts charged by the named entities and the methods of collection can vary from parish
to parish, which creates a level of uncertainty in present law for those persons seeking to
have certain records of arrest or conviction expunged; and
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WHEREAS, a study of the necessity and fairness of the amounts of the fees that may
be charged for an expungement should be undertaken, and a uniform and streamlined
procedure for the payment and collection of these fees should be developed.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Louisiana State Law Institute to study and make recommendations for
the revision of laws regarding expungement fees.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana State Law Institute work in
conjunction with the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, the Louisiana Public
Defender Board, the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association, the Louisiana State Police, the
Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Criminal Justice, the
Louisiana Clerks of Court Association, and any other agencies or associations deemed
appropriate by the committee regarding this study.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana State Law Institute shall report
its findings and recommendations to the Louisiana Legislature no later than February 1,
2019.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
Louisiana State Law Institute.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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