ENROLLED
ACT No. 205
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 757
BY REPRESENTATIVES ROBERT OWEN AND DUBUISSON
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 13:1875(13), 1899(J), 2080.1(B), 2106(A) and (B), 2487.1,
3 2487.17, 2586(C)(6)(c), and 5202(E), R.S. 15:254.7, and Code of Civil Procedure
4 Articles 4843(H), 4844(A)(6), and 4847(A)(6), relative to the City Court of Slidell;
5 to change the name from the City Court of Slidell to the City Court of East St.
6 Tammany; to provide relative to the establishment of city court; to provide relative
7 to the seal of the City Court of Slidell; to provide relative to the compensation of the
8 city court judges; to provide relative to the jurisdiction and procedure of city court;
9 to provide relative to court fees and costs; to provide relative to off duty law
10 enforcement officers subpoenaed to testify; and to provide for related matters.
11 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
12 Section 1. R.S. 13:1875(13), 1899(J), 2080.1(B), 2106(A) and (B), 2487.1, 2487.17,
13 2586(C)(6)(c), and 5202(E) are hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
14 §1875. Compensation of city judges; particular courts
15 The judges of the following city courts shall receive the salaries herein
16 provided:
17 * * *
18 (13) Notwithstanding any other statute or provision of law to the contrary,
19 particularly R.S. 13:1874(B), the judge of the City Court of Slidell East St.
20 Tammany shall receive a minimum annual salary of twelve thousand nine hundred
21 twenty-nine dollars payable monthly on his own warrant by the city of Slidell, and
22 a minimum annual salary of three thousand six hundred dollars payable monthly on
23 his own warrant by the parish of St. Tammany. The state shall pay the salary
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1 specified by R.S. 13:1874(E). In addition, he shall also receive the same fees as are
2 payable to justices of the peace in all civil cases where the amount involved does not
3 exceed one hundred dollars, exclusive of interest, and the same fees as are payable
4 to clerks of district courts in all other civil cases. He shall not receive any fees in
5 criminal matters, including peace bond cases. The city of Slidell and the parish of
6 St. Tammany, or either of them, may pay such additional salary as they may from
7 time to time deem proper.
8 * * *
9 §1899. Assessment and disposition of costs in criminal cases; costs in juvenile
10 matters for specified courts
11 * * *
12 J. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any fees received by the
13 City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure
14 Article 895.1(C) in excess of the amount needed to defray the costs of supervision
15 in criminal, traffic, and juvenile cases may be used for the operational expenses of
16 the city court.
17 * * *
18 §2080.1. Miscellaneous city courts; fees; surplus in civil fee account
19 * * *
20 B. Each of the marshals of the City Court of Opelousas, the City Court of
21 Ruston, the City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany, and the City Court of Sulphur,
22 may collect a fee of ten dollars for the taking of an appearance bond when required
23 to do so. The city court in such municipality may also impose an additional five-
24 dollar fee as court costs in civil and criminal matters. The sums collected for the
25 taking of an appearance bond, and any additional court costs as provided in this
26 Subsection, shall be deposited in such marshal's general fund to supplement the
27 operational expenses of the marshal's office and the expenditure of such funds shall
28 be subject to and included in the marshal's annual audit. A copy of the audit shall
29 be filed with the legislative auditor who shall make it available for public inspection.
30 * * *
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1 §2106. Particular courts; nonrefundable fee; assessment and disposition
2 A. In addition to all other fees and costs now or hereafter provided by law,
3 the clerk of court of the city court of Slidell City Court of East St. Tammany and the
4 clerk of the Twenty-Second Judicial District Court, St. Tammany Parish, except as
5 otherwise provided by law and subject to the provisions of Code of Civil Procedure
6 Article 5181 et seq., shall collect from every person filing any type of civil suit or
7 proceeding involving domestic violence a nonrefundable fee of twenty-five dollars
8 per filing.
9 B. In each criminal proceeding, involving family violence as defined in R.S.
10 46:2121.1, simple or third degree rape, forcible or second degree rape, aggravated
11 or first degree rape, aggravated assault, aggravated battery, simple battery,
12 aggravated kidnapping, simple kidnapping, or false imprisonment, or any attempt to
13 commit the aforementioned crimes, a nonrefundable fee of twenty-five dollars shall
14 be collected by the clerk of the city court of Slidell City Court of East St. Tammany
15 and the clerk of the Twenty-Second Judicial District Court, St. Tammany Parish,
16 which shall be in addition to all other fines, costs, or forfeitures lawfully imposed.
17 If the defendant is found guilty and placed on probation, the court shall, as a
18 condition of probation require the defendant to pay the additional fee at the time the
19 defendant is placed on probation. If the sentence of the court is incarceration, the fee
20 shall be collected at the time of imposition of sentence.
21 * * *
22 §2487.1. City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany
23 The offices of justice of the peace and constable in Ward 9 and that part of
24 Ward 8 of St. Tammany Parish within the city of Slidell and the mayor's court in the
25 city of Slidell are abolished, and there is hereby established a court to be styled a
26 City Court of Slidell, Louisiana East St. Tammany. The territorial jurisdiction of the
27 court shall extend throughout Ward 8 and Ward 9 of St. Tammany Parish. In that
28 part of Ward 8 outside of the city of Slidell, the subject matter jurisdiction of the
29 Eighth Ward Justice of the Peace Court shall be the same as provided by law for
30 other justice of the peace courts. The jurisdiction of the mayor's court for the town
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1 of Pearl River, Louisiana shall remain unchanged and unaffected by the provisions
2 of this Section. The City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany shall be composed of
3 a city judge, a marshal, and a clerk of said court. The judge and marshal of the city
4 court shall be elected at the congressional election every six years thereafter.
5 * * *
6 §2487.17. Seal
7 The court shall be provided with a seal which shall contain a vignette of the
8 state seal, with the words, "Seal of the City Court of Slidell, Louisiana East St.
9 Tammany", which shall be used on all orders, writs and processes issuing from the
10 court. However, the absence of the seal shall not affect the validity of such
11 documents.
12 * * *
13 §2586. Jurisdiction and procedure
14 * * *
15 C.
16 * * *
17 (6)
18 * * *
19 (c) In Ward 8, a property standards or nuisance violation adopted pursuant
20 to local ordinance shall be prosecuted in City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany or
21 Ward 8 Justice of the Peace Court. In Ward 9, a property standards or nuisance
22 violation adopted pursuant to local ordinance shall be prosecuted in City Court of
23 Slidell East St. Tammany.
24 * * *
25 §5202. Jurisdiction
26 * * *
27 E. In the City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany, the small claims division
28 shall have civil subject matter jurisdiction in cases where the amount in dispute is the
29 same as the amount established for civil jurisdiction in a justice of the peace court,
30 exclusive of interest, court costs, attorney fees, or penalties, whether provided by
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1 agreement or by law, provided that not more than ten parties plaintiff shall be joined
2 in the same action pursuant to Article 463 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and there
3 shall be no class certification pursuant to Articles 591 through 597 of the Code of
4 Civil Procedure.
5 * * *
6 Section 2. R.S. 15:254.7 is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
7 §254.7. Compensation of off-duty law enforcement officers; City Court of Slidell
8 East St. Tammany
9 Any sheriff, deputy sheriff, city or state police officer, or other law
10 enforcement officer subpoenaed to testify in a traffic, criminal, or juvenile case
11 before the City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany on a date or at a time when such
12 officer is off duty shall be paid the sum of twenty-five dollars per subpoena per day
13 by the clerk of the City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany. The clerk of the City
14 Court of Slidell East St. Tammany shall transmit the fees due under this Section to
15 the law enforcement officer's employer within thirty days after the officer qualifies
16 for the fee. The employer shall be responsible for calculating and withholding all
17 requisite deductions for taxes and for transferring or remitting all sums of employee
18 withholdings to the appropriate taxing authorities, on behalf of the law enforcement
19 officer and, within thirty days after receipt of the funds, for making payment of the
20 appropriate net amount to the law enforcement officer. Compensation allowed law
21 enforcement officers as witnesses in accordance with the provisions of this Section
22 shall not be deemed to be in lieu of, or to constitute any portion of, the salary or
23 compensation paid to such law enforcement officers for the performance of the
24 duties of their jobs, nor shall the payment of such witness fees be taken into
25 consideration in determining the salary, any salary increase, or any supplemental pay
26 by the state to which any law enforcement officer is or becomes entitled. As a
27 condition precedent to receipt of the compensation provided in this Section, the law
28 enforcement officer and his superior shall be required to certify to the clerk of the
29 City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany that the officer was summoned to testify on
30 a day while he was off duty and did in fact appear in court as commanded in the
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1 subpoena. The maximum allowable fee to be received by an officer on any given
2 day when he is summoned in an off-duty status will be seventy-five dollars, no
3 matter how many summons he receives for that specific day. Said sum shall be in
4 addition to any other compensation the law enforcement officer is eligible to receive.
5 When the fee is for the testimony of an off-duty law enforcement officer employed
6 by public safety services of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, the fee
7 shall be paid directly to public safety services.
8 * * *
9 Section 3. Code of Civil Procedure Articles 4843(H), 4844(A)(6), and 4847(A)(6)
10 are hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
11 Art. 4843. City court jurisdiction; amount in dispute; injunctive actions by state or
12 political subdivision
13 * * *
14 H. In the City Court of Alexandria, the Third Ward City Court of Franklin,
15 the City Court of Pineville, the City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany, the City
16 Court of Ruston, and the City Court of Lake Charles, the civil jurisdiction is
17 concurrent with the district court in cases where the amount in dispute, or the value
18 of the property involved, does not exceed fifty thousand dollars.
19 * * *
20 Art. 4844. Amount in dispute; eviction proceedings
21 A. A parish court or city court shall have jurisdiction, concurrent with the
22 district court, over suits by owners and landlords for the possession of leased
23 premises as follows:
24 * * *
25 (6) In the City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany, the city court shall have
26 the same jurisdictional limit for possession of leased premises in eviction
27 proceedings as provided for in Code of Civil Procedure Article 4912 for justice of
28 the peace courts.
29 * * *
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1 Art. 4847. Limitations upon jurisdiction
2 A.
3 * * *
4 (6) A case in which the state, or a parish, municipal, or other political
5 corporation is a defendant, except for a petition for nullity filed in the City Court of
6 Slidell East St. Tammany to nullify a judgment of bond forfeiture rendered by the
7 City Court of Slidell East St. Tammany.
8 * * *
9 Section 4. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
10 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
11 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
12 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
13 effective on the day following such approval.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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