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2020 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 53
BY REPRESENTATIVE STAGNI
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services,
and the office for citizens with developmental disabilities of the Louisiana
Department of Health, jointly, to conduct a study concerning means by which to
ensure the safety of persons with autism and other developmental disabilities,
including but not limited to the potential use of the National Crime Information
Center database for creating a voluntary registry of those persons for use by law
enforcement professionals, and to report findings of the study to certain legislative
committees.
WHEREAS, the Legislature of Louisiana has a sincere concern for the health and
well-being of persons with disabilities and intends that these persons and their families be
afforded all opportunities for the best possible quality of life in this state; and
WHEREAS, the Legislature of Louisiana supports our law enforcement agencies and
the brave men and women who dedicate their professional lives as law enforcement officers
to keeping our communities safe; and
WHEREAS, autism and other developmental disabilities are conditions that can
cause problem behaviors and commonly affect a person's ability to communicate, their
cognition, or both; and
WHEREAS, while performing their duties in protecting the public, law enforcement
professionals may unexpectedly encounter or be asked to locate persons with autism or other
developmental disabilities; and
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WHEREAS, with respect to such exceptional persons, best practices in law
enforcement include training on recognizing and understanding the behavior of those
persons, as well as on effective contact approaches that minimize risks to them and to
officers during law enforcement encounters; and
WHEREAS, Louisiana law, R.S. 40:2404.2(C), provides for training of law
enforcement officers on interacting with persons who have developmental disabilities; and
WHEREAS, a system that facilitates law enforcement professionals easily
ascertaining that a person has autism or a developmental disability would support greater
overall public safety; and
WHEREAS, House Concurrent Resolution No. 84 of the 2019 Regular Session
requested the Louisiana Department of Health to study the feasibility of issuing a special
identification card to individuals with an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis; and
WHEREAS, the study that the Louisiana Department of Health produced in
accordance with that Resolution indicated it is not feasible for the department to issue such
identification cards because it has no processes currently in place within which that function
could be included; and
WHEREAS, the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) of the Federal Bureau
of Investigation is an electronic clearinghouse of data that nearly all criminal justice agencies
nationwide can access twenty-four hours per day, three hundred sixty-five days per year; and
WHEREAS, adding a category in the NCIC database for identifying persons as
having autism or other developmental disabilities could be an optimal solution to any
challenges that law enforcement agencies may face in interacting with this vulnerable
population; and
WHEREAS, a thorough study of this and other means for ensuring the safety of
persons with autism and other developmental disabilities would be of great benefit to the
legislature.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services,
and the office for citizens with developmental disabilities of the Louisiana Department of
Health, jointly, to conduct a study concerning means by which to ensure the safety of
persons with autism and other developmental disabilities, including but not limited to the
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potential use of the National Crime Information Center database for creating a voluntary
registry of those persons for use by law enforcement professionals.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study called for in this Resolution shall
include recommendations for the potential membership and scope of work of a future task
force on public safety issues affecting persons with autism and other developmental
disabilities and their families.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Public Safety and Corrections
and the Louisiana Department of Health shall submit findings from the study called for in
this Resolution in the form of a written report to the House Committee on Administration
of Criminal Justice, the Senate Committee on Judiciary B, the House Committee on Health
and Welfare, the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare, and the David R. Poynter
Legislative Research Library on or before February 1, 2021.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections and the secretary of the
Louisiana Department of Health.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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