ENROLLED ACT No. 452 2022 Regular Session HOUSE BILL NO. 248 BY REPRESENTATIVES WILLARD, LANDRY, AND GLOVER AND SENATORS BARROW, BOUDREAUX, BOUIE, CARTER, CONNICK, JACKSON, LUNEAU, AND PRICE AND REPRESENTATIVE FREEMAN 1 AN ACT 2 To amend and reenact R.S. 1:55(A)(1) and (7), (B)(2), (D), and (E)(1)(a)(i), relative to legal 3 holidays; to provide for the removal of certain holidays; and to provide for related 4 matters. 5 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana: 6 Section 1. R.S. 1:55(A)(1) and (7), (B)(2), (D), and (E)(1)(a)(i) are hereby amended 7 and reenacted to read as follows: 8 ยง55. Days of public rest, legal holidays, and half-holidays 9 A. The following shall be days of public rest and legal holidays and 10 half-holidays: 11 (1) The following shall be days of public rest and legal holidays: Sundays; 12 January 1, New Year's Day; January 8, Battle of New Orleans; the third Monday in 13 January, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday; January 19, Robert E. Lee Day; third 14 Monday in February, Washington's Birthday; and Presidents' Day; the day of Mardi 15 Gras; Good Friday; the last Monday in May, National Memorial Day; June 3, 16 Confederate Memorial Day; July 4, Independence Day; August 30, Huey P. Long 17 Day; the first Monday in September, Labor Day; the second Monday in October, 18 Christopher Columbus Day; November 1, All Saints' Day; November 11, Veterans' 19 Day; the fourth Thursday in November, Thanksgiving Day; December 25, Christmas 20 Day; Inauguration Day in the city of Baton Rouge; provided, however, that in the 21 parish of Orleans, the city of Baton Rouge, in each of the parishes comprising the Page 1 of 5 CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored are additions. HB NO. 248 ENROLLED 1 second and sixth congressional districts, except the parish of Ascension, and in each 2 of the parishes comprising the fourteenth and thirty-first judicial districts of the state, 3 the whole of every Saturday shall be a legal holiday, and in the parishes of 4 Catahoula, Caldwell, West Carroll, Concordia, East Carroll, Franklin, Madison, 5 Morehouse, Ouachita, Richland, Tensas, Union, Jackson, Avoyelles, West Feliciana, 6 Rapides, Natchitoches, Grant, LaSalle, Winn, Lincoln, and East Baton Rouge, the 7 whole of every Saturday shall be a holiday for all banking institutions, and in the 8 parishes of Sabine and Vernon each Wednesday and Saturday, from 12:00 o'clock 9 noon until 12:00 o'clock midnight, shall be a half-holiday for all banking institutions. 10 All banks and trust companies, however, may, each at its option, remain open and 11 exercise all of its regular banking functions and duties upon January 8; Dr. Martin 12 Luther King, Jr.'s Birthday; January 19; Washington's Birthday; Presidents' Day; 13 Good Friday; National Memorial Day; June 3; August 30; Christopher Columbus 14 Day; November 1; and Veterans' Day; and all banks and trust companies located in 15 Ward 1 of the parish of Avoyelles may, each at its option, remain open and exercise 16 all of its regular banking functions and duties until 12 o'clock noon on Saturdays; 17 however, when on any of said last named days any bank or trust company does 18 actually remain open it shall, as to transactions on such day, to exactly the same 19 extent as if such day were not otherwise a legal holiday, be not subject to any of the 20 provisions of R.S. 7:85 and 251 or any other laws of Louisiana covering the matters 21 of maturity of negotiable instruments and demand, notice, presentment, acceptance, 22 or protest thereof on legal holidays and half-holidays, and all instruments payable to 23 or at such bank upon such day shall become due on such day; and provided, further, 24 that the option of remaining open shall not, except as otherwise provided in this 25 Paragraph, apply to Saturdays or Wednesdays which are holidays or half-holidays, 26 or to Mardi Gras when the same has been declared a legal holiday; and provided still 27 further that nothing in any law of this state shall in any manner whatsoever affect the 28 validity of or render void or voidable the payment, certification, or acceptance of a 29 check or other negotiable instrument or any other transaction by a bank in Louisiana 30 because done on any holiday or half-holiday or because done on any day upon which Page 2 of 5 CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored are additions. HB NO. 248 ENROLLED 1 such bank, if remaining open because of the option given it herein, if the payment, 2 certification, acceptance, or other transaction could have been validly done on any 3 other day. 4 * * * 5 (7) The third Monday in February, the birthday of President George 6 Washington and Presidents' Day, for public schools; provided however, that a local 7 school board shall decide to observe this holiday during a regularly scheduled school 8 day with or without the necessity of adjourning school for all or any portion of the 9 school day. 10 * * * 11 B. Legal holidays shall be observed by the departments of the state as 12 follows: 13 * * * 14 (2) Robert E. Lee Day, Washington's Birthday, Presidents' Day and National 15 Memorial Day, Confederate Memorial Day, and Huey P. Long Day shall be observed 16 only in such manner as the governor may proclaim, considering the pressure of the 17 state's business; however, not more than two such legal holidays shall be proclaimed 18 in any one year, one of which shall be National Memorial Day. 19 * * * 20 D. Notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 6:65 or any other law to the 21 contrary, all banking institutions and savings and loan associations located within the 22 parishes of Terrebonne, Lafourche, Iberia, Pointe Coupee, West Baton Rouge, St. 23 Mary, and Iberville, and all banking institutions located within the parishes of 24 Lafayette and St. Landry, shall be closed during any year on Saturdays, Sundays, 25 New Year's Day, Mardi Gras, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and 26 Christmas; provided, however, that when New Year's Day, Independence Day or 27 Christmas fall on a Sunday, said banking institutions and savings and loan 28 associations shall be closed on the next day, and said financial institutions may, each 29 at its option, remain open and exercise all of its regular functions and duties upon 30 January eighth; January nineteenth; the third Monday in February, Washington's Page 3 of 5 CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored are additions. HB NO. 248 ENROLLED 1 Birthday; and Presidents' Day; Good Friday; the last Monday in May, National 2 Memorial Day; June third; August thirtieth; the second Monday in October, 3 Christopher Columbus Day; November first; and November eleventh, Veterans' Day; 4 and further provided that when on any of said last named days any said financial 5 institution does actually remain open it shall, as to transactions on such day, to 6 exactly the same extent as if such day were not otherwise a legal holiday, be not be 7 subject to any of the provisions of R.S. 7:85 and 251, or any other laws of Louisiana, 8 covering the matters of maturity of negotiable instruments and demands, notice, 9 presentment, acceptance or protest thereof on legal holidays and half-holidays, and 10 all instruments payable to or at such bank upon such day shall become due on such 11 day; and provided further that the option of remaining open shall not apply to 12 Saturdays or Wednesdays which are holidays or half-holidays, or to Mardi Gras 13 when the same has been declared a legal holiday; and provided further that nothing 14 in any law of this state shall in any manner whatsoever affect the validity of, or 15 render void or voidable, the payment, certification of acceptance of a check or other 16 negotiable instrument, or any other transaction by a bank in Louisiana because done 17 on any holiday or half-holiday or because done on any day upon which such 18 financial institution if remaining open because of the option given it herein, if the 19 payment, certification, acceptance, or other transaction could have been validly done 20 on any other day, provided, however, that in the parishes of Beauregard, Sabine, 21 Vernon, Evangeline and DeSoto the banking institutions may elect to make the 22 whole of Saturdays holidays and close, in lieu of half-holidays on Wednesdays and 23 half-holidays on Saturdays. 24 E.(1)(a)(i) Each clerk of a district court, parish court, and city court shall 25 close his office on the following days: New Year's Day, January first; Washington's 26 Birthday, and Presidents' Day, the third Monday in February; Good Friday; 27 Memorial Day, the last Monday in May; the Fourth of July; Labor Day, the first 28 Monday in September; All Saints' Day, November first; Veterans' Day, November 29 eleventh; Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday in November, and the next day, Page 4 of 5 CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored are additions. HB NO. 248 ENROLLED 1 Friday; Christmas Eve Day; Christmas Day; and New Year's Eve Day, December thirty-first. 2 * * * SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA APPROVED: Page 5 of 5 CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored are additions.