2023 Regular Session ENROLLED SENATE BILL NO. 142 BY SENATOR CARTER Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana. 1 AN ACT 2 To enact R.S. 13:981.1, relative to district courts; to provide for the appointment of official 3 and deputy reporters in certain instances; to provide for qualifications, duties, and 4 responsibilities; to provide for fees; to provide for bond; and to provide for related 5 matters. 6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana: 7 Section 1. R.S. 13:981.1 is hereby enacted to read as follows: 8 ยง981.1. Court reporter shortage 9 A. (1) Notwithstanding R.S. 37:2556(A)(1), the judges of a district court, 10 acting en banc, may declare a shortage of available certified court reporters in 11 their district. Upon such a declaration and for the duration of the shortage, a 12 judge of that district may appoint as an official or deputy court reporter a court 13 reporter who is properly licensed in another state. 14 (2) Prior to engaging in duties as a certified official or deputy reporter 15 as provided in Subsection B of this Section, the Louisiana Board of Examiners 16 of Certified Shorthand Reporters shall have five days after receipt of both the 17 letter of appointment and a completed application for waiver of regular 18 examination, as provided in R.S. 37:2554(B)(1), to approve or reject the 19 application. The out-of-state reporter shall not engage in duties as a certified 20 official or deputy reporter until the expiration of the five-day period allotted for 21 the review. 22 (3) Upon the expiration of the five-day period, the board shall recognize 23 the reporter's appointment as effective, unless it was rejected as provided by 24 Paragraph (2) of this Section. ACT No. 326 Page 1 of 2 Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and underscored are additions. SB NO. 142 ENROLLED 1 B. A court reporter appointed in accordance with Subsection A of this 2 Section shall: 3 (1) Have the same duties and responsibilities as provided for other 4 official and deputy reporters in this Part for the specific district court. 5 (2) Be entitled to the same fees paid in the same manner as provided for 6 other official and deputy reporters in this Part for the specific district court. 7 (3) Be paid a salary, take an oath, and provide a bond as provided for 8 other reporters in this Part for the specific district court and Chapter 1 of this 9 Title. 10 (4) Perform duties under the supervision and direction of the district 11 court judge to whom the reporter is assigned. 12 (5) Complete a reciprocal application for certification with the Louisiana 13 Board of Examiners of Certified Shorthand Reporters in accordance with the 14 provisions of R.S. 37:2554. 15 (6) Not perform duties as a free-lance reporter. PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA APPROVED: Page 2 of 2 Coding: Words which are struck through are deletions from existing law; words in boldface type and underscored are additions.