2023 Regular Session ENROLLED
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 170
BY SENATOR DUPLESSIS
A RESOLUTION
To create and provide for the Task Force on Crime Against Nature by Solicitation.
WHEREAS, R.S. 14:89, crime against nature by solicitation, prohibits solicitation
of another with the intent to engage in any unnatural carnal copulation for compensation; and
WHEREAS, R.S. 14:82, the crime of prostitution, prohibits similar conduct; and
WHEREAS, the criminal statutes do not specifically define "unnatural carnal
copulation"; and
WHEREAS, the United States Supreme Court, in Lawrence v. Texas, (539 U.S. 558
(2003)), permitted adults to "choose to enter upon this relationship in the confines of their
homes and their own private lives and still retain their dignity as free persons"; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana Electorate
of Gays and Lesbians, Inc. v. Connick, 902 So.2d 1090 (La. App. 5 Cir. 2005), found parts
of the crime against nature statute unconstitutional in light of Lawrence; and
WHEREAS, the Louisiana State Law Institute has recommended that R.S.
14:89(A)(1), (B)(1), (2), and (3), and (C) be repealed in their entirety; and
WHEREAS, the crime against nature statute has a potential sentence of two thousand
dollars, imprisonment with or without hard labor for five years, or both, on a first offense;
and
WHEREAS, both the prostitution and crime against nature by solicitation statutes
have a potential sentence of five hundred dollars, imprisonment for six months, or both; and
WHEREAS, male sex workers are more likely to be charged with crime against
nature rather than prostitution, and thus face a harsher penalty, if the other participant is
male; and
WHEREAS, there exists a question of whether the crime against nature by
solicitation statute is constitutional or in violation of a person's due process rights.
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THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Senate of the Legislature of Louisiana
does hereby establish and provide for the Task Force on Crime Against Nature by
Solicitation, to study the effects of enforcement of the crime against nature by solicitation
statute, and to propose recommendations, together with specific proposals for legislation,
if the task force deems it necessary or appropriate, by written report to the Senate and to the
David R. Poynter Legislative Research Library as required by R.S. 24:771 and 772, no later
than March 1, 2024.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall consist of the following
members:
(1) Three representatives of Operation Restoration, appointed by the president of the
board of directors, one of whom will be designated by the president of the board of directors
to serve as chairman for the initial meeting.
(2) One member of the Louisiana Senate, appointed by the president of the Senate.
(3) A representative from the office of the governor, appointed by the governor.
(4) A representative from the Department of Public Safety and Corrections,
appointed by the secretary of the department.
(5) A representative from the office of state police, appointed by the superintendent.
(6) A representative from the office of motor vehicles, appointed by the deputy
secretary for the office of motor vehicles.
(7) A member of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, appointed by the
executive director.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each designating authority shall submit the
names of designees to the task force to the chairman of the initial meeting, no later than
September 1, 2023.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall convene for its first meeting
no later than October 1, 2023, at the call of the chairman of the initial meeting, and at the
first meeting, the members shall elect a chairman and other officers as the task force may
deem appropriate.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall receive staff support from
Operation Restoration.
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BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that in conducting this study, the task force may seek
input and advice from the Louisiana Board of Pardons and committee on parole, an expert
on the history of crime against nature by solicitation, an expert on the enforcement of crime
against nature by solicitation, an expert on constitutional law with a background in crime
against nature by solicitation or similar offenses, two or three people directly impacted by
the enforcement of the crime against nature by solicitation statute, at least one expert on the
incarceration of women, LGBTQ+ people, or sex workers, at least one expert on Louisiana's
transgender community, and one faith-based leader.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a majority of the task force shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business and all official actions of the task force shall require
the affirmative vote of a majority of the members.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the members of the task force shall serve
without compensation, except per diem or expenses reimbursement to which they may be
individually entitled as members of their constituent organizations.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall terminate on the date of the
submission of its report, if any is submitted, or March 1, 2024, whichever occurs first.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
governor, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, the office of state police, and
the office of motor vehicles, the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, and Operation
Restoration.
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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