HLS 24RS-846 ENGROSSED
2024 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 380
BY REPRESENTATIVE ZERINGUE
COURTS: Provides relative to electronic filings
1 AN ACT
2To amend and reenact R.S. 13:754(A) through (D) and (F) and 850(A), Code of Civil
3 Procedure Article 253(B) and (D), and Code of Criminal Procedure Article 14.1(A)
4 and to enact Code of Civil Procedure Article 253(I) and Code of Criminal Procedure
5 Article 14.1(G), relative to electronic filings; to provide relative to the membership
6 and duties of the Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority; to provide relative to
7 electronic filing standards and requirements; to provide relative to facsimile
8 transmissions; and to provide for related matters.
9Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 13:754(A) through (D) and (F) and 850(A) are hereby amended and
11reenacted to read as follows:
12 §754. Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority; membership; board of
13 commission; statewide portal
14 A. There is hereby created the Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority
15 which shall be referred to as the "LCRAA".
16 B. The LCRAA shall provide for infrastructure, governance, standard
17 operating procedures, technology, maintenance, and training to support a statewide
18 portal with a universal interface for secure remote access by internet users to certain
19 records maintained by LCRAA members. and LCRAA shall provide assistance to
20 LCRAA members in procuring, implementing, enhancing, and maintaining
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1 equipment, supplies, and services related to technology to facilitate electronic
2 transactions and communications and to disseminate information to the public, to
3 facilitate the operations of any member during any declared emergency, and to
4 provide for document preservation. Every district clerk of court shall facilitate
5 electronic filing, recording, and remote access through the LCRAA portal by January
6 1, 2026. LCRAA shall work with the district clerks of court to achieve the goal of
7 electronic filing, recording, and remote access through the universal interface on the
8 statewide portal maintained by LCRAA.
9 C.(1) The LCRAA shall be composed of members who are district clerks of
10 court to provide the LCRAA with secure remote access to indices of certain records
11 maintained by each district clerk of court. LCRAA shall adopt rules permitting
12 additional district clerks of court to enroll as members of LCRAA on a schedule
13 which shall include at least one enrollment period per fiscal year. Every district
14 clerk of court shall become a member of LCRAA by July 1, 2020. LCRAA shall
15 provide the legislature, prior to the convening of the 2020 Regular Session, with a
16 written progress report that includes a list of participating clerks of court by parish
17 and a list of clerks of court by parish not yet participating, an overview of the
18 information currently available through LCRAA, and information on the availability
19 of online records of each clerk of court by parish.
20 D.(1)(2) The LCRAA shall be governed by a seven-member board of
21 commissioners, referred to in this Section as the "board", and consists of the
22 following members:
23 (a) Five commissioners to be elected by the LCRAA from the LCRAA
24 membership.
25 (b) One commissioner to be designated by the Louisiana Bankers
26 Association (LBA).
27 (c) One commissioner to be designated by the Louisiana Land Title
28 Association (LLTA) or the Louisiana Association of Independent Land Title Agents
29 (LAILTA). The commissioners from each association shall serve for a one-year
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HB NO. 380
1 term, alternating between the two associations. The designee of the LAILTA shall
2 serve as the initial commissioner with the term beginning July 1, 2014, and ending
3 June 30, 2015. The term for the designee of the LLTA shall begin on July 1, 2015,
4 and end on June 30, 2016.
5 (2)(3)(a) Board members elected by the LCRAA and elected by the LBA
6 shall serve two-year terms. The initial term shall begin on July 1, 2014, and shall
7 end on June 30, 2016.
8 (b) Board members shall be eligible for election to succeeding terms without
9 limit.
10 (c) Any expired term or vacancy on the board of LCRAA shall be filled in
11 the same manner as the original appointment.
12 (3)(4) The board shall elect from its members a chair, a vice chair, a
13 secretary, a treasurer, and such other officers as it may deem necessary. The duties
14 of the officers shall be fixed by the by-laws adopted by LCRAA.
15 (4)(5) The members of the board shall serve without compensation but shall
16 be reimbursed for their reasonable expenses directly related to the governance of
17 LCRAA.
18 (5)(6) The domicile of LCRAA shall be in East Baton Rouge Parish.
19 D. Every clerk of court shall provide the following information to LCRAA,
20 which shall be compiled by LCRRA and submitted to the legislature no later than
21 January 1, 2025:
22 (1) The case management system or docket system software and software
23 vendor used by each parish clerk of court.
24 (2) The number and percentage of remote electronic filings and physical
25 filings of pleadings converted to electronic image by each parish clerk of court.
26 (3) The capability of the case management system or docket system of each
27 parish clerk of court to accept electronic signatures by judges and the extent of the
28 use of electronic signature systems by judges of the court.
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1 (4) The costs charged by each clerk of court to persons for electronic filing
2 of civil and criminal pleadings and the amounts charged to access, view, and
3 download images of pleadings via an electronic case management system or docket
4 system.
5 (5) The costs charged by each clerk of court for electronic recording of
6 documents effecting land titles.
7 (6) The cost charged by each clerk of court to access, view, or obtain copies
8 of electronic images or paper copies of electronic images of documents in the land
9 title database.
10 * * *
11 F.(1) Beginning September 1, 2014, members of LCRAA shall collect a fee
12 of five dollars per recording of which no more than three dollars shall be remitted to
13 the LCRAA and two dollars the remainder shall be retained by the member to fund
14 costs related to participation in the statewide portal, including but not limited to
15 acquiring hardware and software and providing document preservation. The fees
16 shall be remitted to LCRAA by the tenth day of the month following collection.
17 LCRAA shall use the fees received solely for the purposes set forth in this
18 Subsection Section.
19 (2) Any user fee received by LCRAA shall be used for administering and
20 maintaining the statewide portal and a prorated share, as determined by LCRAA,
21 may be paid to members based upon the public access to the records provided by the
22 member.
23 (3) If the statewide portal is not operational by August 31, 2017, the
24 additional five dollar fee shall cease to be collected.
25 * * *
26 §850. Facsimile transmission; filings in civil actions; fees; equipment and supplies
27 A. Any Until January 1, 2026, any document in a civil action may be filed
28 with the clerk of court by facsimile transmission. All clerks of court shall make
29 available for their use equipment to accommodate facsimile filing in civil actions,
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1 and the clerks of court shall not intentionally turn off or disconnect the equipment
2 used to receive facsimile filings. Filing shall be deemed complete on the date and
3 time indicated on the clerk of court facsimile transmission receipt. No later than on
4 the first business day after receiving a facsimile filing, the clerk of court shall
5 transmit to the filing party via facsimile a confirmation of receipt and include a
6 statement of the fees for the facsimile filing and filing of the original document. The
7 facsimile filing fee and transmission fee are incurred upon receipt of the facsimile
8 filing by the clerk of court and payable as provided in Subsection B of this Section.
9 The facsimile filing shall have the same force and effect as filing the original
10 document, if the filing party complies with Subsection B of this Section.
11 * * *
12 Section 2. Code of Civil Procedure Article 253(B) and (D) are hereby amended and
13reenacted and Code of Civil Procedure Article 253(I) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
14 Art. 253. Pleadings, documents, and exhibits to be filed with clerk
15 * * *
16 B. The filings as provided in Paragraph A of this Article and all other
17 provisions of this Chapter may be transmitted electronically in accordance with a
18 system established by a clerk of court or by Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access
19 Authority. The filer shall be responsible for ensuring private information is not
20 included in filings. No filing shall include the first five digits of any social security
21 number, tax identification numbers, state identification numbers, driver's license
22 numbers, financial account numbers, full dates of birth, or any information protected
23 from disclosure by state or federal law. When such a system is established, the clerk
24 of court shall adopt and implement procedures for the electronic filing and storage
25 of any pleading, document, or exhibit, and the official record shall be the electronic
26 record. A pleading or document filed electronically is deemed filed on the date and
27 time stated on the confirmation of electronic filing sent from the system, if the clerk
28 of court accepts the electronic filing. Public access to electronically filed pleadings
29 and documents shall be in accordance with the rules governing access to paper
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1 filings. The clerk of court may convert into an electronic record any pleading,
2 document, or exhibit as set forth in R.S. 44:116. The originals of conveyances shall
3 be preserved by the clerk of court.
4 * * *
5 D. Any Until January 1, 2026, any pleading or document in a traffic or
6 criminal action may be filed with the court by facsimile transmission in compliance
7 with the provision of the Code of Criminal Procedure Article 14.1.
8 * * *
9 I. Upon adoption of uniform filing standards by the LCRAA, no clerk of
10 court shall accept a filing not in accordance with said standards.
11 * * *
12 Section 3. Code of Criminal Procedure Article 14.1(A) is hereby amended and
13reenacted and Code of Criminal Procedure Article 14.1(G) is hereby enacted to read as
14follows:
15 Art. 14.1. Filing of pleadings and documents by facsimile or electronic transmission
16 A. Any Until January 1, 2026, any document in a traffic or criminal action
17 may be filed with the clerk of court by facsimile transmission if permitted by the
18 policy of the clerk of court. Filing shall be deemed complete at the time the
19 facsimile transmission is received by the clerk of court. No later than on the first
20 business day after receiving a facsimile filing, the clerk of court shall transmit to the
21 filing party via facsimile a confirmation of receipt and include a statement of the fees
22 for the facsimile filing and filing of the original document. The facsimile filing fee
23 and transmission fee are incurred upon receipt of the facsimile filing by the clerk of
24 court and payable as provided in Paragraph B of this Article. The facsimile filing
25 shall have the same force and effect as filing the original document, if the party
26 complies with Paragraph B of this Article.
27 * * *
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1 G.(1) Upon adoption of uniform filing standards by the LCRAA, no clerk of
2 court shall accept a filing not in accordance with the standards adopted by the
3 LCRAA.
4 (2) The filer shall be responsible for ensuring private information is not
5 included in the filings. No filing shall include the first five digits of any social
6 security number, tax identification numbers, state identification numbers, driver's
7 license numbers, financial account numbers, or any information protected from
8 disclosure by state or federal law.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 380 Engrossed 2024 Regular Session Zeringue
Abstract: Provides relative to electronic civil and criminal case filings.
Present law creates the Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority (LCRAA) to provide for
infrastructure, governance, standard operating procedures, technology, and training to
support a statewide portal for secure remote access by internet users to certain records
maintained by LCRAA members, to provide assistance to LCRAA members in procuring,
implementing, enhancing, and maintaining equipment, supplies, and services related to
technology to facilitate electronic transactions and communications, and to disseminate
information to the public, to facilitate the operations of any member during any declared
emergency, and to provide for document preservation.
Proposed law retains present law and adds the requirement of maintenance in order to
support a statewide portal with a universal interface system for secure remote access by
internet users to certain records maintained by LCRAA members.
Proposed law requires every district clerk of court to have the electronic filing system in
place no later than Jan. 1, 2026.
Proposed law requires LCRAA to use the filing fee collected by LCRAA to maintain the
electronic filing system.
Present law provides for the membership of the LCRAA board.
Proposed law retains present law.
Proposed law requires every clerk of court to submit information regarding electronic filing
system capabilities and costs to LCRAA and further requires LCRAA to compile and submit
the information to the legislature no later than Jan. 1, 2025.
Present law allows for any document in a civil, traffic, or criminal action to be filed with the
clerk of court by facsimile transmission.
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Proposed law allows for any document in a civil, traffic, or criminal action to be filed with
the clerk of court by facsimile transmission until Jan. 1, 2026.
Present law allows for any document in a civil, traffic, or criminal action to be filed
electronically in accordance with a system established by a clerk of court or LCRAA.
Proposed law requires, beginning Jan. 1, 2026, that all documents in a civil, traffic, or
criminal action filed by an attorney be transmitted electronically in accordance with a system
established by a clerk of court or LCRAA.
Proposed law provides that upon adoption of uniform filing standards by the LCRAA, no
clerk of court shall accept a filing not in accordance with the standards.
(Amends R.S. 13:754(A)-(D) and (F) and 850(A), C.C.P. Art. 253(B) and (D), and C.Cr.P.
Art. 14.1(A); Adds C.C.P. Art. 253(I) and C.Cr.P. Art. 14.1(G))
Summary of Amendments Adopted by House
The Committee Amendments Proposed by House Committee on Judiciary to the original
bill:
1. Add the requirement of maintenance in order to support a statewide portal with
a universal interface system for secure remote access by internet users to certain
records maintained by LCRAA members.
2. Provide that the LCRAA adopt the uniform filing standards.
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