HLS 25RS-536 ORIGINAL
2025 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 216
BY REPRESENTATIVE JACKSON
Prefiled pursuant to Article III, Section 2(A)(4)(b)(i) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
ETHICS/BOARD: Provides for the broadcast and recordation of meetings of the Board of
Ethics
1 AN ACT
2To enact R.S. 42:1136, relative to the broadcast and recordation of meetings of the Board
3 of Ethics and Supervisory Committee on Campaign Finance Disclosure; to require
4 the live broadcast of such meetings; to require a recorded archive of such meetings;
5 to provide for exceptions; to provide for duties of the board related thereto; and to
6 provide for related matters.
7Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 42:1136 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
9 ยง1136. Broadcast and recordation of meetings
10 A. The Board of Ethics shall broadcast live all of its proceedings in public
11 meetings, including meetings held when functioning as the Supervisory Committee
12 on Campaign Finance Disclosure. Each meeting shall be recorded and made
13 available to the public in an online archive located on the Board of Ethics website
14 for at least two years.
15 B.(1) The failure to broadcast live as required by this Section due to a
16 technological failure beyond the control of the Board of Ethics or beyond its ability
17 to resolve timely is not a violation of this Section or the provisions of the Open
18 Meetings Law.
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HB NO. 216
1 (2) The requirement in this Section to broadcast meetings does not apply to
2 any executive session held in accordance with the Open Meetings Law or any
3 investigation or private hearing held in accordance with this Chapter.
4 (3) The Board of Ethics shall establish standards for the use of lighting,
5 recording, or broadcasting equipment to ensure proper decorum in a public meeting.
6 C. For purposes of this Section, "broadcast live" means the publicly available
7 distribution of audio and video of a meeting in real or near real time via the internet
8 or television broadcast.
9 Section 2. For purposes of implementing the provisions of this Act, the Board of
10Ethics and Supervisory Committee on Campaign Finance Disclosure shall only utilize a
11meeting space currently owned or leased by the state and equipped with broadcasting
12capabilities. Each officer, board, commission, council, department, or agency of state
13government and each political subdivision of the state shall cooperate in providing a suitable
14location and equipment for meetings of the Board of Ethics and Supervisory Committee on
15Campaign Finance Disclosure as necessary to allow the Board of Ethics and Supervisory
16Committee on Campaign Finance Disclosure to comply with the provisions of this Act.
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 216 Original 2025 Regular Session Jackson
Abstract: Requires meetings of the Board of Ethics and Supervisory Committee on
Campaign Finance Disclosure to broadcast live all proceedings in public meetings
and requires that meetings be recorded and archived for at least two years.
Present law (Open Meetings Law) authorizes all of the proceedings in a public meeting to
be video or tape recorded, filmed, or broadcast live. Proposed law retains present law.
Present law applies to public meetings of the Board of Ethics and the Supervisory
Committee on Campaign Finance Disclosure, except to investigations and private hearings
conducted by the Board of Ethics (R.S. 42:1141.4). Proposed law retains present law.
Proposed law requires the Board of Ethics and the Supervisory Committee on Campaign
Finance Disclosure to broadcast live all of its proceedings in public meetings and defines
"broadcast live" as the publicly available distribution of audio and video of a meeting in real
or near real time via the internet or television broadcast. Proposed law requires that all
meetings be recorded and made available to the public in an online archive located on the
Board of Ethics website for at least two years.
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HB NO. 216
Proposed law further provides that the failure to broadcast live due to a technological failure
beyond the control of the Board of Ethics or beyond its ability to resolve timely is not a
violation of present law or proposed law.
Proposed law does not apply to any executive session or any investigation or private hearing
of the Board of Ethics or Supervisory Committee on Campaign Finance Disclosure.
Proposed law requires the Board of Ethics to establish standards for the use of lighting,
recording, or broadcasting equipment to ensure proper decorum in a public meeting.
Proposed law requires the Board of Ethics and Supervisory Committee on Campaign
Finance Disclosure to utilize a meeting space currently owned or leased by the state and
equipped with broadcasting capabilities. Requires each officer, board, commission, council,
department, or agency of state government and each political subdivision of the state to
cooperate in providing a suitable location and equipment for meetings required by proposed
law.
(Adds R.S. 42:1136)
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.