HB 579

ENROLLED
 2026 Regular Session
  ACT No. 815
 HOUSE BILL NO. 579
 BY REPRESENTATIVES LAFLEUR, BOUDREAUX, BOYD, BRASS, BRYANT,
  WILFORD CARTER, CHASSION, FREEMAN, FREIBERG, GREEN, DANA
  HENRY, KERNER, LACOMBE, MANDIE LANDRY, TERRY LANDRY,
  LARVADAIN, LYONS, MARCELLE, MOORE, MURRAY, NEWELL, SPELL,
  STAGNI, TAYLOR, WALTERS, AND YOUNG
1AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 46:1844(O)(1) and (W)(1)(a) and 1845(C)(2) and (12) and (D)
3and to enact R.S. 46:1844(W)(1)(d) and 1845(C)(13), relative to the Sexual Assault
4Survivor Bill of Rights; to provide relative to certain rights of a sexual assault
5survivor; to provide relative to the preservation of sexual assault collection kits; to
6provide for the confidentiality of certain information; to provide for exceptions; to
7provide for the right to be notified of the rights contained within the Sexual Assault
8Survivor Bill of Rights; and to provide for related matters.
9 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10Section 1. R.S. 46:1844(O)(1) and (W)(1)(a) and 1845(C)(2) and (12) and (D) are
11 hereby amended and reenacted and R.S. 46:1844(W)(1)(d) and 1845(C)(13) are hereby
12 enacted to read as follows:
13§1844. Basic rights for victim and witness
14*       *  *
15O. Notification of pardon or parole.
16(1) The Board of Pardons or the committee on parole, respectively, shall
17notify the victim or the victim's family and all persons who file a victim registration
18and notification form and the appropriate district attorney that a hearing has been set
19for the person convicted of the crime. The victim or victim's family shall have the
20right to make written and oral statements as to the impact of the crime at any hearing
21before the board or committee and to rebut any statements or evidence introduced
22by the inmate or defendant. The victim or the victim's family, a victim advocacy
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 HB NO. 579  ENROLLED
1group, and the district attorney or his representative may also appear before the board
2or committee in person or by means of teleconference or telephone communication.
3The board shall not prohibit the statement from being directed toward the inmate or
4defendant unless the statement disturbs the decorum of the hearing.
5*       *  *
6W. Confidentiality of crime victims who are minors, victims of sex offenses,
7and victims of human trafficking-related offenses.
8(1)(a) In order to protect the identity and provide for the safety and welfare
9of crime victims who are minors under the age of eighteen years and of victims of
10sex offenses or human trafficking-related offenses, notwithstanding any provision
11of law to the contrary, all public officials and officers and public agencies, including
12but not limited to all law enforcement agencies, sheriffs, district attorneys, judicial
13officers, clerks of court, the Crime Victims Reparations Board, and the Department
14of Children and Family Services or any division thereof, shall not publicly disclose
15the name, address, contact information, or identity of crime victims who at the time
16of the commission of the offense are minors under eighteen years of age or of
17victims of sex offenses or human trafficking-related offenses, regardless of the date
18of commission of the offense. The confidentiality of the identity of the victim who
19at the time of the commission of the offense is a minor under eighteen years of age
20or the victim of a sex offense or human trafficking-related offense may be waived
21by the victim. The public disclosure of the name of the juvenile crime victim by any
22public official or officer or public agency is not prohibited by this Subsection when
23the crime resulted in the death of the victim. Nothing in this Subsection shall be
24construed to require the redaction of a victim's name when the named victim is the
25one requesting such documents, reports, or any other records.
26*       *  *
27(d) The provisions of Subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this Paragraph shall not
28apply to the following:
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1(i) Except as provided in Item (d)(ii), a minor under the age of eighteen years
2who is the victim of any criminal homicide enumerated in R.S. 14:29 or of any other
3criminal offense in which the death of the victim is an element.
4(ii) A victim of any sex offense or human trafficking-related offense who is
5also the victim of any criminal homicide enumerated in R.S. 14:29 or of any other
6criminal offense in which death of the victim is an element, when the death is related
7to the sex offense or human trafficking-related offense.
8*       *  *
9§1845. Sexual Assault Survivor Bill of Rights
10*       *  *
11C. A sexual assault survivor shall have the following rights:
12*       *  *
13(2) The right to have an unreported a sexual assault collection kit preserved,
14without charge, for at least twenty years for the maximum period provided by law
15or policy, but in no event fewer than twenty years.
16*       *  *
17(12) The right to be notified of all of the rights contained in this Subsection.
18(13) The right to retain any other rights that a survivor may have under any
19other law of this state.
20D. Any complaint about a violation of this Section may be submitted directly
21to the Senate Select Committee on Women and Children or the House Select
22Committee on Women and Children for legislative oversight.
23Section 2. Any discretionary funds provided to the state through the Services,
24 Training, Officers, and Prosecutors (STOP) Violence Against Women Formula Grant
25 Program, administered by the Office on Violence Against Women (OVW), shall be used to
26 update and provide information on the notice required in accordance with this Act. The
27 notice shall be developed in consultation with sexual assault service providers and is subject
28 to approval by the Louisiana Sexual Assault Oversight Commission.
29Section 3. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
30 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
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HB NO. 579  ENROLLED
1 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
2 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
3 effective on the day following such approval.
  SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
  GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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