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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana updates juvenile delinquency time limits, detention rules, and record confidentiality
Last action · June 2, 2026: Effective date: 08/01/2026.Sponsor: Vincent Cox
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What This Bill Does
Louisiana establishes clearer time limits, detention definitions, and record-sharing rules for juvenile delinquency proceedings, effective August 1, 2026. The law modifies deadlines for filing s and holding s, outlines conditions that suspend those timelines, and regulates the confidentiality and law enforcement access to juvenile records.
Juvenile offenders, prosecutors, and detention facilities face adjusted statutory deadlines for filing petitions and commencing s, directly altering how long youth may remain in custody or under court supervision before a trial.
- House Bill 140 was enacted during the 2026 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature and signed into law as Act 620. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Juveniles in delinquency proceedings
Their detention status, petition filing windows, adjudication hearing timelines, and fingerprinting requirements are altered by the new statutory provisions.
District attorneys
They must adhere to revised deadlines for filing delinquency petitions and participating in contradictory hearings regarding dismissed petitions.
Law enforcement officers
They gain explicit statutory authority to access juvenile delinquency records relevant to ongoing investigations without securing a court order.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the state fails to file a delinquency petition on time?
Do law enforcement officers need a court order to access juvenile records for an ongoing investigation?
What conditions suspend the time limits for holding a juvenile adjudication hearing?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
44 actions- Jun 2, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 620.
- Jun 2, 2026HouseEffective date: 08/01/2026.
- Jun 1, 2026SenateEnrolledSigned by the President of the Senate.
- Jun 1, 2026HouseSent to the Governor for executive approval.
- May 31, 2026HouseEnrolledEnrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
- May 29, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, roll called, yeas 73, nays 25, Senate amendments concurred in.
Show 38 earlier actions
- May 28, 2026SenateCalled from the Calendar.
- May 28, 2026SenateFloorSenate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 29 yeas and 8 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
- May 28, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate with amendments.
- May 28, 2026HouseScheduled for concurrence on 05/29/2026.
- May 27, 2026SenateCalled from the Calendar.
- May 27, 2026SenateFloorSenate floor amendments read and adopted.
- May 27, 2026SenateIntroducedRead by title and returned to the Calendar, subject to call.
- May 13, 2026SenateRules suspended.
- May 13, 2026SenateIntroducedRead by title and returned to the Calendar, subject to call.
- May 7, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- May 6, 2026SenateFloorCommittee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- May 5, 2026SenateRules suspended. Reported with amendments.
- Apr 22, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary B.
- Apr 21, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Apr 20, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Apr 20, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 68, nays 27. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseNotice given.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/20/2026.
- Apr 7, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Apr 7, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Apr 7, 2026HouseNotice given.
- Apr 7, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/13/2026.
- Mar 30, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Mar 30, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Mar 30, 2026HouseNotice given.
- Mar 30, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/07/2026.
- Mar 24, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Mar 24, 2026HouseNotice given.
- Mar 24, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 03/30/2026.
- Mar 23, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Mar 23, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 03/24/2026.
- Mar 18, 2026HouseReported with amendments (8-3).
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
- Feb 13, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 13, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
- Feb 13, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/13/2026.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Extended Adjudication Timelines for Detained Youth
The legislation extends several key juvenile adjudication timeframes, moving violent crime custody hearings from 60 to 90 days and non-custody hearings from 90 to 120 days.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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