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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana House Bill 978 Adjusts Population Threshold for Indigent Defender Fund Court Costs
Last action · June 23, 2026: Effective date: 08/01/2026.Sponsor: Jeremy LaCombe
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What This Bill Does
Louisiana enacted HB 978 to change the municipality population threshold for mandatory special cost assessments remitted to the district . The law modifies court fee exemptions for in municipalities based on population size. The measure takes effect on August 1, 2026.
Modifies financial remittance requirements for local courts, altering which municipalities must collect and forward forty-dollar special assessments to support indigent defense services.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Municipalities with populations between 5,000 and 9,000
Mayors' courts in these municipalities are newly exempted from remitting certain special costs to the district indigent defender fund.
District indigent defender funds
These funds experience changes in revenue collections based on the adjusted municipal population threshold for special cost remittances.
Defendants convicted in covered municipal courts
Subject to mandatory special cost assessments added to fines upon conviction depending on the municipality's population.
Key Facts
- House Bill 978 amends and reenacts R.S. 15:168(B)(1)(a) regarding the judicial district indigent defender fund.
- The law exempts mayors' courts in municipalities with a population of less than nine thousand from remitting specific special costs to the fund.
- Previously, the exemption applied to municipalities having a population of less than five thousand.
- Courts of original criminal jurisdiction must remit special costs for violations under state statute, parish ordinance, or municipal ordinance, excluding parking violations.
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- A sum of forty-five dollars is assessed in cases where a defendant is convicted after a trial, guilty plea, nolo contendere, or bond forfeiture, in addition to other fines and costs.
- The towns of Jonesville and Plaquemine remain specifically named as exempt from these remittance requirements.
- The act became law without the Governor's signature as Act No. 930 of the 2026 Regular Session.
- The effective date of the act is August 1, 2026.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which municipalities are exempt from remitting special costs to the indigent defender fund under the new law?
What is the amount of the special cost assessed upon conviction?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Became law without the governor's signature.
Procedural history
18 actions- Jun 23, 2026HouseBecomes Act No. 930 without the Governor's signature.
- Jun 23, 2026HouseEffective date: 08/01/2026.
- May 28, 2026HouseSent to the Governor for executive approval.
- May 27, 2026HouseEnrolledEnrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
- May 27, 2026SenateEnrolledSigned by the President of the Senate.
- May 26, 2026SenateFloorRules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 35 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
Show 12 earlier actions
- May 26, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate without amendments.
- May 20, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- May 19, 2026SenateIntroducedRead by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- May 18, 2026SenateCommitteeReported favorably.
- May 4, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary B.
- Apr 29, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 92, nays 2. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Apr 29, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Apr 27, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Apr 27, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/29/2026.
- Apr 23, 2026HouseReported with amendments (12-0).
- Mar 18, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
- Mar 17, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title. Lies over under the rules.
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.
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Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance45How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz10Current news / social attention level
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