The civic record
Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana House Bill 264 requires sobriety-based release clearance and vehicle security after impaired-driving arrests
Last action · April 27, 2026: Becomes HB 1246.Sponsor: Brian Glorioso
Track this bill to get notified when it advances a stage. One tap to stop, anytime.
What This Bill Proposed
Law enforcement agencies in Louisiana must issue a before releasing anyone arrested for driving while impaired, requiring medical sobriety and a confirmed blood alcohol level or an eight-hour mandatory holding period. The measure also mandates securing the arrestee's vehicle, notifying rental companies if a rental car is involved, and granting civil immunity to agencies acting in good faith.
Impaired-driving arrestees face mandatory detention until achieving sobriety, while law enforcement and rental agencies gain specific procedures and civil liability protections for securing vehicles and managing releases.
- House Bill 264 was introduced during the 2026 Regular Session in the Louisiana House of Representatives by Representative Brian Glorioso. context
Who It Would Have Affected
Groups the bill's text would have affected, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Individuals arrested for operating while impaired
Arrestees face mandatory holding periods, sobriety verifications, and transport restrictions before they can be released from custody.
Law enforcement agencies
Agencies must perform safe-release clearances, secure vehicles, document transportation plans, and notify rental dealers.
Rental vehicle dealers
Dealers receive notifications regarding arrested renters and have specific controls over the retrieval of their rental vehicles.
Towing and storage facilities
Facilities manage towed vehicles associated with impaired-driving offenses under public agency direction.
Key Facts
- Establishes 'Jada's Law', requiring a safe-release clearance from custodial agencies before releasing any person arrested for an operating-while-impaired offense.
- Defines the legal blood alcohol concentration limit as 0.08 percent for standard offenses and 0.02 percent for underage offenses.
- Requires arrestees to be medically sober and verified through breath testing or other lawful means to have a blood alcohol concentration at or below the legal limit before release.
- Mandates a minimum eight-hour detention period from the time of arrest if no chemical test result is available due to refusal, unavailability, or delay.
Show all 9 facts
- Allows custodial agencies to condition physical release on the arrestee being released to a sober licensed adult, rideshare, taxi, or public transportation.
- Requires arresting agencies to secure motor vehicles by releasing them only to a sober validly licensed owner/driver or by towing and storing them.
- Requires arresting agencies to notify rental dealers as soon as practicable if a rental vehicle is involved and restrict release of the car or key to authorized sober parties.
- Grants civil immunity to law enforcement agencies, custodial agencies, towing facilities, and rental dealers acting in good faith compliance, except for gross negligence.
- Authorizes the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, in consultation with the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association and the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement, to adopt implementation rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
What conditions must be met before an impaired-driving arrestee can be released?
What happens to a vehicle involved in an impaired-driving arrest?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
Follow the record
Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
This bill did not become law - Died at adjournment · in House committee.
Procedural history
6 actions- Apr 27, 2026HouseBecomes HB 1246.
- Apr 23, 2026HouseReported by substitute (10-0).
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
- Feb 23, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 23, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
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.
Mandatory Sobriety Verification Prior to Release
The bill shifts release requirements from standard bail or bond mechanisms to include mandatory sobriety verification and minimum holding times for impaired-driving arrests.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance20Lowered because this bill did not pass (its text scored 65)
- Controversy25Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz30Current news / social attention level
Publisher tools
