HB 502: REGISTRARS OF VOTERS: Provides for the compensation, evaluation, duties, and removal of registrars of voters (EN NO IMPACT See Note) - Louisiana

HB502 Original → HB502 Act · 6 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates the laws governing Louisiana registrars of voters by clarifying grounds for removal, adding a 'firing freeze' during legal proceedings, and introducing merit evaluations. It also establishes specific salary increase rules and defines the registrar's duty to report to parish authorities.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains focused on the administration of voter registration offices, but it expands the specific reasons a registrar can be removed and adds new procedural protections and evaluation requirements.

REQUIREMENT

Removed redundant words like 'willful willful' and 'conviction conviction' from the grounds for removal to fix legal drafting errors.

Added 'consistent under-performance' and 'abuse of leave policies' as new specific reasons a registrar can be removed from office.

Mandated the implementation of annual merit evaluations for registrars and chief deputies, with specific criteria for salary increases based on performance ratings.

Added a requirement for registrars to appear before parish governing authorities upon request, formalizing their reporting relationship.

ENFORCEMENT

Added a 'firing freeze' provision, which prevents a registrar from being fired while an official investigation or removal hearing is pending.

Added a new ground for immediate suspension if a registrar is found 'unsuccessful' on a merit evaluation for two consecutive years.

HB502 Enrolled → HB502 Original · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was transitioned from an enrolled version to an original prefiled version, adding a constitutional citation and expanding the scope to include salary increases and merit evaluation ratings. The text also corrected several typos, such as removing redundant words like 'willful willful' and changing the term 'not assessed' to 'unrated' in the evaluation criteria.

Scope change

The bill's scope was slightly expanded to explicitly include provisions for salary increases and to clarify the specific rating outcomes for merit evaluations.

SCOPE

Added a header stating the bill is prefiled pursuant to the Louisiana Constitution, establishing its procedural origin.

Added 'to provide for salary increases' to the list of bill purposes, indicating new provisions for pay adjustments.

REQUIREMENT

Corrected repetitive typos in the grounds for removal, such as changing 'willful willful' to 'willful' and 'conviction conviction' to 'conviction'.

Changed the merit evaluation rating 'not assessed' to 'unrated' for consistency.

Reordered the list of grounds for removal to place 'consistent under-performance' and 'abuse of leave policies' earlier in the sequence.

HB502 Re-Reengrossed → HB502 Enrolled · 4 edits · Jun 20, 2025

MODERATE

The bill was finalized as an enrolled version, removing procedural notes about pre-filing and updating the title to reflect new provisions. Substantively, the grounds for removing a registrar of voters were expanded to include consistent under-performance and abuse of leave policies, while the suspension process for serious misconduct was clarified to allow immediate action by the State Board of Election Supervisors. The merit evaluation system was also refined to explicitly link 'excellent' ratings to automatic salary increases up to the highest step.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include new grounds for removal and clarified the procedures for suspending registrars accused of misconduct.

REQUIREMENT

Added 'consistent under-performance' and 'abuse of leave policies' as specific grounds for removing a registrar of voters.

Refined the merit evaluation process to explicitly state that an 'excellent' rating results in a salary increase to the next step until the maximum is reached.

ENFORCEMENT

Clarified that registrars accused of misconduct under specific categories are subject to immediate suspension by the State Board of Election Supervisors.

TECHNICAL

Removed procedural text regarding pre-filing under the Constitution and updated the bill header to 'ENROLLED'.

HB502 Reengrossed → HB502 Re-Reengrossed · 2 edits · Jun 9, 2025

MINOR

The bill was re-engrossed to correct numbering errors in a list of grounds for removing a registrar from office. The changes renumbered the list items and updated cross-references to ensure the list of misconduct (such as incompetence and abuse of leave) aligns correctly with the penalties and hearing procedures described later in the text.

Scope change

The scope of the bill's applicability remains unchanged; the revision only affects the internal structure and accuracy of the statute's text.

TECHNICAL

Corrected line numbers and renumbered a list of misconduct grounds to fix inconsistencies between the list items and their corresponding penalty clauses.

Updated cross-references in the hearing procedures section to point to the newly corrected list items instead of the old, misaligned numbers.

HB502 Engrossed → HB502 Reengrossed · 2 edits · Jun 9, 2025

MINOR

The bill was reengrossed to update the official title and page count, reflecting a minor revision to the legislative text. The primary substantive change is a reordering of the bill's purposes, moving the goal of providing for office closures before the performance of duties by the registrar of voters for clarity. No new funding amounts, eligibility criteria, or enforcement mechanisms were added.

TECHNICAL

The bill's purpose list was reordered to place 'office closures' before 'performance of duties' for better logical flow.

The document was updated from 'Engrossed' to 'Reengrossed' and the page count was increased from 7 to 8 pages.

REGISTRARS OF VOTERS: Provides for the compensation, evaluation, duties, and removal of registrars of voters (EN NO IMPACT See Note)

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