INDIGENT DEFENSE: Provides relative to the office of the state public defender (EN NO IMPACT See Note)
This bill reorganizes Louisiana's public defender system by creating a new state-level Office of the State Public Defender under the governor's office to oversee and coordinate public defense services across the state. It establishes a Public Defender Oversight Board to supervise the system and grants its members protection from personal liability for official actions, except in cases of gross negligence or willful misconduct. The legislation also clarifies definitions for district public defender employees, adjusts how certain court funds can be used to support indigent defense programs, and sets specific staffing and funding provisions for juvenile public defender positions in Orleans Parish.
Bill status
signed
all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Mar 2026
Committee Review
May 2026
House Passage
May 2026
Senate Passage
May 2026
Signed into Law
Jun 2026
Introduced Mar 24, 2026
Signed Jun 8, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons
What changed between versions
Senate Floor Bureau Note, #4353, Reese, Adopted
→
HB1005 Act 862
·
4 edits
MODERATE
The bill was finalized and enrolled as Act 862, incorporating Senate amendments to clarify definitions and funding allocations for public defender offices. Key changes include standardizing the definition of 'Office' to explicitly reference the state public defender, expanding the definition of 'Employee' to cover district indigent public defender staff, and adjusting funding distribution rules for the Orleans Parish indigent defender program.
Scope change
The bill's scope was refined to ensure consistent terminology across state statutes regarding public defender offices and to explicitly include district indigent public defender programs within the definition of covered employers.
DEFINITION
The definition of 'Office' was updated to explicitly state it refers to the office of the state public defender as created by R.S. 15:146.
ELIGIBILITY
The definition of 'Employee' was expanded to include persons employed by district indigent public defender programs, provided they work at least 28 hours a week.
FISCAL
Funding allocation rules for the Orleans Parish indigent defender program were adjusted to specify that 20% of funds received are allocated to the district public defender's program office.
TECHNICAL
The bill text was finalized with enrolled formatting, including the removal of Senate floor amendment markers and the insertion of the final enacted statutory language.
Floor votes · Senate May 26, 2026 · House Apr 29, 2026
How they voted
37–0
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 40
May 26, 2026
D
Democratic12
83% Yea
R
Republican28
96% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea
All Nay
Mixed
No data
Full legislative history
Actions timeline
Total actions
20
Key actions
5
Committee
4
May 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read by title, roll called, yeas 82, nays 13, Senate amendments concurred in.
lower
May 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Rules suspended. Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 35 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
upper
May 19, 2026
Committee
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
upper
May 18, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably.
upper
Apr 29, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 71, nays 19. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
lower
Apr 23, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported with amendments (6-3-1).
lower
Mar 25, 2026
Committee
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors
Sponsors
Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Nicholas Muscarello
RRepublican
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