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HB 538 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

COURTS/JUVENILE: Provides relative to the judicial expense fund for the Juvenile Court for the parish of East Baton Rouge

HB 538 creates a dedicated judicial expense fund for East Baton Rouge Parish's Juvenile Court by increasing civil filing fees (up to $75) and adding $10 in criminal nonsupport cases. The fund can cover court staff salaries, equipment, operational costs, and library expenses, but explicitly prohibits using it to pay judges' salaries. All fund disbursements require oversight by the court's chief judge and judges sitting en banc, with annual audits filed publicly. This bill directly affects the financial administration of juvenile court proceedings in East Baton Rouge Parish.
Issues: ✓ Budget & TaxesSupports Budget & TaxesCreates dedicated judicial fund via fee increases ($75 civil, $10 criminal) to cover court operations, staff, and equipment, explicitly funding essential public service without defunding or restricting budgets.95% confidence ✓ Criminal JusticeSupports Criminal JusticeBill creates dedicated fund for juvenile court operational costs (staff, equipment, operations), directly funding a core component of the criminal justice system's court function.85% confidence
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
May 2026
House Passage
May 2026
Senate Passage
May 2026
Signed into Law
Jun 2026
Introduced Feb 26, 2026 Signed Jun 23, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB538 Original → HB538 Act 928 · 4 edits
MODERATE
This bill updates the rules for the Juvenile Court in East Baton Rouge Parish by increasing the maximum fee judges can set for civil cases from $15 to $45 and raising the fee for criminal nonsupport cases from $10 to $15. It also shifts administrative control of the court's expense fund from the single chief judge to the full panel of judges sitting together, ensuring broader oversight. Additionally, the bill clarifies that no judge's personal salary can be paid from this fund, reinforcing that the money is strictly for court operations.
Scope change
The bill's scope remains limited to the Juvenile Court of East Baton Rouge Parish, but the authority to set fees and manage funds has been expanded from a single chief judge to the entire judicial panel.
FISCAL

Increased the maximum additional civil filing fee from $15 to $45 and the criminal nonsupport fee from $10 to $15.

REQUIREMENT

Changed control of the judicial expense fund from the chief judge alone to the judges sitting en banc (the full panel of judges).

Explicitly prohibited the payment of any judge's personal salary from the judicial expense fund.

Corrected grammatical errors and clarified the text regarding the appointment of staff and the use of funds for equipment and library costs.

Floor votes · Senate May 19, 2026 · House Apr 15, 2026

How they voted

32–1
Passed · 7 other
Total votes 40
May 19, 2026
D Democratic12
10 Yea 2
83% Yea
R Republican28
22 Yea 1 Nay 5
78% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
27
Key actions
5
Committee
5
May 26, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read by title, roll called, yeas 93, nays 4. The Senate amendments, having received two-thirds vote of the elected members, were concurred in.
lower
May 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 32 yeas and 1 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
upper
May 6, 2026
Committee
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
upper
May 5, 2026
Upper · Passed
Rules suspended. Reported favorably.
upper
Apr 15, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 83, nays 12. The bill, having received two-thirds vote of the elected members, was finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
lower
Apr 9, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported favorably (10-0).
lower
Mar 9, 2026
Committee
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
lower
Feb 26, 2026
Committee
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
lower
1 primary · 0 co-sponsors

Sponsors

Role
Legislator
Party
State
District
P
Photo of Barbara Freiberg
Barbara Freiberg
RRepublican
LA
70