Provides relative to access to certain records (OR SEE FISC NOTE LF EX)
HB 324 creates a new public-records privacy protection for certain criminal justice officials in Louisiana. It defines “protected individual” to include current or retired district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, and district attorney investigators, and it defines “personal information” broadly to cover home contact information, government identification numbers, financial account data, vehicle identifiers, marital records, date of birth, and information about a child’s school, place of worship, or a family member’s employment location. A protected individual, or the Louisiana District Attorneys Association on the individual’s behalf, may request that a public body or third party not publish that information or remove it from existing online publication.
The bill sets out a formal request process requiring written notice with identifying details about the publication, and it allows the request to cover certain household members’ information as well. Public bodies must acknowledge the request within 10 days and take reasonable steps to prevent publication or remove existing information within 15 days, while third parties must remove the information within 72 hours and notify the requester. The bill also authorizes mandamus actions, declaratory and injunctive relief, and attorney fees, and it allows damages against third parties for violations. A violation by a third party is made a misdemeanor punishable by up to 90 days in jail, a fine of up to $1,000, or both; the penalty provisions do not apply to public bodies. The act is scheduled to take effect on February 1, 2026.
HB 324 would add R.S. 44:11.3 to Louisiana’s public records law, creating a special limited-access regime for the personal information of district attorneys, assistant district attorneys, and district attorney investigators, including retirees. It would require public bodies and private third parties that publish such information to remove or suppress it upon request, and it would create new enforcement mechanisms and penalties that could affect websites, data publishers, and other entities that disseminate public-records information.
The available record shows no committee transcript or vote history, so there is no documented floor or committee debate to gauge formal sentiment. Based on the bill text alone, the measure appears to be framed as a privacy and safety protection for prosecutors and investigators, suggesting likely support from law-enforcement and district attorney interests. No recorded opposition or amendments are available in the provided materials.
The main policy tension in HB 324 is between privacy/safety for protected individuals and the public’s access to information in public records and online publications. Potential points of contention include the breadth of the covered personal information, the inclusion of retirees and family members’ information, the short compliance window for third parties, and the misdemeanor penalty and damages exposure for noncompliance. Another possible issue is the bill’s interaction with open-records principles, since it requires removal of information that may already be publicly available.