CRIMINAL/VICTIMS: Provides a penalty for the unlawful disclosure of confidential information relating to victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)
Summary
HB 98, enacted as Act 119, strengthens confidentiality protections for victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, and for related review-panel proceedings. The bill makes it a crime to intentionally release, disclose, transfer, or disseminate protected information for publication when done with the intent to coerce, intimidate, or harass a person. It applies this penalty across several existing confidentiality provisions, including records and information involving domestic violence review panels, victims who are minors, sex offense victims, and human trafficking-related offense victims.
The bill also requires people who appear before or provide information to certain review panels to sign a confidentiality notice acknowledging that the information is confidential. It preserves the ability of panels to publish statistical compilations about domestic abuse fatalities so long as those reports do not identify individual cases or certain providers and organizations. In addition, the bill limits liability for community-based shelters and community shelters when an unlawful disclosure is made by an individual in violation of the new confidentiality provisions.
Impact
HB 98 amends and reenacts portions of Louisiana law in Titles 22, 40, and 46 to add criminal penalties for prohibited disclosure of confidential victim information and to clarify confidentiality rules for review panels and victim-services records. The bill creates or reinforces a uniform penalty of up to one year imprisonment, a fine of up to $2,500, or both, for intentional disclosures made with harassing or coercive intent. It also provides liability protections for shelters, reducing exposure for organizations serving abuse victims when a third party unlawfully discloses information.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House and Senate unanimously, and the House later concurred in Senate amendments with no recorded opposition. The voting history suggests strong bipartisan agreement on the need to protect victim confidentiality and deter harmful disclosures.
Contention
There is little evidence of substantive opposition in the available record. The main policy choice reflected in the bill is the balance between confidentiality and public reporting: the law allows statistical reporting on domestic abuse fatalities, but only if individual cases and certain providers are not identified. Another point of interest is the new criminal penalty for intentional disclosure, which could raise concerns in other contexts about enforcement or overbreadth, but no such objections appear in the votes or provided discussion materials. The liability shield for shelters also indicates an intent to protect service providers from being penalized for misconduct by others.
Provides for the termination of manufacturer vehicle tracking services in certain cases of domestic abuse, sexual assault, or stalking (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)