ACT No. 47
House Bill No. 255. By: Mr. R. Thompson and Senator Kelly.
AN ACT
To amend Title 13 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 by adding thereto a new Section, to be designated as R.S. 13:621.35 and to amend and reenact Section 477 as amended by Act 728 of the 1975 Regular Session of said Title 13; to amend and reenact Paragraph (8) of Section 51, Sections 201,202, 203 and 204 of Title 16 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, and to amend Chapter 2 of Title 16 by adding thereto a new Part, to be designated as Part XXXI, consisting of Sections 841 and 842 both inclusive, relative to the judicial districts of the state, to divide the Eighth Judicial District by the establishment of the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District to be composed of Grant Parish with the Eighth Judicial District to continue and be composed of Winn Parish; to provide for a referendum election to submit to the electors of the existing Eighth Judicial District a proposition for their approval or disapproval thereof; to establish the office of district attorney of the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District; to establish the office of district judge of the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District, to provide for his qualifications, term, emoluments, compensation, expenses and election; to provide for the effective date of the division of the existing Eighth Judicial District and the establishment of the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District; to provide for the salaries of the district attorneys, and the salaries and number of assistant district attorneys for each of the districts; to provide for the effectiveness of the Act and matters generally and specifically related to the division of the Eighth Judicial District and the establishment of the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District.
Notice of intention to introduce this Act has been published as provided by Article III, Section 13 of the constitution of Louisiana.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
Section 1. Section 477 of Title 13 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 as amended by Act 728 of the 1975 Regular Session is hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
§477. Judicial districts
There shall be thirty-four judicial districts in the state, the parish of Orleans excepted, and each district shall be composed as follows:
(1) The parish of Caddo shall compose the First District.
(2) The parishes of Jackson, Claiborne, and Bienville shall compose the Second District.
(3) The parishes of Lincoln and Union shall compose the Third District.
(4) The parishes of Ouachita and Morehouse shall compose the Fourth District.
(5) The parishes of West Carroll, Richland, and Franklin shall compose the Fifth District.
(6) The parishes of East Carroll, Madison, and Tensas shall compose the Sixth District.
(7) The parishes of Catahoula and Concordia shall compose the Seventh District.
(8) The parish of Winn shall compose the Eighth District.
(9) The parish of Rapides shall compose the Ninth District.
(10) The parishes of Natchitoches and Red River shall compose the Tenth District.
(11) The parishes of DeSoto and Sabine shall compose the Eleventh District.
(12) The parish of Avoyelles shall compose the Twelfth District.
(13) The parish of Evangeline shall compose the Thirteenth District.
(14) The parishes of Calcasieu and Cameron shall compose the Fourteenth District.
(15) The parishes of Acadia, Lafayette, and Vermilion shall compose the Fifteenth District.
(16) The parishes of St. Mary, Iberia, and St. Martin shall compose the Sixteenth District.
(17) The parish of Lafourche shall compose the Seventeenth District.
(18) The parishes of Iberville, West Baton Rouge, and Pointe Coupee shall compose the Eighteenth District.
(19) The parish of East Baton Rouge shall compose the Nineteenth District.
(20) The parishes of East Feliciana and West Feliciana shall compose the Twentieth District.
(21) The parishes of Tangipahoa, Livingston, and St. Helena shall compose the Twenty-First District.
(22) The parishes of Washington and St. Tammany shall compose the Twenty-Second District.
(23) The parishes of Assumption, Ascension, and St. James shall compose the Twenty-Third District.
(24) The parish of Jefferson shall compose the Twenty-Fourth District.
(25) The parishes of St. Bernard and Plaquemines shall compose the Twenty-Fifth District.
(26) The parishes of Bossier and Webster shall compose the Twenty-Sixth District.
(27) The parish of St. Landry shall compose the Twenty-Seventh District.
(28) The parishes of LaSalle and Caldwell shall compose the Twenty-Eighth District.
(29) The parishes of St. John the Baptist and St. Charles shall compose the Twenty-Ninth District.
(30) The parishes of Beauregard and Vernon shall compose the Thirtieth District.
(31) The parish of Jefferson Davis shall compose the Thirty-First District.
(32) The parish of Terrebonne shall compose the Thirty-Second District.
(33) The parish of Allen shall compose the Thirty-Third District.
(35) The parish of Grant shall compose the Thirty-Fifth District.
Section 2. The governor shall call a special election to be held at the same time as is provided by law for holding of the first primaries for nominating candidates for congressional office in 1976, for the following purpose:
To submit to a vote of the electors of the existing Eighth Judicial District, being the parishes of Grant and Winn, for their approval or disapproval, as provided in Section 15 of Article V of the Louisiana Constitution, the following proposition, in substantially the following form:
FOR the proposition that the Eighth Judicial District be divided, effective January 3, 1977, by the establishment of the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District composed of Grant Parish, and continuing the Eighth Judicial District composed of Winn Parish as provided by HB No. 255 of the 1976 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature.
AGAINST the proposition that the Eighth Judicial District be divided, effective January 3, 1977, by the establishment of the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District composed of Grant Parish, and continuing the Eighth Judicial District composed of Winn Parish as provided by HB No. 255 of the 1976 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature.
The secretary of state shall fill in the number of this Act in the propositions. The special election provided for in this Section shall be conducted in accordance with law by the election officials and personnel who conduct general elections.
Section 3. There is hereby established the office of judge for the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District Court to be composed of the parish of Grant as provided in this Act. The judge herein provided for shall be elected at large from the parish of Grant. The judge shall have the same qualifications and shall receive the same emoluments of office, compensation and expense allowances, payable from the same sources and in the same manner, as is now or may hereafter be provided for the other judges of the district courts throughout the state. The first judge elected to the judgeship shall be elected as provided by Article V, Section 22 of the constitution, and shall serve for a term which shall expire at the same time as is provided by law for the other judges of the district courts throughout the state.
Section 4. There is hereby established the office of district attorney for the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District to be composed of the parish of Grant as provided in this Act. The district attorney herein provided for shall be elected at large from the parish of Grant.
Section 5. If the proposition submitted to the electors as is provided for in Section 2 of this Act is approved by the electors:
(1) The Eighth and Thirty-Fifth Judicial Districts shall on and after January 3, 1977, be composed as is provided in Section 1 of this Act.
(2) The judge of the Eighth Judicial District Court shall continue to serve as judge of that district until his present term expires. Beginning January 3, 1977, the judge serving in the office of judge established by Section 3 shall take office and serve as judge of the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District Court until his term expires. Thereafter, the judges for these judicial districts shall be elected at the same time and in the same manner as is provided by law for the election of judges of district courts throughout the state.
(3) The district attorney for the Eighth Judicial District shall continue to serve as district attorney for that district until his present term expires. The district attorney for the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District shall be elected at a special election called by the governor to be held at the same time as the general election for congressmen in 1976. The nominees to run in the said election shall be nominated in a special primary election under the open election law to be held at the same time as is provided by law for the holding of second primaries for nominating candidates for congressional office in 1976, which special primary shall, except as otherwise provided herein, be called and conducted as provided by R.S. 18:390 and the notices and declarations of candidacy shall be filed and received as provided in R.S. 18:390 and the other applicable provisions of the open election law. The first district attorney elected to the office of district attorney for the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District shall take office on January 3, 1977 and shall serve for a term which shall expire at the same time as is provided by law for the other district attorneys throughout the state. Thereafter, the district attorneys for these districts shall be elected at the same time and in the same manner as is provided by law for the election of district judges and district attorneys throughout the state.
Section 6. In the event more than one judicial district is established by authority of legislation passed at the 1976 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature, and two or more of such newly established districts are designated by the same number, the secretary of state is hereby authorized and directed to assign consecutive numbers to the newly established judicial districts, commencing with the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District, and to properly designate on the ballot provided for in Section 2 of this Act the number of the new districts created under the provisions of this Act.
Section 7. If the secretary of state changes the number of any new judicial district established at the 1976 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature by virtue of his authority under Section 6, the Louisiana Law Institute shall make necessary changes in applicable statutes, in order that all references to such judicial districts correspond to the number designation assigned to such judicial districts by the secretary of state.
Section 8. Section 621.35 of Title 13 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
§621.35. Thirty-Fifth Judicial District
The Thirty-Fifth Judicial District Court shall have one judge. Section 9. Paragraph (8) of Section 51 of Title 16 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 is hereby amended and reenacted, and Sections 201,202, 203 and 204 of said Title 16 are hereby amended and reenacted all to read as follows:
§51. Assistant district attorneys
The district attorney of each judicial district and of the parish of Orleans shall appoint a first assistant district attorney and such other assistant district attorneys for his respective judicial district or for the parish of Orleans as may be necessary, the total number of assistant district attorneys in each judicial district and in the parish of Orleans to be not less than as hereinafter set forth:
(8) In the Eighth Judicial District two assistant district attorneys; The first assistant district attorney for each judicial district and for the parish of Orleans shall possess the same qualifications as provided by the constitution for district attorneys. Other assistant district attorneys for each judicial district and for the parish of Orleans shall be admitted to practice law in this state. Assistant district attorneys serve at the pleasure of and may be removed at the discretion of the district attorney.
§201. Additional salary of district attorney
The district attorney of the Eighth Judicial District of this state shall receive, in addition to the salary now paid him by the state, an annual salary to be fixed by the governing authority of the parish of Winn, of not less than forty-eight hundred dollars, payable monthly on his own warrant by the parish of Winn.
§202. Budget to include additional salary
The governing authority of the parish of Winn shall annually and at the same time as it prepares its general budget of expenses, budget an amount sufficient to pay the additional salaries provided for in this Part.
§203. Assistant district attorney
The office of first assistant district attorney for the Eighth Judicial District of Louisiana is created.
§204. Additional compensation of first assistant district attorney
The first assistant district attorney for the Eighth Judicial District shall receive as compensation for his services, in addition to the annual salary paid by the state, an annual salary to be fixed by the governing authority of the parish of Winn, of not less than twenty-four hundred dollars, payable monthly by the parish. Section 10. Part XXXI of Chapter 2 of Title 16 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
PART XXXI. THIRTY-FIFTH JUDICIAL DISTRICT
§841. Additional salary of district attorney
The district attorney of the Thirty-Fifth Judicial District of this state shall receive, in addition to the salary paid him by the state, an annual salary to be fixed by the governing authority of the parish of Grant, of not less than thirty-six hundred dollars, payable monthly on his own warrant by the parish of Grant.
§842. Budget to include additional salary
The governing authority of the parish of Grant shall annually and at the same time as it prepares its general budget of expenses, budget an amount sufficient to pay the additional salaries provided for in this Part.
Section 11. It is the intent of the legislature that nothing in this Act shall be construed to supersede or repeal any other Act of the 1975 or 1976 Regular Sessions of the Louisiana Legislature establishing, dividing or merging any judicial districts other than the Eighth and Thirty-Fifth Judicial Districts provided for in this Act, and this Act particularly shall not supersede or repeal R.S. 13:477 as amended by Act 13 of the 1975 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature with respect to judicial districts other than the Eighth and Thirty-Fifth Judicial Districts provided for in this Act.
Section 12. The provisions of Sections 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 11, 12, 13 and 14 of this Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not signed or vetoed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the constitution. The provisions of Sections 1, 8, 9 and 10 of this Act shall take effect and become operative on January 3, 1977, if the proposition submitted to the electors as provided in Section 2 of this Act is approved by the electors. If the proposition is disapproved, the provisions of this Act shall expire and be null, void, and shall have no effect.
Section 13. If any provision or item of this Act or the application thereof is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions, items or applications of this Act which can be given effect without the invalid provisions, items or applications, and to this end the provisions of this Act are hereby declared severable.
Section 14. Except as otherwise provided in this Act, all laws or parts of laws in conflict herewith are hereby repealed.
Approved by the Governor: June 30, 1976.
Published in the Official Journal of the State: July 16, 1976.
A true copy:
PAUL J. HARDY
Secretary of State.