ACT No. 776
HOUSE BILL NO. 581
BY REPRESENTATIVES BRUNEAU, COPELIN, HUNTER, AND MURRAY AND SENATOR DARDENNE
AN ACT
To amend and reenact R.S. 13:101, 101.1, and 312.4(D), relative to the supreme court; to provide relative to redistricting the six supreme court districts into seven single member districts; to provide for the terms and assignment of the justices presently serving; to provide for the filling of vacancies; to remove provisions for a specific reapportionment of the supreme court; to provide with respect to the provisions for a temporary additional judgeship for the Court of Appeal for the Fourth Circuit and such judge's appointment to the supreme court; to provide for the term of office and compensation of such temporary judgeship; and to provide for related matters.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
Section 1. R.S. 13:101, 101.1, and 312.4(D) are hereby amended and reenacted to read as follows:
§101. Supreme court districts; justices
The state shall be divided into seven supreme court districts. The supreme court shall be composed of one justice elected from each of the seven districts as set forth below:
District 1 is composed of Precincts 1-H, 2-H, 3-H, 4-H, 5-H, 6-H, 7-H, 8-H, 9-H, 1-K, 2-K, 3-K 4-K, 5-K, 6-K, 7-K 8-K 9-K 10-K 11-K, 12-K, 13-KA, 13-KB,14-K 15-K 16-K. 17-K 18-K, 19-K, 20-K 21-K 22-K 23-K, 24-K, 25-K. 26-K 27-K, 28-K 29-K 30-K 31-K 32-K, 33-K, 34-K 35-K 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 70, 71, 72, 73, 74, 75, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83, 84, 85, 86, 87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102, 103, 104, 105, 106, 107, 108, 115, 116, 117, 118, 119, 120, 121,122, 123, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138, 150, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 157A, 157B, 158, 170, 186, 198, and 199 of Jefferson Parish; Precincts 3-20, 4-8, 4-9, 4-10, 4-10A, 4-11, 4-14, 4-14A, 4-15, 4-16, 4-16A, 4-17, 4-17A, 4-18, 4-18A, 4-19, 4-20, 4-20A, 4-21, 4-21A, 4-22, 4-23, 5-13, 5-14, 5-15, 5-16, 5-17, 5-18, 17-17, 17-18, 17-18A, 17-18B, 17-19, 17-19A, 17-20, and 17-21 of Orleans Parish; St. Helena Parish; St. Tammany Parish; Tangipahoa Parish; and Washington Parish.
District 2 is composed of Allen Parish; Beauregard Parish; Bossier Parish; Caddo Parish; DeSoto Parish; Evangeline Parish; Natchitoches Parish; Red River Parish; Sabine Parish; Vernon Parish; and Webster Parish.
District 3 is composed of Acadia Parish; Avoyelles Parish; Calcasieu Parish; Cameron Parish; Jefferson Davis Parish; Lafayette Parish; St. Landry Parish; and Vermilion Parish.
District 4 is composed of Bienville Parish; Caldwell Parish; Catahoula Parish; Claiborne Parish; Concordia Parish; East Carroll Parish; Franklin Parish; Grant Parish; Jackson Parish; LaSalle Parish; Lincoln Parish; Madison Parish; Morehouse Parish; Ouachita Parish; Rapides Parish; Richland Parish; Tensas Parish; Union Parish; West Carroll Parish; and Winn Parish.
District 5 is composed of Ascension Parish; East Baton Rouge Parish; East Feliciana Parish; Iberville Parish; Livingston Parish; Pointe Coupee Parish; West Baton Rouge Parish; and West Feliciana Parish.
District 6 is composed of Assumption Parish; Iberia Parish; Precincts 1-GI, 1-LA, 1-LB, 2-L, 182, 183, 184, 185, 189, 190, 191, 192, 193, 194A, 194B, 195, 196, 197, 246A, 246B, 247, 248, 249, and 250 of Jefferson Parish; Lafourche Parish; Plaquemines Parish; St. Bernard Parish; St. Charles Parish; St. James Parish; St. John the Baptist Parish; St. Martin Parish; St. Mary Parish; and Terrebonne Parish.
District 7 is composed of Precincts 1-G, 2-G, 3-G, 4-G, 5-G, 6-G, 7-G, 8-G, 9-G, 10-G, 11-G, 1-W, 2-W, 3-W, 4-W, 5-W, 6-W, 7-W, 8-W, 9-W, 156, 171, 172, 173, 174A, 174B, 175, 176, 177, 178, 179A, 179B, 180, 181, 187, 188, 210, 211, 212, 213A, 213B, 213C, 214, 215, 216, 217, 225, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 231, 232, 233, 234, 235, 236, 237, and 238 of Jefferson Parish; and Precincts 1-1, 1-2, 1-5, 1-6, 1-7, 2-1, 2-2, 2-3, 2-4, 2-6, 2-6A, 2-7, 3-1, 3-3, 3-5, 3-8, 3-9, 3-10, 3-12, 3-14, 3-15, 3-16, 3-18, 3-19, 4-2, 4-3, 4-4, 4-5, 4-6, 4-7, 5-1, 5-2, 5-3, 5-4, 5-5, 5-6, 5-7, 5-8, 5-9, 5-10, 5-11, 5-12, 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, 6-5, 6-6, 6-7, 6-8, 6-9, 7-1, 7-2, 7-4, 7-4A, 7-5, 7-6, 7-7, 7-8, 7-9, 7-9A, 7-10, 7-11, 7-12, 7-13, 7-14, 7-15, 7-16, 7-17, 7-18, 7-19, 7-20, 7-20A, 7-21, 7-22, 7-23, 7-24, 7-25, 7-25A, 7-26, 7-26A, 7-27, 7-27A, 7-27B, 7-28, 7-28A, 7-29, 7-30, 7-31, 7-32, 7-33, 7-33A, 7-34, 7-35, 7-36, 7-36A, 7-37, 7-37A, 7-38A, 7-39, 7-40, 7-41, 7-42, 8-1, 8-2, 8-4, 8-6, 8-7, 8-8, 8-9, 8-10, 8-11, 8-12, 8-13, 8-14, 8-15, 8-16, 8-17, 8-18, 8-19, 8-20, 8-21, 8-22, 8-23, 8-24, 8-25, 8-25A, 8-26, 8-26A, 8-27, 8-27A, 8-28, 8-29, 8-30, 9-1, 9-2, 9-3, 9-3A, 9-3B, 9-4, 9-5, 9-5A, 9-6B, 9-6C, 9-6D, 9-6E, 9-6F, 9-7, 9-8, 9-8A, 9-8B, 9-9, 9-10, 9-11, 9-12, 9-13, 9-14, 9-15, 9-16, 9-17, 9-18, 9-19, 9-21, 9-22, 9-23, 9-24, 9-25, 9-25A, 9-26, 9-26A, 9-27, 9-28, 9-28A, 9-28B, 9-28C, 9-28D, 9-28E, 9-28F, 9-29, 9-29A, 9-30, 9-30A, 9-31, 9-31A, 9-31B, 9-31C, 9-31D, 9-31E, 9-32, 9-33, 9-33A, 9-34, 9-34A, 9-35, 9-35A, 9-36, 9-36A, 9-36B, 9-36C, 9-37, 9-37A, 9-38, 9-38A, 9-38B, 9-39, 9-39A, 9-39B, 9-40, 9-40A, 940B, 9-40C, 9-41, 941A, 941B, 9-41C, 941D, 9-42, 942A, 9-42B, 942C, 942D, 942E, 9-43A, 943B, 943C, 9-43D, 9-43E, 9-43F, 9-43G, 9-43H, 9-431, 9-43J, 9-43K, 9-43L, 9-43M, 9-43N, 9-44, 9-44A, 944B, 9-44D, 9-44E, 944F, 9-44G, 9-441, 944J, 9-44L, 9-44M, 944N, 9-440, 9-44P, 9-44Q, 9-45, 9-45A, 10-3, 10-5, 10-6, 10-7, 10-8, 10-9, 10-11, 10-12,10-13, 10-14,11-2, 11-3, 11-4, 11-5, 11-8, 11-9, 11-10, 11-11, 11-12, 11-13, 11-14, 11-15, 11-16, 11-17, 11-18, 11-19, 12-1, 12-2, 12-3, 12-4, 12-5, 12-6, 12-7, 12-8, 12-9, 12-10, 12-11, 12-12, 12-13, 12-14, 12-15, 12-16, 12-17, 12-18, 12-19, 12-20, 13-1, 13-2, 13-3, 13-4, 13-5, 13-6, 13-7, 13-8, 13-9, 13-10, 13-11, 13-12, 13-13, 13-14, 13-14A, 13-15, 13-16, 14-1, 14-2, 14-3, 14-4, 14-5, 146, 14-7, 14-8, 14-9, 14-10, 14-11, 14-12, 14-13, 14-13A, 14-14, 14-15, 14-16, 14-17, 14-18A, 14-19, 14-20, 14-21, 14-22, 14-23, 14-24A, 14-25, 14-26, 15.1, 15-2, 15-3, 15-5, 15-6, 15-8, 15-9, 15-10, 15-11, 15-12, 15-12A, 15-13, 15-13A, 15-13B, 15-14, 15-14A, 15-14B, 15-14C, 15-14D, 15-14E, 15-14F, 15-14G, 15-15, 15-15A, 15-15B, 15-16, 1517, 15-17A, 15-17B, 15-18, 15-18A, 15-18B, 15-18C, 15-18D, 15-18E, 15-18F, 15-19, 15-19A, 15-19B, 15-19C, 16-1, 16-lA, 16-2, 16-3, 16-4, 16-5, 16-6, 16-7, 16-8, 16-9, 17-1, 17-2, 17-3, 17-4, 17-5, 17-6, 17-7, 17-8, 17-9, 17-10, 17-11, 17-12, 17-13, 17-13A, 17-14, 17-15, and 17-16 of Orleans Parish.
§101.1. Assignment of districts, vacancies, elections; redistricting
A. Except as otherwise provided in Subsection D, each office of the justices serving on the supreme court on January 1, 1999, is assigned to the supreme court district provided for in RS. 13:101 as follows:
(1) The office of the justice elected from the first supreme court district in 1998 is assigned to District 1.
(2) The office of the justice elected from the second supreme court district is assigned to District 2.
(3) The office of the justice elected from the third supreme court district is assigned to District 3.
(4) The office of the justice elected from the fourth supreme court district is assigned to District 4.
(5) The office of the justice elected from the fifth supreme court district is assigned to District 5.
(6) The office of the justice elected from the sixth supreme court district is assigned to District 6.
(7) The office of the justice elected from the first supreme court district in 1990 is assigned to District 7.
B. Except as provided in Subsection D, a vacancy in the office of a justice of the supreme court shall be filled for the remainder of the unexpired term from the district for which the vacancy occurs.
C. The successor to the office of justice of the supreme court shall be elected from the district assigned to that office in Subsection A. The election shall be from the district provided in RS. 13:101.
D. When and if a vacancy occurs in the office of either justice of the first supreme court district prior to January 1, 1999, the special election to fill the vacancy shall be held in District 7. The successor to that office shall be elected from District 7 as provided in R.S. 13:101. The successor to the office of the other justice elected from the first supreme court district shall be elected from District 1.
E. The legislature may redistrict the supreme court following the year in which the population of this state is reported to the president of the United States for each decennial federal census.
§312.4. Fourth circuit; temporary additional judgeship; election; composition
D. The judgeship provided for in Subsection A shall expire automatically on the date that a justice of the supreme court takes office after being elected in a special election called for the office of justice of the supreme court which is held in District 7, as provided in R.S. 13:101.1(D) or from the date that a justice takes office after being elected in the regular supreme court election held in the year 2000 from District 7, whichever occurs first.
Section 2.(A) The judge elected to the temporary additional judgeship established by the provisions of RS. 13:312.4 shall continue to receive the same compensation and benefits as provided in R.S. 13:312.4(C) until the judgeship expires.
(B) The temporary additional judgeship established b1 the provisions of RS. 13:312.4 shall be abolished when the term of office of the judge elected to such temporary additional judgeship expires as provided in RS. 13:312.4(D). Any tenure on the supreme court gained by such judge while so assigned to the supreme court shall be credited to such judge.
Section 3. (A) The precincts enumerated in Section 1 of this Act are the precincts existing as of April 1, 1997, established by the governing authority of each parish in conformity with RS. 18:532 which requires their establishment; however, in cases in which a precinct established by the parish governing authority includes a discontiguous geographical area which has been given an alphabetical designation in addition to the numerical designation for the purpose of convenience and clarity in taking and reporting the census counts by the United States Bureau of the Census, these designations are also enumerated in this Act for the purpose of clarity. The assignment of a precinct in this Act shall include all discontiguous alphabetical portions of the precinct regardless of where the enumeration of that discontiguous portion is listed unless otherwise specifically provided in this Act
(B) With respect to any precinct referenced in this Act that has been subdivided by action of any parish governing authority or registrar of voters on a nongeographic basis, the reference in this Act to a precinct shall be construed to include all polling subdivisions thereof irrespective of the creation of such subdivision by a parish governing authority or registrar of voters.
Section 4. This Act shall become effective on January 1, 1999, and shall not affect any election held prior to that date, except that if and when a vacancy occurs prior to January 1, 1999, in the office of either justice of the first supreme court district as now constituted, the provisions of R.S. 13:101 (District 1) and (District 7) and 101.1(D) shall become effective immediately upon the occurrence of the vacancy.
Approved by the Governor, July 10, 1997.
Published in the Official Journal of the State: July 24, 1997
A true copy:
W. Fox McKeithen
Secretary of State