HB 140 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

JUVENILE PROCEDURE: Provides relative to the time limitations governing juvenile delinquency proceedings (EN SEE FISC NOTE LF EX)

HB 140 modifies Louisiana's juvenile delinquency court timelines to ensure timely proceedings. It sets strict deadlines: if a juvenile is held in custody for a violent crime, the court must hold the hearing within 60 days; for non-violent crimes, it’s 30 days; and if not in custody, the hearing must occur within 90 days. The bill adds provisions interrupting these timelines (e.g., if a juvenile flees or is deemed mentally unfit) and suspending them during pretrial motions, requiring courts to restart the clock once interruptions end. If deadlines pass without justification, the case must be dismissed upon a juvenile’s written motion. This directly affects juveniles in delinquency cases, courts, prosecutors, and defense attorneys by streamlining procedural timelines.

Issues: ✓ Criminal Justice

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 13, 2026 Signed Jun 2, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB140 Original → HB140 Act 620 · 4 edits

MODERATE

This bill updates Louisiana's juvenile delinquency laws by clarifying time limits for filing petitions and holding hearings, expanding the definition of 'custody' to include actual confinement in detention centers, and adding new provisions for record confidentiality and identification procedures. It also introduces specific timelines for filing petitions based on whether a child is in custody and the severity of the alleged offense.

Scope change

The bill expands the scope of the Children's Code by adding new articles on confidentiality and identification procedures, while modifying existing articles to include more specific timeframes for legal actions and broader definitions of custody.

REQUIREMENT

Added a new article requiring law enforcement and judicial officers to protect juvenile records from disclosure within the criminal justice system, with exceptions for ongoing investigations.

Added new procedures allowing children to be photographed or fingerprinted when taken into custody for felony or misdemeanor delinquent acts.

DEFINITION

Clarified the definition of 'custody' to explicitly mean actual confinement in a detention center.

TIMELINE

Extended the time limit for filing delinquency petitions when a child is in custody from 48 hours to five days, and established specific filing deadlines (15 days for misdemeanors, 30 days for felonies) if the child is not in custody.

Floor votes · Senate May 28, 2026 · House Apr 20, 2026

How they voted

29–9

Passed · 2 other

Total votes 40

May 28, 2026

D Democratic12

2 Yea 8 Nay 2

66% Nay

R Republican28

27 Yea 1 Nay

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 29, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read by title, roll called, yeas 73, nays 25, Senate amendments concurred in.

lower

May 28, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 29 yeas and 8 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

May 27, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate floor amendments read and adopted.

upper

May 6, 2026

Committee

Committee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

upper

May 5, 2026

Upper · Passed

Rules suspended. Reported with amendments.

upper

Apr 20, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 68, nays 27. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Mar 18, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported with amendments (8-3).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.

lower

Feb 13, 2026

Committee

Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors