HB 276 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

BAIL: Authorizes a court to conduct a contradictory bail hearing prior to setting bail for a person in custody who is charged with certain sexually based offenses against a child under the age of eighteen

HB 276 establishes a statewide minimum bail amount of $50,000 for individuals arrested in Louisiana for specific sexual offenses against minors under 18 years old. It directly affects defendants charged with offenses like rape (first, second, or third degree), sexual battery, child sexual abuse materials, or molestation of a juvenile. The bill mandates that district courts set this minimum bail amount for listed offenses, though courts may set higher amounts based on factors in Article 316. This policy change standardizes initial bail requirements for these serious crimes, aiming to ensure defendants remain in custody pending trial.

Issues: ✗ Criminal Justice

Bill status passed 3 of 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

Apr 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Senate Passage

Governor

Introduced Feb 23, 2026 Last action May 7, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 2 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB276 Reengrossed → HB276 Engrossed · 3 edits · May 5, 2026

MINOR

The bill was significantly restructured to shift from a 'contradictory bail hearing' process to a mandatory statewide bail schedule. Instead of allowing courts to hold a specific hearing before setting bail, the new law requires courts to automatically set a minimum bail of one million dollars for specific sexual offenses committed against children under 18.

Scope change

The bill's scope changed from a discretionary hearing mechanism to a mandatory financial threshold. The list of qualifying offenses was also reordered and slightly modified, with 'Human trafficking' moved to a different position in the list of crimes.

REQUIREMENT

Eliminated the provision for a 'contradictory bail hearing' that allowed courts to review bail conditions before setting an amount.

Established a mandatory minimum bail amount of $1,000,000 for specific sexual offenses against children.

ELIGIBILITY

Reorganized the list of qualifying offenses, moving 'Human trafficking' from the end of the list to a new position between 'Aggravated crime against nature' and 'Molestation of a juvenile'.

Floor votes · House May 5, 2026

How they voted

95–1

Passed · 9 other

Total votes 105

May 5, 2026

D Democratic33

28 Yea 5

84% Yea

R Republican72

67 Yea 1 Nay 4

93% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 5, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 95, nays 1. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Apr 28, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported with amendments (11-0).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

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

lower

Feb 23, 2026

Committee

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

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors