HB 559 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

COURTS/COURT COSTS: Increases court costs for the Fourth Judicial District (EN +$313,179 LF RV See Note)

HB 559 increases the maximum court filing fees and costs for the Fourth Judicial District in Louisiana to $15.35 per civil case or criminal conviction. This affects individuals filing civil lawsuits or those convicted in criminal cases within the district, requiring them to pay this fee in addition to other costs. The funds collected will be deposited into the district's judicial expense fund. (Procedural bill; summary limited to 2 sentences as requested.)

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Feb 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

House Passage

Apr 2026

Senate Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

Jun 2026

Introduced Feb 26, 2026 Signed Jun 23, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB559 Original → HB559 Act 919 · 2 edits

MINOR

This bill updates the maximum fee that can be charged in the Fourth Judicial District Court for civil cases and criminal proceedings. The change increases the cap from $15 to $35 to provide more funding for the court's judicial expense fund, which supports the administration of justice and judge offices.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains limited to the Fourth Judicial District Court, but the financial threshold for fees has been expanded.

FISCAL

Increased the maximum fee collected for the judicial expense fund from $15 to $35 for both civil suits and criminal cases.

Updated the legislative citation and header to reflect the final enrolled Act No. 919, replacing the original draft version.

Floor votes · Senate May 21, 2026 · House Apr 15, 2026

How they voted

33–4

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 40

May 21, 2026

D Democratic12

11 Yea 1

91% Yea

R Republican28

22 Yea 4 Nay 2

78% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

May 21, 2026

Upper · Passed

Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 31 yeas and 5 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

May 12, 2026

Committee

Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.

upper

May 11, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported favorably.

upper

Apr 15, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 83, nays 13. The bill, having received two-thirds vote of the elected members, was finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.

lower

Apr 9, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (14-0).

lower

Mar 9, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

lower

Feb 26, 2026

Committee

Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Judiciary.

lower

1 primary · 0 co-sponsors