Provides for the Official Journal of the State. (8/1/26)

Senate Bill 220 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes section 43:24(C) to modify the secretary of state's duties regarding legislative acts and joint resolutions. Specifically, the bill removes language requiring the secretary of state to take all necessary actions to make acts and joint resolutions accessible on the internet website or portal of the Official Journal of the State. In its place, the bill establishes a more direct obligation: the secretary of state shall transmit acts and joint resolutions to the Official Journal of the State within the time limits set forth in R.S. 43:81. This represents a substantive narrowing of the secretary of state's responsibilities from maintaining internet accessibility to simply ensuring timely transmission to the Official Journal itself.

The practical effect of this legislation impacts the secretary of state's office and the general public's access to legislative documents. The secretary of state will no longer bear the specific statutory duty to ensure that legislative acts and resolutions are available through an internet website or portal, which may reduce the burden on that agency to maintain digital platforms for public access. Members of the public who have relied on internet-based access to legislative acts and joint resolutions may find that such access is no longer guaranteed by this particular statutory provision, though other statutory or regulatory schemes may independently provide for such access. The bill does not address whether the Official Journal of the State itself maintains or provides internet access to its contents.

The amendment modifies a provision within Louisiana's statutory framework governing the publication and distribution of legislative acts. This change operates within the broader legal structure established in R.S. 43:81, which sets forth the specific time limits for transmitting acts and resolutions to the Official Journal. The secretary of state's duties regarding legislative documents are part of the statutory powers and responsibilities vested in that constitutional officer under Louisiana law. The shift from requiring internet accessibility as a mandate to simply requiring transmission to the Official Journal represents a clarification or limitation of the secretary of state's obligations under state law, effective August 1, 2026.