Provides relative to transcript fee provisions for the Nineteenth Judicial District Court

HB 562 enacts a new provision into Louisiana Revised Statutes section 13:961(F)(1)(w) to establish court reporter transcript fee caps specifically for the Nineteenth Judicial District Court. The legislation creates three distinct fee categories: routine transcript requests may not exceed four dollars, special requests may not exceed six dollars and fifty cents, and copied pages may not exceed two dollars per page. This measure adds a district-specific fee schedule to the existing state law governing court reporter compensation, creating a regulatory ceiling that applies within this particular judicial district while maintaining the broader framework of court reporter transcript fee provisions already established in Louisiana law.

The practical effect of this legislation falls primarily on court users in the Nineteenth Judicial District, which encompasses areas in North Louisiana. Litigants, attorneys, and other parties requiring certified court transcripts will benefit from the established fee caps, which provide certainty and protection against excessive charges for transcript services. Court reporters employed or contracted by the Nineteenth Judicial District Court will operate under these fee limitations when providing transcript services to district court users. The fee structure also directly impacts the judicial district's budget and operations, as the compensation available to court reporters for transcript work becomes subject to these statutory maximums.

This measure operates within the existing statutory framework established by R.S. 13:961, which governs court reporter compensation and practices across Louisiana's judicial system. By adding subsection (w) to the paragraph already containing fee provisions for other judicial districts, the bill follows the established legislative pattern of establishing district-specific transcript fee schedules within the same statute. The provision works in conjunction with existing law concerning court reporter appointments, duties, and compensation to refine the economic terms under which court reporting services are provided in the Nineteenth Judicial District specifically.