Provides for a special identification card designation for citizens with traumatic brain injury

House Bill 679 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1321 to establish a special identification card designation for citizens diagnosed with traumatic brain injury. The legislation creates a new subsection T establishing the procedures for obtaining and renewing the traumatic brain injury designation on special identification cards. Applicants seeking the designation must present a statement from a qualified medical or mental health professional licensed in Louisiana or any other state or territory of the United States who is authorized to diagnose traumatic brain injury, verifying the applicant's condition as further established by administrative rule. The bill specifies that no additional fee may be charged to include the traumatic brain injury designation on either a new or renewed identification card. The legislation also establishes criminal penalties for persons who fraudulently represent themselves as having traumatic brain injury to obtain the designation, with first offenses subject to fines between one hundred and two hundred fifty dollars or imprisonment of up to thirty days or both, and subsequent offenses carrying fines between two hundred fifty and five hundred dollars or imprisonment of up to ninety days or both.

The bill directly impacts individuals with traumatic brain injury who wish to obtain visible identification of their condition, potentially facilitating law enforcement awareness and more appropriate interactions. The identification would signal to officers that the cardholder has a documented brain injury that may affect behavior or communication during encounters. Law enforcement agencies and officers are substantially affected as the bill mandates the Department of Public Safety and Corrections establish and implement mandatory training on interactions with persons with traumatic brain injury. This training must cover identification of indicators of brain injury, communication techniques, procedures for effective interaction, explanations of unexpected actions that persons with traumatic brain injury may take, available resources, and compliance procedures under the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Office of Motor Vehicles will also be affected as it must implement the new designation process and printing procedures. Citizens without traumatic brain injury attempting to falsely obtain the designation face criminal penalties.

The legislation operates within the framework of Louisiana Revised Statutes Chapter 40 governing state identification cards and the Office of Motor Vehicles. The new provision integrates with existing special identification card designation procedures under R.S. 40:1321 and supplements law enforcement training requirements already established under R.S. 40:2404.2(C). The bill delegates rulemaking authority to the deputy secretary of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to establish the specific medical standards and administrative procedures for verification, including waivers of liability for medical information release. The House and Senate committees on transportation, highways and public works retain oversight authority over these regulations, operating under an exception to the normal rulemaking provisions in R.S. 49:966(B)(12). The measure also makes housekeeping changes by renumbering existing subsections and adding the 988 Crisis Lifeline designation to all state identification cards as part of the same amendment.