Creates a statewide registry for individuals convicted of multiple domestic abuse offenses

House Bill 86 creates Chapter 3-H of Title 15 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes by adding sections 564 through 564.3, which establish the Domestic Abuse Repeat Offender Registry and impose mandatory registration requirements on persons convicted of a second or subsequent domestic abuse offense. The bill applies to individuals convicted of or who plead guilty or nolo contendere to a second or subsequent violation of seven specified offenses: battery of a dating partner, aggravated assault upon a dating partner, domestic abuse battery, domestic abuse aggravated assault, stalking, cyberstalking, or violation of protective orders. Upon release or as a condition of probation or parole, courts must provide written notice to qualifying offenders of their registration obligation. Offenders must register in person with the sheriff of their parish of residence and, if applicable, the chief of police of any incorporated municipality or the police department of their municipality if residing in a city with over three hundred thousand residents. The registration mechanism requires offenders to provide detailed personal information within five business days of release, including name, addresses, employment information, school enrollment, vehicle descriptions, photographs, telephone numbers, social security numbers, physical characteristics, and email addresses. Offenders must pay an annual two hundred fifty dollar registration fee, with one hundred fifty dollars allocated to law enforcement administrative costs and one hundred dollars to the governor's office on women's policy for domestic abuse programming and services.

The legislation directly affects individuals with multiple domestic abuse convictions, law enforcement agencies, the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information, and the general public. Offenders subject to these requirements face criminal penalties for failure to register, including fines up to one thousand dollars and up to one year imprisonment, as well as potential prosecution for providing false information or failing to pay annual registration fees. Law enforcement agencies must forward registration information electronically to the state bureau and maintain compliance with the registration protocols established in the statute. The Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information bears significant administrative responsibility to develop and maintain the central registry, provide public internet access with searchable capabilities, establish automatic email notification systems for geographic monitoring, and coordinate with social networking websites to identify registered offenders. The public gains access to registered offender information through an internet-based registry with field-search capabilities, though certain information including social security numbers, victim names, telephone numbers, and email addresses are withheld from general public view. However, the registry permits searches by telephone number, email address, and online screen names to identify whether a particular contact method belongs to a registered offender, and the statute permits designated persons and entities to request lists of online identifiers associated with registered offenders.

This legislation operates within the framework of Louisiana's existing criminal code and registration statutes, including references to specific domestic abuse and stalking offenses codified in Title 14, and incorporates procedures similar to those found in existing registration provisions such as R.S. 15:542.1.3 and R.S. 15:542.1.4 regarding out-of-state offenders and notification procedures. The statute also interacts with the Administrative Procedure Act, which governs the Louisiana Bureau of Criminal Identification and Information's rulemaking authority. The legislation establishes mandatory registration requirements that courts cannot waive or suspend except through a joint written motion by the district attorney and the offender, and specifies that orders attempting to waive or suspend registration remain void and do not invalidate otherwise valid convictions. The bill authorizes the bureau to contract with social networking websites for database comparison purposes and establishes specific exemptions and limitations on public access to certain registration information while maintaining broad search and notification capabilities. The statutory scheme addresses registration periods based on the number of convictions: one year for initial registration, five years for a second registration requirement, and lifetime registration for third or subsequent registrations, with exceptions when underlying convictions are reversed, set aside, or vacated.