Provides for an additional filing fee for recordation of documents with the clerk of court (RE SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

House Bill 916 enacts a new subsection of Louisiana Revised Statute 13:754(F) that imposes an additional five-dollar fee on each document recorded with the clerk of court's office, effective January 1, 2027. The clerk's office collects this fee and remits it to the Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority by the tenth day of the following month. The LCRAA then transfers the entire collected amount monthly to the Court Modernization and Technology Fund established under R.S. 39:100.211. These revenues are dedicated to supporting the development and integration of a statewide court electronic filing system. The statute also mandates that the Louisiana Supreme Court and appellate courts enter into cooperative agreements to establish a unified filing platform for all appellate courts that integrates with the statewide LCRAA filing platform.

The practical effect of this legislation falls on parties who file documents for recordation with clerks of court throughout Louisiana. Every person, entity, or attorney seeking to record a document with any clerk of court will incur an additional five-dollar charge on top of existing recording fees. This includes real estate transactions, security filings, and other documents subject to recordation requirements. The clerks of court themselves become collection agents for this fee, responsible for accurate accounting and timely remission to LCRAA. The Louisiana Supreme Court and appellate courts must allocate resources to negotiate and implement cooperative agreements to develop the integrated electronic filing system.

This legislation operates within the existing framework of the Louisiana Clerks' Remote Access Authority, established to provide infrastructure, governance, and technology services supporting a statewide portal for remote access to court records. The fee structure channels revenue through LCRAA to the Court Modernization and Technology Fund, which is the central repository for court modernization financing under R.S. 39:100.211. The bill expands LCRAA's role beyond its original remote access mission to include direct responsibility for funding and facilitating the development of electronic filing systems. The cooperative agreement requirement coordinates appellate court operations with LCRAA's broader statewide platform development efforts, creating a unified technological infrastructure across Louisiana's judicial system.