RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 626 (HB 642) 2024 Regular Session Orgeron
Existing law requires the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency
Preparedness (GOHSEP) to prepare and maintain a homeland security and state emergency
operations plan. New law retains existing law and adds the requirement that GOHSEP
coordinate with the La. Spatial Reference Center, as designated by the National Geodetic
Survey, to prioritize getting Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) back to
service after a disaster or emergency.
New law provides definitions.
Existing law provides that the state's systems of plane coordinates are the La. Coordinate
System of 1927 and the La. Coordinate System of 1983 and defines the zones for use with
those coordinate systems.
New law replaces these systems with the La. Plane Coordinate System as the official state
coordinate system and defines the zones to be used with this coordinate system.
New law further provides that new law does not preclude the use of other coordinate systems
where appropriate.
New law adds references to successor systems and organizations throughout the new law as
recommended by the National Geodetic Survey to prevent these provisions of new law from
becoming obsolete in the future.
New law further provides that the official geodetic datums that must be used for coordinates
referenced in the state are those defined by the National Spatial Reference System established
by the National Geodetic Survey.
Existing law provides the method for stating coordinate values for a point on the earth's
surface. New law removes references to superceded coordinate systems and the North
American Horizontal Geodetic Control Network and updates terminology used for the
method of stating coordinate values.
Existing law provides for the completeness of location descriptions, purchaser and mortgagee
reliance on descriptions using a single particular coordinate system, and reference to points
in a description of land that lies in more than one zone. New law makes technical changes
to these provisions and otherwise retains existing law.
Existing law defines state zones for use with the La. Coordinate System of 1927 and the La.
Coordinate System of 1983. New law states that these two systems under existing law are
deprecated and superceded, but their definitions are retained.
Existing law requires that recordation of coordinates purporting to define the position of a
point be based on accuracy standards of the Federal Geodetic Control Committee of the U.S.
Dept. of Commerce. New law retains accuracy standards for documents purporting to define
the position of a point, but changes the standard required to the Standards of Practice for
Boundary Surveys promulgated by the La. Professional Engineering and Land Surveying
Board or its successor. New law further adds a requirement that mapping conform to the
standards of the U.S. National Map Accuracy Standards or its successor, unless a different
standard is required and specifically identified on the document.
Existing law designates the Dept. of Transportation and Development as the state agency
authorized to administer the provisions of existing law regarding the state's coordinate
systems and to modify limitations placed on the use of coordinates in recorded documents
to meet local conditions. New law removes the agency's authority to modify limitations in
existing law, but otherwise retains the agency's authority to administer the provisions of law
regarding coordinate systems.
Existing law requires that the use of the proper names of the state's coordinate systems be
limited to the use of coordinates as defined by state law. New law updates the proper names
to include the most recent additional coordinate system under new law, but otherwise retains
existing law.
Existing law provides the standard to be used for vertical controls for all surveys as the North
American Vertical Datum of 1988. New law removes this language and provides instead that
the standard for all geodetic controls for surveys is the National Spatial Reference System
or its successors.
Existing law provides for reference stations for all measurements. New law retains existing
law.
Existing law provides that the La. Coordinate System of 1927 shall not be used after Dec.
31, 1995 (R.S. 50:11). New law retains existing law (R.S. 50:7).
Effective August 1, 2024.
(Amends the heading of Chapter 1 of Title 50 of the La. Revised Statutes of 1950 and R.S.
50:1 - 10 and 173.1; Adds R.S. 29:726(B)(17); Repeals R.S. 50:11)


Statutes affected:
HB642 Original:
HB642 Engrossed:
HB642 Enrolled:
HB642 Act 626: