House Bill No. 193, introduced by Representative Amedee, amends the procedures for lawsuits filed by incarcerated individuals in Louisiana. The bill stipulates that no prisoner can assert a claim under state law until all available administrative remedies have been exhausted. If a suit is filed without exhausting these remedies, the court will dismiss the suit; however, the new provision clarifies that such a dismissal will not interrupt the prescription period for the claim. Additionally, if a prisoner fails to timely initiate or pursue their administrative remedies, their claim will be considered abandoned, and any subsequent suit will be dismissed with prejudice.

The bill also addresses situations where the administrative remedy process is ongoing at the time a suit is filed, stating that in such cases, the suit will be dismissed without prejudice. Furthermore, it allows for the failure to exhaust administrative remedies to be raised as a dilatory exception, rather than a peremptory exception, which reflects a change in how these issues can be addressed in court. Overall, the bill aims to streamline the process for handling prisoner lawsuits while ensuring that administrative procedures are followed before legal claims can be pursued.

Statutes affected:
HB193 Original: 15:1184(A)(2)
HB193 Engrossed: 15:1184(A)(2)
HB193 Reengrossed: 15:1184(A)(2)