House Bill No. [insert bill number] amends R.S. 15:1184(A)(2) to establish new procedures for lawsuits filed by incarcerated individuals. 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 dismissal will not interrupt the prescription period. 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 clarifies that if the administrative remedy process is still ongoing at the time the suit is filed, the suit will be dismissed without prejudice. Furthermore, it allows for the failure to exhaust administrative remedies to be raised as a peremptory exception under the Code of Civil Procedure. These changes aim to streamline the legal process for prisoner lawsuits and ensure that administrative procedures are followed before court intervention.

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