House Bill No. 140, introduced by Representative Cox, amends and reenacts several articles of the Children's Code to establish new time limitations and procedures for juvenile delinquency proceedings. Key changes include the definition of "custody" as actual confinement in a detention center and the alteration of time frames for filing delinquency petitions. Specifically, if a child is continued in custody prior to adjudication, the petition must now be filed within five days instead of the previous forty-eight hours. For cases where the child is not continued in custody, petitions for misdemeanor and felony-grade delinquent acts must be filed within fifteen and thirty days, respectively.

Additionally, the bill modifies the timeline for adjudication hearings, extending the required commencement period from sixty to one hundred twenty days for violent crimes, and from ninety to one hundred eighty days for other cases. It introduces provisions for the interruption and suspension of time limitations under certain circumstances, such as the juvenile fleeing or failing to appear in court. The bill also establishes that if the time limitations expire without the adjudication hearing being held, the court must dismiss the petition upon a written motion from the juvenile, ensuring no further delinquency proceedings can occur for the same offense based on the same facts. The bill repeals certain existing provisions and mandates technical corrections by the Louisiana State Law Institute.