House Bill No. 817, introduced by Representative Muscarello, seeks to repeal the provisions of law that establish a court reporter pool employed by the Louisiana Supreme Court. Specifically, the bill repeals R.S. 13:981 in its entirety, which includes the rules, procedures, and guidelines related to the court reporter pool. Under the current law, there is a pool of 30 court reporters assigned to various district courts, who are in addition to other court reporters and receive the same qualifications, duties, responsibilities, and pay. The law also mandates the Louisiana Supreme Court to assign these reporters geographically and stipulates their annual salary and travel expense limits.

The proposed legislation eliminates the requirement for the Louisiana Supreme Court to maintain this court reporter pool, allowing for more flexibility in securing court reporting services. The judicial administrator will have the option to hire shorthand court reporting companies as needed, rather than relying on a fixed number of pool reporters. This change aims to streamline court reporting services and potentially reduce costs associated with maintaining a dedicated pool of court reporters.

Statutes affected:
HB187 Original:
HB187 Engrossed: