New year rings in new laws

The Louisiana Legislature passed 1057 bills in its 2010 regular session. Most went into effect last August, including a ban on sending and reading text messages while driving. But 35 new laws went into effect at the turn of the New Year. Some of the notable laws include:

• The end of two-party congressional primaries (HB 292)

The Legislature will eliminate the two-party primary election system for congressional races. Instead, all candidates for congress will be on one ballot, which will be presented to the public on the first Tuesday after the first Monday in November.

The top two vote-getters, regardless of party affiliation, will advance to a runoff on the first Saturday in December if no candidate receives the majority in the primary.

• Open meetings for education governing boards (HB 402 and 403)

The Board of Regents and the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education will be required to broadcast audio and video of each committee meeting over the Internet.

• School Board training hours increased (HB 488)

Each person serving on a city, parish or other local school board will be required to undergo 16 hours of training and instruction in order to earn the “Distinguished School Board Member” label. School board members are required to take at least six hours of training, an increase from four.

Also, members who serve a district that is labeled as “academically unacceptable” or “in need of academic assistance,” must devote two of the required hours to an area of improvement for the problem.

• Commissioner of Administration to post state contracts (HB 1267)

The commissioner of administration is required to publish and maintain a website that lists the following information pertaining to state contracts: the contract amount, a brief description of the purpose of the contract, the beginning and end dates of the contract, the name of the contracting agency and the name and state of the contractor.

• Restriction code for driver’s license (HB 1240)

The Office of Motor Vehicles will create a restriction code to be placed on the driver’s license of someone who was ordered to install an ignition interlock device stemming from a DWI.

• Car dealers to disclose fees, (HB 1058)

Automobile dealers must disclose any extra fees on the Bill of Sale between buyer and seller. In addition to providing the amount of the fee, a statement must be included to authorize the fee by federal law while also noting it is not a state-charged fee.

• More public access to Economic Development documents (HB 553)

The Department of Economic Development is required to release more documents to the public, including legal agreements, reports and economic analyses regarding the Mega-Project Development Fund and the Rapid Response Fund.