§2266.1.1. Fees and costs of court

A.(1) In all criminal cases prosecuted under state statutes, parish ordinances, or city ordinances in any mayor's, city, or district court of the state of Louisiana located within a parish which is now, or hereafter becomes, a part of the Acadiana Criminalistics Laboratory Commission, the North Louisiana Criminalistics Laboratory Commission, the Southeast Louisiana Regional Criminalistics Laboratory Commission, and any other criminalistics laboratory commission or of a sheriff's criminalistics laboratory as established by legislative act, there shall be assessed by the court, in addition to and separate from other costs, against every defendant who is convicted after trial, or who enters a plea of guilty or of nolo contendere, or who forfeits his bond, a fee in accordance with the following schedule:

(a) Crimes which are misdemeanor offenses, except a violation of any provision of Title 32 or Title 56 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 or a violation of any city or parish traffic ordinance, fifty dollars.

(b) Crimes which are felony offenses, one hundred fifty dollars.

(c) A fee not to exceed one thousand dollars, as reimbursement to the commission if laboratory personnel performed a scientific test of any evidence seized pursuant to the investigation or prosecution of a violation. The commission may establish a schedule stating the estimated cost of performing the test which shall be used by the court in determining the amount of the fees.

(2) The fees described in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall form no part of any court fund.

(3) The fees provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall be collected by the respective city marshals and sheriffs and shall be remitted to the applicable criminalistics laboratory commission on the first day of each month.

(4) The monies received from such fees by the applicable criminalistics laboratory commission shall be used for all necessary expenses of the commission and of the laboratory, and branch or satellite laboratories, including operating expenses, funds reserved for depreciation, capital expenses, and costs of constructing buildings together with maintenance thereof. The commission shall prepare an annual budget which shall be approved by at least a majority of the governing authorities of the parishes which the commission serves. If monies from the fees collected are not sufficient to pay the costs incurred as approved by the governing authorities in the budget, each governing authority may pay from its general fund its pro rata share of the amount necessary to eliminate the deficit, based upon the ratio which the assessed valuation of property in that parish bears to the total assessed valuations of property in all of the parishes.

(5) The provisions of this Section shall not supersede and shall be supplemental to the provisions of R.S. 40:2264, 2266.1, 2268.4, or any other provision of law providing for fees for criminalistics laboratories. The fees provided for in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection shall be in addition to any fees collected pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 40:2264, 2266.1, 2268.4, or any other provision of law.

B. The sheriff of each parish and each district attorney who represents one or more parishes within the area served by the applicable criminalistics laboratory commission may make a direct contribution from time to time to the applicable criminalistics laboratory commission, the sheriff from his salary fund and the district attorney from any funds available to defray expenses of his office, in order to assist in alleviating any deficit that may be existing in the operating funds of the laboratory commission.

Acts 2007, No. 432, §1; Acts 2015, No. 305, §1.

NOTE: Contingent provisions are now effective per the October 6, 2015, minutes of the Judicial Council of the Supreme Court of Louisiana which indicate approval of the changes made in Acts 2015, No. 305.