HB336 • 2026

CRIMINAL/PROCEDURE: Provides relative to post-conviction relief

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Mike Johnson
Last action: 2026-05-14
Official status: Signed by the Governor - Act 104
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact procedures for invoking supervisory jurisdiction of the Louisiana Supreme Court are not specified in the provided bill text, leading to uncertainty about how this process will be handled.

Post-Conviction Relief for Unexhausted Claims

This act sets rules for filing unexhausted claims in state court after a federal court has stayed habeas corpus proceedings.

What This Bill Does

Creates new Article 927.2 in the Code of Criminal Procedure, which outlines procedures for filing unexhausted claims in state district courts within thirty days if a federal court has stayed their habeas corpus proceeding and they have not raised the claim previously in state court.
Requires petitioners to show good cause for not raising the claim earlier, that it is not plainly without merit, and that there were no dilatory tactics by the petitioner.
Specifies that applications must meet all requirements under Article 927.2 or face dismissal.
Directs state district courts to expedite their consideration and resolution of unexhausted claims.

Who It Names or Affects

People who have been convicted in Louisiana and are seeking post-conviction relief after a federal court has stayed their habeas corpus proceedings.
State district courts where these petitions will be filed.
The Louisiana Supreme Court, which may review the state district court's resolution of unexhausted claims.

Terms To Know

Unexhausted claim: A legal issue that has not been fully addressed in a lower court before being brought to a higher court, such as from state court to federal court.
Habeas corpus proceeding: A legal action where a person asks the court to determine if their detention or imprisonment is lawful and to order their release if it is not.

Limits and Unknowns

The act does not specify what happens if an unexhausted claim is dismissed.
It is unclear how this act will affect cases where a petitioner has already missed the thirty-day filing deadline.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

Summary of Senate Amendments to HB336

Filed

Plain English: SSHB336 4274 4504 HOUSE SUMMARY OF SENATE AMENDMENTS HB 336 2026 Regular Session Mike Johnson CRIMINAL/PROCEDURE: Provides relative to post-conviction relief Synopsis of Senate Amendments 1.

SSHB336 4274 4504 HOUSE SUMMARY OF SENATE AMENDMENTS HB 336 2026 Regular Session Mike Johnson CRIMINAL/PROCEDURE: Provides relative to post-conviction relief Synopsis of Senate Amendments 1.
Clarifies that the petitioner files, rather than submits, an unexhausted claim.
2.
Clarifies that the proper venue to file an unexhausted claim is in the state district court for the parish where the petitioner was convicted.

House Vote on HB 336 CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENTS (#1083)

Filed

Plain English: 2026 Regular Session Sequence: 1083 HBS AMENDED BY SENATE TO BE CONCURRED IN HB 336 BY JOHNSON, M.

2026 Regular Session Sequence: 1083 HBS AMENDED BY SENATE TO BE CONCURRED IN HB 336 BY JOHNSON, M.
CONCUR IN SENATE AMENDMENTS Date: 5/11/2026 Time: 3:28:13 PM ROLL CALL The roll was called with the following result: YEAS Mr.
Speaker Adams Amedee Bacala Bagley Bamburg Bayham Beaullieu Berault Billings Boudreaux Bourriaque Boyer Brass Braud Broussard Butler Carrier Carter, R.
Carter, W.

Bill History

2026-05-14 H
Effective date: 08/01/2026.
2026-05-14 H
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 104.
2026-05-13 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-05-12 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-12 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-11 H
Read by title, roll called, yeas 78, nays 16, Senate amendments concurred in.
2026-05-07 H
Scheduled for concurrence on 05/11/2026.
2026-05-06 H
Received from the Senate with amendments.
2026-05-06 S
Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 28 yeas and 9 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-04-27 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-04-22 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-04-21 S
Reported favorably.
2026-04-14 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary C.
2026-04-13 S
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-04-09 H
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 77, nays 17. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-04-08 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 04/09/2026.
2026-04-07 H
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-04-01 H
Reported favorably (11-0).
2026-03-09 H
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
2026-02-27 H
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
2026-02-24 H
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
2026-02-24 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

CRIMINAL/PROCEDURE: Provides relative to post-conviction relief

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 1042026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 336
BY REPRESENTATIVE MIKE JOHNSON
1 AN ACT
2 To enact Code of Criminal Procedure Article 927.2, relative to post conviction relief; to
3 provide relative to unexhausted claims; to provide for duties of the petitioner and the
4 court; to provide for the submission and contents of applications; to provide for
5 dismissal; to provide for applicability; and to provide for related matters.
6 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. Code of Criminal Procedure Article 927.2 is hereby enacted to read as
8 follows:
9 Art. 927.2. Unexhausted claims
10 A. A petitioner shall file an unexhausted claim in the state district court for
11 the parish in which the petitioner was convicted within thirty days of the granting of
12 a stay from a federal court if all of the following have occurred:
13 (1) The petitioner failed to raise a claim for post conviction relief in state
14 district court.
15 (2) The petitioner raised a claim for post conviction relief in a petition for
16 a federal habeas corpus proceeding.
17 (3) A federal court stayed the habeas corpus proceeding to allow the
18 petitioner to exhaust the claim in state district court.
19 B. An application that raises an unexhausted claim shall establish all of the
20 following:
21 (1) That the petitioner had good cause for failing to raise the claim in prior
22 post conviction applications.
23 (2) That the claim is not plainly without merit.
24 (3) That the petitioner has not intentionally engaged in any dilatory litigation
25 tactics.
Page 1 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 336 ENROLLED
1 C. The failure of the petitioner to satisfy any requirement in Paragraph A or
2 B of this Article shall result in dismissal of the application.
3 D. The provisions of Articles 926 and 927.1 shall apply to any application
4 that is filed pursuant to this Article.
5 E. The state district court shall expedite its consideration and resolution of
6 an unexhausted claim.
7 F. If any party invokes the supervisory jurisdiction of the Louisiana Supreme
8 Court to review the state district court's resolution of the unexhausted claim, the
9 Louisiana Supreme Court shall give priority consideration to and expedite its review
10 of the claim.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.