Clerks across Louisiana are sounding the alarm after lawmakers expanded a privacy law that lets certain public officials scrub personal details from court and property records posted online. The Louisiana Clerks of Court Association says a wave of redaction demands is already hitting their offices and is backing House Bill 67 to rein in how far the law reaches. At the center of the fight is a familiar Louisiana tension: officials’ safety claims versus the public-records access residents, lawyers and newsrooms have leaned on for years.
According to New Orleans CityBusiness, the clerks association is lining up behind House Bill 67, filed by Rep. Tony Bacala, which would block covered officials from forcing removal of items such as divorce filings, criminal dockets and property deeds from district-clerk databases. The measure aims to give district clerks the same exemption the Secretary of State’s office already enjoys.
What HB 67 Would Do
The bill, as filed with the Legislature, would amend R.S. 44:11.2(J) to spell out that records published by a district clerk of court are not subject to removal requests from protected individuals; see the Louisiana Legislature. The digest attached to the filing says the change would “provide relative to the publication of certain personal information of a protected individual.”
Clerks Say They're Overwhelmed
Debbie Hudnall, executive director of the Louisiana Clerks of Court Association, told New Orleans CityBusiness that offices “would be doing nothing but redacting records all day long” and lack the staff to process a surge of requests. Clerks also say they were led to expect subscription-only databases would be exempt, but the current statute offers no carve-out, leaving them bracing for a backlog.
Free-Speech And Transparency Concerns
Civil-liberties and transparency advocates argue the law creates unequal privacy rights and chills speech. Bruce Hamilton, director of Tulane University's First Amendment Clinic, told the Louisiana Illuminator that Bacala's proposal “is a little like putting lipstick on a pig,” and the Public Affairs Research Council warned the last-minute expansion in 2025 deprived the public of full hearings. Critics say that rushed process is now coming home to roost as clerks and residents confront the fallout.
Judge's Divorce Shows The Stakes
The debate is not hypothetical. Reporting shows Louisiana Supreme Court Justice William "Will" Crain used the earlier judicial privacy statute to keep his divorce records sealed for nearly a year, an episode that highlighted how seals and redactions can affect public review, according to WAFB. That case is frequently cited by both supporters and critics when they weigh the law's real-world consequences.
Where The Bill Stands
HB 67 was prefiled Feb. 2 and first appeared on the Legislature's interim calendar on Feb. 6. It is currently pending in the House and Governmental Affairs Committee, according to LegiScan. Lawmakers could still tweak the language or tack on exemptions as they work through the bill this session.
How the committee rules, and whether legislators carve out an administrative exemption for clerks, will determine whether routine court and property access changes for Louisiana residents. Clerks and transparency groups alike say they will be watching the hearings closely as HB 67 moves through the process.
