HB 36 would pull Evangeline Parish out of a juvenile district

A Louisiana proposal would remove Evangeline Parish from the Acadiana Regional Juvenile Justice District and rewrite the district’s governing rules at the same time. The change reaches into board appointments, vacancies and financing authority, not just parish lines.

For families, local officials and administrators tied to the juvenile system, that matters because regional districts help decide who sits at the table when services are run and who may be linked to the costs. The measure keeps the focus on the district itself, but the practical effect is a new setup for how it would govern after Evangeline Parish is out.

A bigger board, a different balance

The visible language says the district commission would be made up of an eleven-member board of commissioners. It also rewrites how those commissioners are appointed and how vacancies are filled, which means the district’s leadership structure would be rebuilt along with its membership.

Representative Rhonda Butler, a Republican from District 38, is behind the proposal. The change is not just administrative housekeeping. It alters the framework that holds the district together, which is the part that matters once the parish removal takes effect.

Money powers stay on the table

The proposal also expressly addresses the district’s authority to levy taxes, incur debt and issue bonds. That does not mean those powers will be used immediately, but it does show lawmakers are reopening the financial rules that support the district’s work.

Available vote records show the bill advanced without recorded no votes. For readers, the important part is still the substance: Evangeline Parish would no longer be part of the Acadiana district, and the district would keep operating under a revised governing and financing structure.