The committee reported House Bill 249 favorably after Judge Richard Starling and other local officials described a prior two‑year pilot on fee distribution for Alexandria City Court that the parties now want to continue.

Representative Pro Tem (Travis) Johnson presented the bill for Representative DeWitt and said it affects only the City Court of Alexandria and the Rapides Parish Police Jury. "It simply does two things: repeals the sunset clause ... and updates the laws relative to how that's distributed," he said, noting the current distribution would have expired on Jan. 1, 2026.

Judge Richard Starling said the parties treated the earlier arrangement as a pilot and now agree it should remain in place. "Primarily, I just want to reinforce what Representative Johnson indicated. This is the city and Alexandria City Court agreed to this distribution of funds in 2023 ... and we're all in agreement now that it should continue as it was," Starling said.

Representative Edmondson moved the bill favorably at the appropriate time. There were no recorded objections in committee.