BATON ROUGE - Nearly half of all Louisianans have reported experiencing domestic violence, according to a survey conducted by Tulane University, and lawmakers want communities to know when a person convicted of domestic abuse is in a community.

Two bills moving through the state capitol could create a database of repeat abusers, similar to the sex offender registry that the Louisiana State Police Department maintains.

If passed, Louisiana would be the second state in the nation to have such a registry, following Tennessee. It would require habitual offenders to register on a publicly accessible website.

Some worry that the proposals, while noble, might have unintended consequences.

Mariah Wineski, Executive Director of the Louisiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, says providing information about someone convicted of domestic violence inherently provides information about their victim.

"That is definitely a concern for victim privacy," Wineski said.

Wineski says the Louisiana proposals would be limited to certain offenders, making it less effective, although she says the bill does encourage conversations about a difficult topic.

"The vast majority of people who commit domestic abuse don't ever enter the criminal justice system, let alone get convicted," Wineski said.

Tennessee passed a nearly identical law last year after a woman was killed by her ex-boyfriend, and ten years ago, former State Rep. Patricia Smith first filed a bill to create a registry. The expected price tag then was significantly lower than the current estimated cost to create and maintain a site like this one.

The 2016 bill estimated that the state might spend about $280,000 over five years. One of the bills this year estimated that it could now cost about $4.5 million over the same time period.

One lawmaker said they would be interested in seeing how effective the registry in Tennessee is before taking action in Louisiana.