HLS 17RS-1391 ORIGINAL
2017 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 73
BY REPRESENTATIVE ABRAHAM
CRIMINAL/SENTENCING: Directs the Dept. of Public Safety and Corrections to study
the use of judicial referral agency residential facilities in work release programs and
as an alternative to other incarceration programs
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To direct the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to study the potential impact of
3 permitting judicial referral agency residential facilities to house offenders
4 participating in, and to operate as, sheriff's work release programs, and to utilize
5 these facilities as an alternative to other incarceration programs.
6 WHEREAS, the mission of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections is to
7enhance public safety through the safe and secure incarceration of offenders, effective
8probation and parole supervision, and proven rehabilitative strategies that successfully
9reintegrate offenders into society; and
10 WHEREAS, successful offender rehabilitation and reintegration into the community
11is essential to reducing recidivism rates and has a direct impact on public safety and crime
12prevention; and
13 WHEREAS, the chance of achieving successful outcomes for these offenders grows
14exponentially if the offenders are referred to facilities that are adequately structured and
15well-suited to provide the offender with proper services and programming from the moment
16that they enter into the criminal justice system; and
17 WHEREAS, Louisiana law provides that individuals who have been arrested for the
18commission of a crime may be referred by any judicial agency, including the court and
19district attorneys, to a residential facility regulated by the Department of Public Safety and
20Corrections; and
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HCR NO. 73
1 WHEREAS, these judicial agency referral residential facilities are available to house
2offenders participating in a pretrial diversion program and offenders who are under the
3supervision of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections, division of probation and
4parole; and
5 WHEREAS, Louisiana law prohibits the use of judicial agency referral residential
6facilities for offenders participating in a sheriff's work release program and prohibits such
7facilities from receiving funding from the state; and
8 WHEREAS, although legislation is necessary to authorize the use of these residential
9facilities for work release programs, it is beneficial to examine the possibility and determine
10the impact of expanding the use of these facilities for purposes beyond what is provided for
11in current law.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
13authorize and direct the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to study the potential
14impact of permitting judicial referral agency residential facilities to house offenders
15participating in, and to operate as, sheriff's work release programs, and to utilize these
16facilities as an alternative to other incarceration programs.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study shall consider various aspects of these
18alternative facilities and programs including but not limited to moral reconditioning,
19community alliances, and family reunification.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, in this regard, the Department of Public Safety
21and Corrections may work with and receive input from the governor's office, the state public
22defender, the Louisiana District Attorneys Association, the Louisiana Sheriffs' Association,
23and other criminal justice stakeholders as is necessary to achieve its purposes.
24 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Public Safety and Corrections
25shall prepare and submit a report no later than March 1, 2018, to the speaker of the House
26of Representatives, the president of the Senate, the chair of the House Committee on the
27Judiciary, the chair of the House Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice, the chair
28of the Senate Committee on Judiciary B, and the chair of the Senate Committee on Judiciary
29C.
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HCR NO. 73
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
2to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 73 Original 2017 Regular Session Abraham
Directs the Dept. of Public Safety and Corrections to study the potential impact of permitting
judicial referral agency residential facilities to house offenders participating in, and to
operate as, sheriff's work release programs, and to utilize these facilities as an alternative to
other incarceration programs.
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