RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 369 (HB 149) 2019 Regular Session Marino
Existing law (R.S. 13:5401) authorizes each district court to establish a reentry division of
court, and requires each established reentry division of court to establish a workforce
development sentencing program. In this regard, existing law requires the court, in offering
a defendant the opportunity to request participation in the program, to advise the defendant
of the following:
(1)That participating in the program requires the defendant to waive the right to a trial,
to enter a guilty plea, and be sentenced to the custody of Dept. of Public Safety and
Corrections (DPS&C). After successful completion of the program, the defendant
may petition the court to suspend the remainder of his sentence and be placed on
probation under the intensive supervision of the reentry division of court.
(2)That the court may impose any conditions reasonably related to the rehabilitation of
the defendant, including ordering the defendant to participate and complete a
substance abuse program.
(3)That the defendant is required to pay the cost of any assessments, substance abuse
tests, and treatment programs to which he is assigned and the cost of any additional
supervision that may be required, to the extent of his financial resources.
New law retains existing law and further requires the court to advise the defendant that,
while in the program, the defendant shall not be eligible for parole, nor earn "good time" or
additional "good time" credits for participation in certified treatment rehabilitation programs.
Existing law (R.S. 15:571.3) authorizes certain prisoners to earn a diminution of sentence,
or "good time", by good behavior and performance of work or self-improvement activities,
or both. Further provides the rate at which an offender earns good time based on the type of
offense for which the offender was convicted and prohibits certain offenders from being
eligible to earn good time. Existing law (R.S. 15:571.5) provides that when a prisoner is
released because of diminution of sentence, he shall be released as if released on parole and
supervised in the same manner as persons released on parole.
New law retains existing law and adds that for any prisoner released because of diminution
of sentence pursuant to existing law on or after Aug. 1, 2020, the committee on parole may
impose special conditions of supervision which include participation in additional
programming by the prisoner as determined to be necessary by a validated risk-assessment
tool approved by the department.
Prior law (R.S. 15:574.2(C)(4)) provided "administrative parole" for offenders who were
otherwise eligible for parole and who committed an offense on or after Nov. 1, 2020, other
than a crime of violence or a sex offense. Administrative parole allowed the offender to be
released on the date of his parole eligibility without a hearing before the committee on parole
if the offender met certain requirements set forth in prior law, including the requirement that
the offender complete a case plan developed by DPS&C. In this regard, prior law required
DPS&C to notify the committee on parole in writing of an offender's compliance or
noncompliance with the case plan not less than 60 days before an offender's administrative
parole release date.
New law repeals prior law removing the availability of "administrative parole" and the
requirement that DPS&C notify the committee on parole of the offender's compliance or
noncompliance with the case plan.
Existing law (R.S. 15:574.4.1) provides that when the committee on parole grants parole, the
release date shall be fixed by the committee on parole and cannot exceed a period of six
months after the parole hearing or the most recent consideration of the inmate's case.
However, existing law authorizes the committee on parole to extend this period to a
maximum of nine months after the parole hearing or the most recent consideration of the
inmate's case, if the committee on parole determines that to ensure public safety and the
offender's opportunity for success, completion of one or more specific rehabilitative
programs is required prior to the inmate's release. New law retains existing law and further authorizes the committee on parole, when granting
parole of a prisoner who was sentenced as a habitual offender pursuant to existing law (R.S.
15:529.1), to extend this period to a maximum of one year after the parole hearing or the
most recent reconsideration of the prisoner's case if the committee on parole determines that
it is necessary for the prisoner to participate in a work release program. New law further
amends the eligibility requirements for the existing law (R.S. 15:1111) work release program
to allow for participation by such offenders.
Existing law (R.S. 15:574.9) provides that any offender who has been released on parole and
who has been determined by the committee on parole to have committed a technical violation
of the conditions of parole, as defined by existing law, shall be required to serve a sentence
dependant upon the number of prior technical violations or whether the offender is to
participate in a custodial substance abuse treatment program. Prior law provided for the
following sentences for such violations:
(1)For the first technical violation, not more than 15 days.
(2)For a second technical violation, not more than 30 days.
(3)For a third or subsequent technical violation, not more than 45 days.
(4)For custodial substance abuse treatment programs, not more than 90 days.
New law amends prior law to provide that for a third violation, the offender is required to
serve a sentence of up to 45 days, and for a fourth or subsequent technical violation, the
offender may be required to serve a sentence of up to 90 days.
Prior law (R.S. 15:574.4.4) provided that certain offenders were eligible for intensive parole
supervision upon successful completion of an intensive incarceration program established
and administered under existing law. In this regard, prior law provided that when an
offender completed intensive incarceration, the committee on parole was required to review
the case of the offender and recommend either that the offender be released on intensive
parole supervision or that the offender serve the remainder of his sentence as provided by
law.
New law removes the prior law intensive parole supervision program established within the
existing law intensive incarceration program. In this regard, new law deletes the prior law
provision which required the committee on parole to review the case of an offender who
completes the intensive incarceration program and the committee's authority to recommend
that the offender be released on intensive parole supervision. New law makes further
technical changes to provisions of existing law regarding sanctions for probation revocation
and parole of habitual offenders and sex offenders to conform with the repeal of the intensive
parole supervision program established under prior law (R.S. 15:574.4.4).
Effective August 1, 2019.
(Amends R.S. 15:529.2(A), 571.5(B)(2), 574.4(C)(2)(a)(intro. para.) and (b), 574.4.1(A)(1)
and (D)(1), 574.4.3(B), 574.4.4, 574.9(H)(1)(a)(intro. para.), (iii), and (iv), 827(A)(7), and
1111(I)(1) and C.Cr.P. Art. 901.1; Adds R.S. 13:5401(B)(3)(d), R.S. 15:571.5(B)(3),
574.4.1(D)(3), and 574.9(H)(1)(a)(v); Repeals R.S. 15:574.2(C)(4))