House Bill No. by Representative Fontenot aims to streamline the parole eligibility process for juvenile offenders serving life sentences in Louisiana by amending several sections of R.S. 15:574.4. The bill removes repetitive language regarding the qualifications for parole consideration, specifically eliminating the need for a low-risk designation from a validated risk assessment and the completion of various programs. Instead, it references specific requirements outlined in Subparagraphs (A)(4)(b) through (f) of the same section. Additionally, the bill clarifies the number of years offenders must serve based on their age at sentencing and outlines the conditions for parole eligibility, including the removal of the requirement that offenders must not have committed major disciplinary offenses in the thirty-six months prior to their parole hearing.

Furthermore, the bill specifies that individuals under eighteen at the time of their offense, serving a term of twenty-five years or more, may be eligible for parole after serving at least twenty-five years. It consolidates and clarifies the requirements for parole eligibility while deleting specific provisions such as the mandatory low-risk designation, completion of one hundred hours of prerelease programming, and participation in a reentry program determined by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections. Overall, the proposed law seeks to create a more coherent and less redundant framework for assessing parole eligibility for juvenile offenders.

Statutes affected:
HB280 Original: 15:4(B)(2)