BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) — The legislative session in Louisiana started on Monday, April 10.
Lawmakers pre-filed more than 800 bills for the 2023 Louisiana legislative session. A number of them are related to crime. Here is a roundup of notable crime-related bills proposed.
HB65, authored by Rep. Debbie Villio, would classify simple burglary of an inhabited dwelling as a crime of violence.
HB85 would make it a crime in Louisiana to approach a law enforcement officer on duty. According to the proposed bill authored by Rep. Mike Johnson, no one should come within 25 feet of an officer working after they have ordered a person to stop approaching. The bill defines a “law enforcement officer” as a police officer, sheriff, deputy sheriff, marshal, deputy marshal, correctional officer, probation and parole officer, constable, wildlife enforcement agent or a state park warden.
The proposed bill states a person could be fined $500 and/or serve no more than 60 days in jail.
HB91 would require offenders in a deadly crash to make pay the victim’s minor child until they turn 18 years old. “If the offender is ordered to pay restitution and is incarcerated and unable to pay, the offender shall have up to one year after release to begin payment,” according to the proposed bill.
HB94 would toughen penalties for ATM thefts. The bill describes penalties as imprisonment with or without hard labor for not less than five years nor more than 10 years and a requirement for offenders to pay equal to the amount of money inside an ATM and damages at the time of theft.
HB96 would increase possible prison time from five years to 20 years for those found guilty of negligent homicide.
In another pre-filed bill about ATMs, HB317 would make ATM theft a crime and proposes penalties of no less than five years nor more than 10 years in prison. The bill also proposes a fine equal to the amount inside the ATM and damages at the time of the crime.
HB207 would make it illegal for anyone under the age of 18 to swim in a river “that generates hydroelectric power” without a Coast Guard-approved floatation device.
According to the bill, on a first conviction, the offender would be fined $50 or the offender’s parent or guardian could be jailed for no more than seven days. A second conviction would increase fines between $75 and $250 or the offender’s parent or guardian jailed for up to 30 days. A third conviction would result in a fine of no less than $250 and no more than $550 and the offender’s parent or guardian could be jailed for up to 90 days.
HB416 would add penalties for children, or the parent of the child, who make a false bomb threat at a school.
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