Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:827.3 – Savings attributable to criminal justice reforms; data collection and reporting requirements to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 15:827.3
- Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
- Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
A.(1) At the end of each fiscal year, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall calculate the annual savings realized as a result of criminal justice reinvestment legislation enacted in the 2017 Regular Session of the Legislature and thereafter.
(2) Each fiscal year, the annual savings shall be allocated as follows:
(a) Fifteen percent shall be allocated to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to award incentive grants to parishes, judicial districts, and nonprofit community partner organizations to expand evidence-backed prison alternatives and reduce admissions to the state prison system.
(b) Ten percent shall be allocated to the Louisiana Commission on Law Enforcement and the Administration of Criminal Justice to award competitive grants for victim services, including but not limited to victim safety assessments and safety planning, trauma-informed treatment and services for victims and survivors, shelters and transitional housing for domestic violence victims and their children, batterers’ intervention programming, and victim-focused education and training for justice system professionals.
(c) Forty-five percent shall be allocated to the Louisiana Community and Technical College System for targeted investments in educational and vocational training aimed at recidivism reduction programming for adult and juvenile offenders. Such funds shall be utilized in connection with any other available sources of federal or state aid or training funds. The Louisiana Community and Technical College System shall provide a report to the legislature by December fifteenth of each year which shall include but not be limited to the following:
(i) A detailed description of the number of people trained categorized by age, race, gender, and geographic region.
(ii) A detailed description of the credentials issued.
(iii) The average expenditure per student trained.
(iv) The percentage of the eligible population who participated in training.
(3) Amounts allocated each year pursuant to Paragraph (2) of this Subsection shall be deemed a bona fide obligation of the state.
B.(1) The Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall submit a report regarding savings attributable to criminal justice reinvestment legislation to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget in the month of July of each year.
(2) The report shall include all of the following:
(a) The total annual savings and the calculation used to determine the savings pursuant to Subsection A of this Section.
(b) The amounts allocated pursuant to this Section and a description of how the funds were used in the immediately preceding fiscal year and each prior fiscal year through Fiscal Year 2014-2015 and how the Department of Public Safety and Corrections plans to use the funds in the current fiscal year.
(c) A comparison of the number of individuals eligible for educational and vocational programming, the number of participants in educational and vocational programming, and the total amount expended on the programming from justice reinvestment funds and any additional sources of funds for the immediately preceding fiscal year and each prior fiscal year through Fiscal Year 2014-2015.
(d) A comparison of recidivism rates for individuals receiving community-based services, individuals receiving educational and vocational programming, and individuals receiving a combination of community-based services and educational and vocational programming for the immediately preceding fiscal year and each prior fiscal year through Fiscal Year 2014-2015.
(e) A comparison of post-incarceration employment rates for individuals who received educational and vocational programming for the immediately preceding fiscal year and each prior fiscal year through Fiscal Year 2014-2015.
(3) The department shall provide information required pursuant to this Subsection for all offenders in state facilities, offenders sentenced to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections who are in the custody of the sheriff or other local governing authority, and youth in the custody or under supervision of the office of juvenile justice.
Acts 2017, No. 261, §1; Acts 2022, No. 748, §1.