Pushed by Gov. Jeff Landry, Louisiana state lawmakers are swiftly pushing public-safety bills through a special session of the Louisiana Legislature without knowing what the price tag for those tough-on-crime measures will be, reports the Louisiana Illuminator. Thirteen of Landry’s criminal justice bills would add to state spending, according to fiscal notes attached to the legislation. Budget analysts said those items would cause an “indeterminable increase” in the state’s financial obligations.
Bills to lengthen prison sentences for carjacking, increase penalties for illegal use of a weapon and almost entirely eliminate parole are among the most expensive. They could, in theory, grow the prison system’s expenses by more than $11 million each per year if the harshest sentences are almost always given out, according to the analysts. Landry also has other expensive public safety measures in the works. He launched a plan to add a state police troop in New Orleans that is expected to cost $10 million over just the next four months. “My question is where are we going to find the money to pay for this?” Senate President Pro Tempore Regina Barrow, D-Baton Rouge, said.