Session Information

2005 Regular Session Highlights

Public Safety

DRUGS AND ALCOHOL

Senate Bill 24 by Senator Cain (Act 494) seeks to restrict the availability and sale of substances used to manufacture methamphetamine. The bill will require all dealers of anhydrous ammonia to inspect their customers' tanks and receptacles and to place an inspection sticker of authorization on such tank or receptacle. The bill also creates the crime of unauthorized possession of anhydrous ammonia. Under the bill, pharmacies and other retail establishments will be restricted in the amount of pseudoephedrine, ephedrine or phenylpropanolamine sold to a single customer. The establishment must also comply with restrictions regarding the placement of such products in the store.

Senate Bill 157 by Senator Chaisson (Act 497) seeks to give judges more discretion in the sentencing of multiple DWI offenders by removing the requirement that the judge suspend the vast majority of the sentence. Currently, a person convicted of a third offense DWI is required to serve only 30 days of a sentence of up to five years, with the remainder of the sentence being suspended and the offender being placed on supervised probation. A person convicted of a fourth or subsequent offense DWI is required to serve only 60 days of a sentence of up to thirty years, with the remainder of the sentence being suspended and the offender being placed on supervised probation. The bill doesn't change but clarifies certain requirements regarding home incarceration and substance abuse treatment when a portion of the sentence is suspended.

House Bill 101 by Representative Tank Powell (Act 165) seeks to add additional penalties to minors convicted of purchasing or possessing alcoholic beverages, and persons convicted of purchasing alcoholic beverages on behalf of minors, by authorizing a judge to suspend the offender's driver's licences for 180 days.

Senate Bill 318 by Senator Jones (Act 503) seeks to expand the current notification provisions when a person convicted of a sexual offense is paroled, placed on work release, furlough or has escaped. Currently, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections is required to notify the chief of police of the municipality and the sheriff of the parish where the inmate will reside, as well as the victim of the crime and the witnesses who testified at trial in writing regarding the whereabouts of the inmate. Under this bill, all day care centers, elementary schools, middle schools, and high schools located within a one mile radius of the inmate's new residence must also be given notice.

Senate Bill 318 also seeks to require the Department of Public Safety and Corrections and the Department of Social Services to jointly institute a pre-Amber Alert action plan to prevent child abductions and provide for dissemination of materials with a description of the child in the event of an abduction.

House Bill 88 by Representative Jane Smith (Act 163) seeks to require persons convicted of acts of violence against peace officers to register with local law enforcement agencies within ten days of establishing residency in Louisiana or upon release from confinement. The Bureau of Criminal Identification will also maintain a central registry of offenders who commit acts of violence against peace officers.