Provides relative to state inmates housed in a parish jail or institution and establishes criteria for additional per diem funding. (gov sig)

Senate Bill 373 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes Section 15:824(B)(1)(a) and enacts a new Section 15:828.5 to condition future increases in the daily per diem payments that the Department of Public Safety and Corrections makes to parish sheriffs and jail-operating authorities for housing state inmates. Beginning January 1, 2026, any increases in the daily sum currently set at twenty-six dollars and thirty-nine cents per day become contingent upon compliance with basic jail guidelines approved by the department, all applicable safety and sanitation laws and regulations, and additional criteria to be established by departmental rule. The bill mandates that the department adopt rules in consultation with sheriffs or governing authorities that establish specific eligibility criteria for additional per diem funding, including benchmarks and reporting requirements designed to mitigate liability risks through facility upgrades and repairs, ensure safe and code-compliant conditions, and provide or upgrade technology infrastructure when applicable. Additionally, the legislation creates the Transitional Workforce and Vocational Training Pilot Program within the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to provide workforce and vocational training in high-demand skilled trades to state inmates housed in parish jails, with implementation required by January 1, 2027.

Parish sheriffs and governing authorities that operate parish jails are directly affected by this legislation, as they face new conditional requirements to qualify for per diem funding increases after January 1, 2026. Sheriffs and jail authorities must now comply with departmentally approved basic jail guidelines, all safety and sanitation laws, and newly established departmental criteria to receive any increase in the daily payment per inmate. State inmates housed in parish facilities will potentially benefit from the new pilot program, which aims to provide vocational training in skilled trades to improve their reentry outcomes and employment prospects. The Department of Public Safety and Corrections gains authority to establish these conditions and select pilot program locations and participant numbers, though the department must consult with sheriffs and governing authorities during rule-making and implementation.

This legislation operates within the existing statutory framework of Title 15 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes governing corrections and confinement. The amendments preserve the foundational provision that the department must pay a daily sum to parish officials for housing state inmates in circumstances where the individual has been sentenced but the department lacks facility space or has declined institutionalization. By conditioning future increases on compliance with specific standards rather than automatic annual adjustments, the bill creates a performance-based funding mechanism that aligns sheriff and governing authority practices with state liability mitigation and facility safety standards. The Transitional Workforce and Vocational Training Pilot Program operates as a programmatic addition dependent upon legislative appropriation, requiring the secretary to report to the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget and relevant legislative committees by January 1, 2029, with a recommendation regarding program continuation, expansion, or termination. The bill directs the department to adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, ensuring that rule-making follows established constitutional and statutory procedural requirements for administrative action in Louisiana.