HB245 • 2026

PAROLE: Provides relative to medical parole (EN NO IMPACT See Note)

Crime Healthcare

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Bryan Fontenot
Last action: 2026-05-29
Official status: Signed by the Governor - Act 423
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The official source material does not provide specific details on how the changes will affect parole decisions for prisoners who do not meet medical parole criteria, nor does it explicitly state what happens if a victim or family member declines notice.

Medical Parole for Disabled and Ill Prisoners

This act changes Louisiana's laws to allow medical parole for prisoners who are permanently disabled or terminally ill, and it requires the committee on parole to notify certain people before these hearings.

What This Bill Does

Changes the law so that prisoners who are permanently disabled or have a terminal illness can be given medical parole.
Requires the committee on parole to give written notice at least ninety days before a regular parole hearing and thirty days before a medical parole or furlough hearing to the district attorney of the parish where the crime happened, the state's top lawyer (attorney general), and victims or their families.

Who It Names or Affects

Prisoners who are permanently disabled or terminally ill
District attorneys of parishes where crimes occurred
The state's top lawyer (attorney general)
Victims and their families

Terms To Know

Medical Parole: A special kind of parole for prisoners who are very sick or disabled.
Terminal Illness: An illness that cannot be cured and will lead to death.

Limits and Unknowns

The act does not specify what happens if a victim or their family member does not want to receive notice.
It is unclear how the changes will affect parole decisions for prisoners who do not meet the criteria for medical parole.

Bill History

2026-05-29 H
Effective date: 08/01/2026.
2026-05-29 H
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 423.
2026-05-21 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-05-20 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-20 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-20 H
Received from the Senate without amendments.
2026-05-19 S
Read by title, passed by a vote of 33 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-05-19 S
Rules suspended. Called from the Calendar.
2026-05-05 S
Read by title and returned to the Calendar, subject to call.
2026-04-27 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-04-22 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-04-21 S
Reported favorably.
2026-04-13 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary C.
2026-04-08 S
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-04-08 H
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 95, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-04-07 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 04/08/2026.
2026-04-01 H
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-03-31 H
Reported favorably (7-0).
2026-03-09 H
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
2026-02-20 H
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/20/2026.
2026-02-20 H
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
2026-02-20 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

PAROLE: Provides relative to medical parole (EN NO IMPACT See Note)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 4232026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 245
BY REPRESENTATIVE FONTENOT
1 AN ACT
2 To amend and reenact R.S. 15:574.2(D)(8)(a) and (D)(9)(a)(i) and 574.22, relative to
3 medical parole and medical treatment furlough; to provide notice to certain
4 individuals before a hearing on medical parole or medical treatment furlough; to
5 provide for medical parole for permanently disabled and terminally ill offenders; and
6 to provide for related matters.
7 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
8 Section 1. R.S. 15:574.2(D)(8)(a) and (D)(9)(a)(i) and 574.22 are hereby amended
9 and reenacted to read as follows:
10 §574.2. Committee on parole, Board of Pardons; membership; qualifications;
11 vacancies; compensation; domicile; venue; meetings; quorum; panels;
12 powers and duties; transfer of property to committee; representation of
13 applicants before the committee; prohibitions
14 * * *
15 D. In accordance with the provisions of this Part, the committee on parole
16 shall have the following powers and duties:
17 * * *
18 (8)(a) To notify the district attorney of the parish where the conviction
19 occurred and the attorney general. The notification shall be in writing and shall be
20 issued at least ninety days prior to the parole hearing date and at least thirty days
21 prior to a medical parole or medical treatment furlough hearing date. The district
22 attorney of the parish where the conviction occurred and the attorney general shall
23 be allowed to may review the record of the offender since incarceration, including
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HB NO. 245 ENROLLED
1 but not limited to any educational or vocational training, rehabilitative program
2 participation, disciplinary conduct, and risk assessment score. The district attorney
3 and the attorney general shall be allowed to may present testimony to the committee
4 on parole and submit information relevant to the proceedings.
5 * * *
6 (9)(a)(i) To notify the victim, or the spouse or next of kin of a deceased
7 victim, when the offender is scheduled for a parole hearing. The notification shall
8 be in writing and sent by mail or electronic communications no less than at least
9 ninety days prior to the parole hearing date and at least thirty days prior to a medical
10 parole or medical treatment furlough hearing date. The notice shall advise the
11 victim, or the spouse or next of kin of a deceased victim, of how to obtain
12 information about their rights with regard to the hearing. The notice is not required
13 when the victim, or the spouse or next of kin of a deceased victim, advises the
14 committee in writing that such notification is not desired.
15 * * *
16 §574.22. Parole ineligibility
17 No person committed to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections for
18 an offense committed on or after August 1, 2024, shall be is eligible for parole under
19 pursuant to this Part except a person who satisfies the provisions of R.S.
20 15:574.4(D), (E), (F), (G), (H), (J), or (K), or R.S. 15:574.20(B) or (C).
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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