CRIMINAL/PROCEDURE: Provides with respect to criminal resentencing

Crime

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Mandie Landry
Last action: 2026-05-29
Official status: Signed by the Governor - Act 538
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

The exact details of how courts will implement these rules are not specified in the provided official source material.

Criminal Resentencing Rules

This act requires a hearing and victim impact statements before a court can vacate or resentence someone who has already been convicted of a crime, with certain limitations.

What This Bill Does

Requires courts to hold a hearing when considering whether to change or reduce the sentence of someone who is already in prison.
Allows victims to give their opinion during this hearing about how the crime affected them.
Ensures that if a victim cannot attend, a family member can speak on behalf of the victim.

Who It Names or Affects

People who are in prison and want their sentences changed or reduced.
Victims of crimes and their families.
Courts that handle criminal resentencing requests.

Terms To Know

victim impact statement: A statement from someone harmed by a crime, describing how the crime affected them.
prospective application: The law only applies to cases that happen after it is passed and not to past cases.

Limits and Unknowns

Does not allow victims or their families to directly intervene in criminal proceedings.
Only applies to cases where the law goes into effect on August 1, 2026.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

House Floor Amendment #5579 Landry Mandie Adopted

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes the wording and adds a new section to HB251, focusing on how certain criminal resentencing provisions should be applied going forward.

Adds 'to provide for prospective application' at the start of line 4 on page 1.
Removes the word 'contradictory' from line 13 on page 1.
Changes 'trial' to 'clerk of' in line 14 on page 1.
Adds text after 'victim' in line 15 on page 1, referencing a specific law.

The amendment includes changes that may be hard for non-lawyers to understand fully without additional context about the existing bill and related laws.

House Floor Amendment #5358 Villio Withdrawn

Filed

Plain English: HFAHB251 4825 5358 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY HOUSE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Representative Villio to Engrossed House Bill No.

HFAHB251 4825 5358 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY HOUSE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Representative Villio to Engrossed House Bill No.
251 by Representative Mandie Landry 1 AMENDMENT NO.
1 2 On page 1, line 14, change "trial" to "clerk of" Page 1 of 1 CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored are additions.

House Committee Amendment #5122 ACRJ Adopted

Adopted

Plain English: The amendment changes how certain criminal resentencing decisions can be reviewed and corrected, and it clarifies that individuals cannot intervene in these proceedings.

Changes the phrase 'shall be null' to 'voidable as a patent error pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure Article 920(2)' when referring to sentencing errors.
Modifies the language allowing courts to review and remand cases by adding that this can happen 'sua sponte,' meaning on their own initiative without needing a request from another party.
Adds a new statement at the end of the section, clarifying that individuals do not have standing to intervene in criminal proceedings.

The amendment text does not provide specific details about how these changes will affect current or future cases beyond what is explicitly stated.

House Committee Amendment #4954 ACRJ Draft

Draft

Plain English: The amendment changes how certain criminal resentencing decisions can be reviewed and corrected, and it clarifies that individuals cannot intervene in these proceedings.

Changes the phrase 'shall be null' to 'voidable as a patent error pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure Article 920(2)' when referring to sentencing errors.
Replaces 'may be' with 'may, sua sponte, be' before 'remanded', allowing courts to correct errors on their own initiative without waiting for someone else to request it.
Adds a statement at the end of the section that individuals do not have standing to intervene in criminal proceedings.

The amendment text does not provide specific details about how these changes will affect current or future cases, which limits understanding of its full impact.

Bill History

2026-05-29 H
Effective date: 08/01/2026.
2026-05-29 H
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 538.
2026-05-28 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-05-27 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-27 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-26 H
Received from the Senate without amendments.
2026-05-26 S
Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 38 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-05-21 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-05-20 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-05-19 S
Reported favorably.
2026-05-18 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary C.
2026-05-14 S
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-05-13 H
Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 94, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-05-13 H
Called from the calendar.
2026-05-12 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 05/13/2026.
2026-05-12 H
Notice given.
2026-05-12 H
Read by title, returned to the calendar.
2026-05-12 H
Called from the calendar.
2026-05-11 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 05/12/2026.
2026-05-11 H
Notice given.
2026-05-11 H
Read by title, returned to the calendar.
2026-05-07 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 05/11/2026.
2026-05-07 H
Read by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-05-06 H
Reported with amendments (9-0).
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

CRIMINAL/PROCEDURE: Provides with respect to criminal resentencing

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 5382026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 251
BY REPRESENTATIVES MANDIE LANDRY, AMEDEE, BILLINGS, BOUDREAUX,
BOYD, CHASSION, FREEMAN, LAFLEUR, TERRY LANDRY, LYONS,
MARTINEZ, AND TAYLOR
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 46:1844(K)(4), relative to victim rights; to provide for a contradictory hearing
3 pursuant to a motion to vacate or resentence; to provide for victim impact statements;
4 to provide for prospective application; and to provide for related matters.
5 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
6 Section 1. R.S. 46:1844(K)(4) is hereby enacted to read as follows:
7 §1844. Basic rights for victim and witness
8 * * *
9 K.
10 * * *
11 (4) No trial court shall grant a motion that would effectuate vacating an
12 otherwise final conviction or resentencing an imprisoned person to a lesser sentence
13 without a hearing where the victim shall have the right to make a statement pursuant
14 to this Subsection. The clerk of court shall provide written notice of the pending
15 motion and its impact to the victim pursuant to R.S. 46:1844(B). Any motion
16 granted without compliance with this Paragraph shall be voidable as a patent error
17 pursuant to Code of Criminal Procedure Article 920(2). Any motion granted that is
18 subject to the provisions of this Paragraph and pending appellate review may, sua
19 sponte, be remanded for consideration of the victim's statement. When the victim
20 is deceased or unable to appear due to disability, every reference in this Paragraph
21 to the victim shall instead apply to the victim's designated family member as defined
Page 1 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 251 ENROLLED
1 in R.S. 46:1842(5). This Section does not create or permit individual standing to
2 intervene in a criminal proceeding at any time.
3 * * *
4 Section 2. The provisions of this Act shall be given prospective application.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
Page 2 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.