BAIL: (Constitutional Amendment) Restricts post-conviction bail for certain offenders (EN SEE FISC NOTE LF EX)

Children Crime Elections

Enacted

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

Sponsor: Debbie Villio
Last action: 2026-05-21
Official status: Sent to the Secretary of State - Act 271
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Restricting Post-Conviction Bail for Certain Offenders

This bill proposes a constitutional amendment to restrict post-conviction bail for people convicted of certain aggravated offenses against minors.

What This Bill Does

Proposes adding Section 18(C) to the Louisiana Constitution, which would prohibit bail after conviction for aggravated offenses committed against minor victims.
Requires that this proposed amendment be submitted to voters in the November 2026 election.
Specifies that on the ballot, voters will decide whether to support or reject an amendment prohibiting post-conviction bail for defendants convicted of aggravated offenses against minors.

Who It Names or Affects

People who have been convicted of certain crimes involving minors and are seeking bail after their conviction.
Voters in Louisiana who will vote on the proposed constitutional amendment in November 2026.

Terms To Know

Aggravated offense: A crime that is more serious than a regular offense and often involves additional circumstances, such as when it is committed against a minor.
Post-conviction bail: The release of someone from jail after they have been found guilty but before their sentencing or appeal process has ended.

Limits and Unknowns

It is unclear how this amendment will affect existing laws and practices regarding bail.

Amendments

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

House Committee Amendment #3167 CL&P Adopted

Adopted

Plain English: HCAHB51 4747 3167 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure to Engrossed House Bill No.

HCAHB51 4747 3167 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure to Engrossed House Bill No.
51 by Representative Villio 1 AMENDMENT NO.
1 2 On page 2, delete lines 14 through 17 in their entirety and insert the following: 3 "Do you support an amendment to prohibit a defendant from being released on any 4 post-conviction bail if the defendant is convicted of an aggravated offense against 5 a minor child?
(Amends Article I, Section 18(A); Adds Article I, Section 18(C))" Page 1 of 1 CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored are additions.

House Committee Amendment #3001 CL&P Draft

Draft

Plain English: HCAHB51 4747 3001 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure to Engrossed House Bill No.

HCAHB51 4747 3001 HOUSE COMMITTEE AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by House Committee on Civil Law and Procedure to Engrossed House Bill No.
51 by Representative Villio 1 AMENDMENT NO.
1 2 On page 2, delete lines 14 through 17 in their entirety and insert the following: 3 "Do you support an amendment to prohibit a defendant from being released 4 on any post-conviction bail if the defendant is convicted of an aggravated offense 5 against a minor child?
(Amends Article I, Section 18(A); Adds Article I, Section 6 18(C))" Page 1 of 1 CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored are additions.

House Floor Amendment #2919 Villio Adopted

Adopted

Plain English: HFAHB51 4274 2919 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY HOUSE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Representative Villio to Reengrossed House Bill No.

HFAHB51 4274 2919 FOR OFFICE USE ONLY HOUSE FLOOR AMENDMENTS 2026 Regular Session Amendments proposed by Representative Villio to Reengrossed House Bill No.
51 by Representative Villio 1 AMENDMENT NO.
1 2 On page 1, line 2, after "Proposing to" delete the remainder of the line and insert "add" 3 AMENDMENT NO.
2 4 On page 1, delete line 10 in its entirety and insert "add Article I, Section" 5 AMENDMENT NO.

Bill History

2026-05-21 H
Effective date: See Act.
2026-05-21 H
Becomes Act No. 271.
2026-05-21 H
Taken by the Clerk of the House and presented to the Secretary of State in accordance with the Rules of the House.
2026-05-18 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-18 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-18 H
Received from the Senate without amendments.
2026-05-13 S
Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 31 yeas and 1 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-05-07 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-05-06 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-05-05 S
Rules suspended. Reported favorably.
2026-04-22 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary C.
2026-04-21 S
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-04-20 H
Read third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 92, nays 0. The bill, having received two-thirds vote of the elected members, was finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-04-20 H
Called from the calendar.
2026-04-13 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 04/20/2026.
2026-04-13 H
Notice given.
2026-04-13 H
Read by title, returned to the calendar.
2026-04-09 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 04/13/2026.
2026-04-08 H
Read by title, amended, ordered reengrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-04-07 H
Reported with amendments (8-0).
2026-03-26 H
Read by title, ordered engrossed, recommitted to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.
2026-03-25 H
Reported favorably (11-0. To be recommitted to the Committee on Civil Law and Procedure.
2026-03-09 H
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
2026-01-30 H
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 1/30/2026.
2026-01-30 H
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
2026-01-30 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

BAIL: (Constitutional Amendment) Restricts post-conviction bail for certain offenders (EN SEE FISC NOTE LF EX)

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 2712026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 51
BY REPRESENTATIVE VILLIO
1 A JOINT RESOLUTION
2 Proposing to add Article I, Section 18(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to the
3 right to bail; to prohibit bail for offenders who have been convicted of certain
4 offenses; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and
5 to provide for related matters.
6 Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members
7 elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of
8 Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to add
9 Article I, Section 18(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows:
10 §18. Right to Bail
11 Section 18.
12 * * *
13 (C) However, after conviction, a person shall not be bailable if the offense
14 is an aggravated offense as defined by R.S. 15:541 that is committed against a victim
15 who is a minor.
16 Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted
17 to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3,
18 2026.
19 Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election,
20 there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted
21 to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as
22 follows:
Page 1 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 51 ENROLLED
1 Do you support an amendment to prohibit a defendant from being released
2 on any post-conviction bail if the defendant is convicted of an aggravated
3 offense against a minor child? (Adds Article I, Section 18(C))
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
Page 2 of 2
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.