Committee allocates 15% of criminal‑justice savings to Back on Track youth pilot program

House Bill 584, Representative Lyons’ follow‑up to a juvenile program created last year, was amended on May 8 to specify funding and an intermediary for the Back on Track youth pilot program. The Criminal Justice Committee adopted an amendment allocating 15% of annual criminal‑justice savings attributable to recent reforms to the Louisiana Children's Trust Fund Board for program administration and operation, and the committee reported the bill as amended.

Representative Lyons told the committee the bill expands the age range for eligible youth, names the Louisiana Children's Trust Fund Board as the intermediary to administer the pilot, and identifies a funding source tied to savings resulting from criminal‑justice reforms. Committee staff said the amendment removed an earlier proposed change in allocation that had sought to reroute certain savings to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections and fixed the allocation at 15% to the Trust Fund Board.

Supporters in the record included advocacy and faith‑based organizations; the Southern Poverty Law Center and Louisiana Conference of Catholic Bishops were listed in support in the committee record. Representative LaFleur moved to report HB 584 favorably as amended and the committee had no recorded objections to reporting the bill as amended.

The committee’s adopted amendment sets the funding share and designates the Trust Fund Board as program administrator; further appropriation and implementation details will be determined through the budget process and subsequent administrative actions if the bill becomes law.