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Louisiana committee clears bill allowing firearm enhancements in plea deals
Summary
The House Committee on Criminal Justice voted to report House Bill 79 favorably after lawmakers and the governor's office said the measure would clarify that firearm-enhancement penalties may be agreed to in plea agreements when defendants stipulate to the enhancement on the record.
House lawmakers on the Committee on Criminal Justice on April 16 voted to report House Bill 79 favorably, a bill that would permit defendants and prosecutors to include firearm-enhancement penalties in plea agreements if the defendant stipulates on the record.
Representative Tony Bacala, the bill’s author, told the committee the measure “is restricted and only has to do with plea agreements between defendants, where they accept the responsibility for their actions.” He said current law requires a district attorney to file a motion for a jury or court to consider enhanced firearm penalties, which has been read to exclude those enhancements from plea bargains.
Christopher Walters, deputy executive counsel for Governor Jeff Landry, told the committee the governor’s office supports HB 79. Walters said prosecutors around the state “found it somewhat unclear” whether enhancements could be included in pleas and that the bill “will simply provide a lot more clarity” to prosecutors and defendants.
Supporters who did not speak but filed support cards included the Louisiana Sheriffs Association and the Louisiana District Attorneys Association; one opponent, Chico Yancey of VOTE, filed a red card but did not present testimony.
Committee Vice Chair Vanessa LaFleur called for a motion; Representative Jeff Wiley moved to pass the instrument favorably and the motion carried by unanimous consent with no objections recorded.
The bill would allow defendants to agree, as part of a plea, that an applicable firearm-enhancement provision applies and that the enhanced penalty be imposed under the terms of the plea. Representative Bacala explained that some firearm enhancements carry minimum terms (for example, a two-year minimum when a firearm is used in commission of a felony) and that enhanced terms currently limit eligibility for probation, parole or suspension of sentence during the enhancement period.
The committee did not record a roll-call vote and asked that the bill be placed on the next level of committee processing.
