Rep. Bryan Fontenot

Maddy summaryThis bill designates a specific stretch of United States Highway 165 in Oberlin, Louisiana, as the "Kulyn Brooks Manuel Memorial Highway" to honor an individual. The legislation directs the state Department of Transportation and Development to install and maintain signs for this new name, provided the department recovers its material and installation costs from local or private funding sources. The act limits the reimbursement for each sign to a maximum of $2,250 and applies only to the section of the road running between the northern and southern boundaries of the town.

Maddy summaryThis concurrent resolution asks the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries to send annual reports to the state's natural resources committees. The reports must include data on boating incidents, fatalities, safety stops, citations, registered vessels, and program spending. This request aims to monitor the effectiveness of boating safety measures and ensure that new legal standards for enforcement checks do not compromise public safety. The bill directly affects the state's boating safety agency and the legislative committees that oversee environmental and natural resources issues.

Maddy summarySB 157 would require Louisiana public school districts to provide eligible educators with six weeks (240 hours) of paid parental leave at 100% of base pay for qualifying events like birth, adoption, foster placement, or pregnancy loss. This applies to full- or part-time school employees with at least one year of service, covering both parents who are eligible. Schools must adopt written policies, provide advance notice to employees about their rights, and prohibit counting this leave as an absence that could lead to disciplinary action. The bill does not override existing better benefits in union contracts or other laws but mandates this new standard for public school employees.

Maddy summaryHB 54 creates alternatives to revoking parole for violations by allowing parolees to be placed in specific treatment programs instead of immediate jail time. It directly affects parolees who violate conditions but do not pose a high risk, offering them options like community rehabilitation centers, substance abuse treatment, mental health programs, or certified treatment programs. The bill limits these program placements to a maximum of one year (without good time credit) and ensures they don't extend the parole term beyond its original end date. If a program requests removal due to violations, parole is revoked with credit for time served in the program. This replaces the previous six-month limit with a one-year maximum under the new provision.

Maddy summarySB 143 requires Louisiana's Department of Public Safety to provide bulletproof vests to all "peace officers" (full-time state, municipal, sheriff, or public agency employees whose duties include enforcing laws and making arrests) upon request. It creates a dedicated "Special Protective Equipment Fund" to finance the vests, funded annually by $8.5 million from the state general fund starting July 2026, plus donations or grants. The bill mandates vests meet U.S. Department of Justice standards and must be wholly manufactured in countries part of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). This law directly affects all eligible law enforcement personnel by ensuring access to standardized protective gear through state-funded provisions.

Maddy summaryHB 844 clarifies Louisiana's definition of a "school zone" to apply the existing ban on handheld wireless device use while driving. It specifies that a school zone includes areas marked with official signage within 250 feet of schools (public or private K-12/postsecondary), active 60 minutes before and after school start/end times. This directly affects drivers operating vehicles in these designated zones during those periods. The bill also explicitly excludes hands-free devices, permanently mounted tech, and certain radio equipment from the ban.

Maddy summaryHB 856 authorizes Louisiana's Department of Transportation and Development to use Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (ID/IQ) contracts for highway and bridge maintenance, repair, and construction projects. This allows the department to award contracts for ongoing work through competitive processes (either "low bid" or "best value" methods) with task orders specifying exact work, rather than bidding each project separately. The bill establishes procedures for issuing notices, requests for proposals, and evaluating bids, while requiring contracts to last no longer than five years and comply with federal rules for federally funded projects. This directly affects the DOT and contractors who may bid on these ID/IQ contracts for infrastructure work.

Maddy summaryHB 143 increases the daily payment rate Louisiana's Department of Public Safety and Corrections pays to parish sheriffs for housing state inmates in local jails when the state cannot accept them. The bill sets specific rates: $25.39 per day for FY 2019-2020, $26.39 per day for FY 2020-2021 through FY 2026-2027, and $29.39 per day starting FY 2027-2028. It also requires the department to collaborate with sheriffs to update jail guidelines by December 2020, including treatment and educational programming for inmates. The bill directly affects parish sheriffs, local jails, and the state’s correctional budget.

Maddy summaryHB 245 amends Louisiana law to establish specific procedures for medical parole and medical treatment furloughs. It requires the parole committee to notify the district attorney and attorney general at least 90 days before a parole hearing and 30 days before a medical parole hearing, allowing them to review offender records and present testimony. The bill also mandates that victims or their next of kin receive written notice at least 90 days before parole hearings and 30 days before medical parole hearings, explaining their rights. Additionally, it adds provisions for medical parole eligibility for permanently disabled or terminally ill offenders, while updating parole ineligibility rules for offenses committed after August 1, 2024. These changes primarily affect incarcerated individuals seeking medical parole, prosecutors, and crime victims.

Maddy summarySB 307 would authorize the display of the Ten Commandments as a historical monument on Louisiana State Capitol grounds, alongside other documents like the Mayflower Compact and the Declaration of Independence. The bill requires that such displays include context documents explaining their historical significance to the legal and cultural heritage of Louisiana and the U.S., and mandates that private donations fund the monument without state cost. It references Supreme Court rulings (Van Orden v. Perry and American Legion v. American Humanists Association) that permit religious historical displays on government property when privately funded. The commissioner of administration would oversee the installation, with the bill explicitly prohibiting state funding for the monument.