HB 394 Louisiana House · 2026 Regular Session

PARDON/PAROLE: Provides relative to conditional parole (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

HB 394 proposes changes to Louisiana's parole process for inmates requiring rehabilitative programs before release. It creates "conditional parole" allowing prisoners to be released pending completion of specific reentry programs - such as regional reentry initiatives or workforce development programs at Louisiana State Penitentiary or the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women - within a 24-month window. If approved, prisoners must complete the program and then appear before the parole board for a final release decision. The bill directly affects inmates in Louisiana state prisons who need such programs to ensure public safety and successful reintegration. The bill is currently pending in the Legislature's Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice (prefiled February 2026).
Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2026
Committee Review
May 2026
House Passage
Apr 2026
Senate Passage
May 2026
Signed into Law
Jun 2026
Introduced Feb 25, 2026 Signed Jun 2, 2026
Maddy AI version diff · 3 comparisons

What changed between versions

HB394 Original HB394 Act 641 · 3 edits
MINOR
This bill updates the rules for extending a prisoner's release date to allow time for completing rehabilitation programs. It increases the maximum extension period from nine months to twelve months and introduces a new mechanism allowing conditional parole that can delay release by up to twenty-four months for specific reentry programs.
Scope change
The bill expands the maximum time a prisoner can be held pending rehabilitation from nine months to twelve months and adds a new option for a twenty-four-month conditional parole delay.
TIMELINE

The maximum extension for a prisoner's release date to complete rehabilitative programs was increased from nine months to twelve months.

REQUIREMENT

A new provision allows the parole committee to grant conditional parole that delays release for up to twenty-four months, pending the completion of specific reentry programs.

The law now explicitly lists three specific programs eligible for the conditional parole delay: a regional reentry program, a program at the Louisiana State Penitentiary, and a program at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women.

Floor votes · Senate May 26, 2026 · House Apr 21, 2026

How they voted

370
Passed · 3 other
Total votes 40
May 26, 2026
D Democratic12
9 Yea 3
75% Yea
R Republican28
28 Yea
100% Yea
Vote distribution
All Yea All Nay Mixed No data
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
20
Key actions
4
Committee
5
May 26, 2026
Upper · Passed
Rules suspended. Read by title, passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
upper
May 20, 2026
Committee
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
upper
May 19, 2026
Upper · Passed
Reported favorably.
upper
Apr 21, 2026
Lower · Passed
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 74, nays 17. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
lower
Apr 14, 2026
Lower · Passed
Reported with amendments (10-0).
lower
Mar 9, 2026
Committee
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
lower
Feb 25, 2026
Committee
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
lower
1 primary · 1 co-sponsor

Sponsors