CRIME/PUNISHMENT: Increases the maximum period of imprisonment for negligent homicide. (8/1/26) (EN SEE FISC NOTE GF EX)

Added a new requirement for courts to provide written and oral reasons if they do not impose a prison sentence when a fatality involves a motor vehicle and the offender's blood alcohol concentration contributed to the death.

Reduced the maximum prison term for the abuse-related sentencing tier from 40 years to 20 years.

Changed the victim age threshold for the specific abuse-related sentencing tier from under 17 years old to under 13 years old.

Deleted the original digest section and the second page of the bill text, replacing them with the new amended text.

Increased the maximum prison term for negligent homicide from 15 years to 40 years when the offender is over 17 and the victim is under 17.

Added the requirement that the death must result from intentional or criminally negligent mistreatment, abuse, or neglect for the increased penalty.

Established a new sentencing tier requiring the offender to be over 17 and the victim to be under 17 for the increased penalty to apply.

Set the effective date of the new sentencing guidelines to August 1, 2026.

The maximum prison sentence for negligent homicide involving a victim under 13 years old was increased from 15 years to 20 years.

The term 'labor' was changed to 'hard labor' to ensure consistency in the description of the punishment for all negligent homicide convictions.

The age threshold for enhanced penalties in cases of negligent mistreatment, abuse, or neglect was raised from 10 years to 13 years.

Corrected a typo in the statute text where 'hard labor' was accidentally changed to 'labor' in one subsection.

Reorganized the text to fix line breaks and paragraph numbering that were inconsistent in the previous version.

Added a new section to the Senate Floor Amendments noting that only technical changes were made in this reengrossed version.

Updated the Digest (summary) to accurately reflect that the law imposes a 20-year maximum sentence if the victim is under 13 or if alcohol contributed to the death, whereas the previous digest incorrectly stated the maximum was 15 years.