From The Times-Picayune:
Celebrating one of the few major achievements of the 2017 regular legislative session, Gov. John Bel Edwards on Thursday (June 15) signed bills making up what has been called a historic reform of Louisiana's criminal justice laws. The 10 bills collectively are supposed to reduce the prison population by 10 percent in the state with the world's highest incarceration rate, and save the public $78 million over the next 10 years.
Edwards could have signed the bills privately but decided to do so in a ceremony for more than 100 people who had lobbied for the changes. In 15 minutes of remarks before signing the bills, he emphasized several times that the overhaul was a bipartisan effort with backers from a wide range of political ideologies. Republicans, Democrats, conservative Christians and representatives of big business and left-leaning social justice organizations were gathered in the room.
"One thing that should give everyone in this state hope is that we brought together a broad, powerful bipartisan coalition of legislators to do something really big for the state of Louisiana, proving that it can still be done in 2017," Edwards said. Continue Reading >>>
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