Jim Beam column:Citizens facing new challenges

A new governor and state insurance commissioner have wasted no time in letting Louisiana citizens know about some major changes coming in their lives.

Republican Gov. Jeff Landry and his supermajority GOP Legislature are rewriting criminal justice laws that were reformed seven years ago. Landry's proposals are extremely tough on anyone breaking the law.

Insurance commissioner Tim Temple, another Republican, Monday had some surprises of his own and more coming during the Legislature's regular session that begins March 11.

The Advocate reported Tuesday that Landry's crime agenda nears final passage. The newspaper said in a state that already has the highest incarceration rate in the nation, Landry's crime bills "would lengthen prison sentences and all but eliminate opportunities for parole."

The state plans to start executing prisoners on death row with either electrocution or nitrogen hypoxia. And if those companies that supply lethal injection drugs can be exempt from public exposure, that could be a third option.

Other laws would treat 17-year-olds charged with crimes as adults and would make some juvenile court records public. Unfortunately, some 17-year-olds who commit violent crimes are to blame for that change.

Michael Ranatza, director of the Louisiana Sheriffs Association, said the changes would help law enforcement get juvenile detention facilities under control.

"We really have problems with putting that 17-year-old in with a 13-year-old," he said. "There's got to be a fix for the balance."

However, there is a downside to the change. Will Harrell of the Orleans Parish Sheriff's Office, told legislators one of the office's workers tasked with working to eliminate prison rape "literally cried at her desk, because she knew the risk that this would present."

Also in the works are bills that would eliminate parole for all adult offenders who commit crimes after Aug. 1, make prisoners serve 85% of a sentence before they're eligible for release on good behavior, toughen penalties for parole violators, expand the death penalty and increase minimum penalties for carjackers.

Citizens 18 and older would also be able to carry a concealed weapon without a permit that requires training. Law enforcement officials said that bill also removes background checks that are part of the permitting process.

Landry isn't getting everything he wants, but his losses are insignificant when compared to his gains.

Those who oppose the governor's proposals, many of them Democratic legislators and those who supported criminal justice reform in 2017, did their best to try and kill or change some of Landry's legislation but made few gains.

Landry and his supporters argue the proposed changes are needed to crack down on crime and expand victims' rights. The proposed laws are expected to gain final approval, perhaps as early as Thursday. Landry will definitely sign them.

Although Temple, the state's new insurance commissioner, is relatively unknown, it has been reported that he is sympathetic to insurance companies. Some of the plans he announced Monday appear to confirm that's true.

The Advocate said Temple "laid out a series of sweeping changes to Louisiana insurance regulations that would allow insurers to raise rates more easily, increase profits and self-report some violations in an effort to help steady the floundering market."

"Louisiana has a very heavy-handed regulatory reputation," Temple said. "We're changing that."

The commissioner has already lifted profit caps on insurance companies, allowing them to collect as much profit as they want. He said customers can choose not to do business with a company charging too much.

Ben Riggs, executive director of Real Reform Louisiana, a consumer advocacy group, said of Temple, "His focus is on the same old industry-backed proposals that further stack the deck in favor of big insurance companies at the consumer's expense."

The newspaper said the depth of Louisiana's insurance crisis isn't up for debate. It reminded its readers that after devastating hurricanes in 2020 and 2021, 12 insurance companies went belly-up, others fled the state and homeowners complained of soaring premiums for coverage.

Temple is also pushing for an end to Louisiana's "three-year rule," which bans insurers from dropping customers if they have been with the insurer for three years. Policyholders are definitely going to be extremely unhappy with that plan, but Temple said he is not aware of another state that has such a requirement.

Maybe not, but policyholders in this state like the protection it offers.

How many more surprises Louisiana citizens will see over the next four years from Landry and Temple remains to be seen but rest assured — they are coming.

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