Sentencing for carjacking would increase to anywhere between 5 to 20 years in jail and the sentence for carjacking with serious bodily harm would go up to between 20 and 30 years in prison.

BATON ROUGE, La. (BRPROUD) - A special legislative session is scheduled to begin on Monday, Feb. 19. The second special session is focusing on crime.

One of the bills has to do with increasing the punishments for carjacking. Sen. Valarie Hodges (R-Denham Springs) is the author of SB12.

Currently, the sentence for carjacking can be anywhere from 2 to 20 years in prison and the sentence for carjacking with serious bodily harm is anywhere between 10 to 20 years in jail.

The bill authored by Senator Hodges would increase the sentences for both offenses. Sentencing for carjacking would increase to anywhere between 5 to 20 years in jail and the sentence for carjacking with serious bodily harm would go up to between 20 and 30 years in prison.

Hodges says she is seeking harsher punishments for carjacking because "Louisiana is a state that demands law and order."

"We are obligated to protect law-abiding citizens and hold criminals accountable. When society completely disregards law and order, we experience suffering - in our law enforcement, our citizens, and the victims. We must stand and send a strong message to criminals that we will no longer allow rampant crime and injury in our state. There will be a high price to pay if you ignore our laws," says Hodges.

The bill was prefiled on Thursday, Feb. 15. Hodges says that the bill will be introduced on the first day of the session and then sent to committee.

If SB12 passes the House, Senate and is signed by Gov. Landry, it would go into effect on July 1.

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