VIDALIA — Since the 2013 Legislature ended, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal has been busy, signing more than 400 bills — several of which affect Concordia Parish.

Jindal signed Senate Bill 135, authored by local Sen. Francis Thompson, D-Delhi, and Sen. Neil Riser, R-Columbia, along with five other gun-related bills on June 19.

With SB 135’s passage, Louisiana residents, previously convicted of a felony, can now restore their concealed carry rights by following an outlined procedure, Riser said.

“I think it’s important to protect law-abiding citizens,” he said.

Currently, no process exists for Louisiana residents to restore the right to bear arms after a felony conviction.

The process, Riser said, would require Louisiana residents to appear before a court. A court review would decide whether or not concealed carry permit rights could be reinstated, Riser said. The newly created policy prevents those who voluntarily admitted to committing a crime from having gun rights reinstated. Only Louisiana residents who are involuntarily sentenced can recoup rights to a concealed carry permit.

SB 135 takes effect Jan 1, 2014.

House Bill 442, signed on June 20, will allow non-violent drug offenders to gain early release from jail if they participate in rehabilitation programs, pending district attorney approval.

If an offender suffers from addiction, would respond to rehabilitation and is not a threat to the community, he or she could be eligible for release one year early.

Concordia Parish Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy David Hedrick said the bill may negatively affect law enforcement initially, but won’t have a significant long-term effect.

“We have enough offenders that I do not think it will hurt us too significantly,” Hedrick said. “The majority of offenders come back in some form or another. I don’t think it is a big deal.”

Though having a large amount of prisoners may not be positive to most, the sheriff’s office gets paid based on the number of prisoners in the Concordia Correctional Facility, specifically prisoners from the Department of Corrections.

If the prison was completely full, it would receive more money from the Department of Corrections to house the prisoners. But Concordia Correctional Facility Warden Lance Moore said releasing inmates to rehabilitation programs reduces revenue from the Louisiana Department of Corrections to the prison.

Fiscal officer Donna Jones said the Department of Corrections has also decreased the rate for premiums paid to the Concordia Correctional Facility for holding non-local inmates.

As a result of an increase in rehabilitation program participation and decreasing premiums from the Department of Corrections’ prisoners, Jones projected a $1.3 million deficit at the end of the 2012-2103 fiscal year.