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State senator files bill to abolish State Police Commission
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BATON ROUGE- State Senator Cleo Fields pre-filed a bill to abolish the Louisiana State Police Commission.
The commission is a seven member body that was created in 1991 and has exclusive jurisdiction over Louisiana State Police service. If a trooper is disciplined, the commission has the final say and the body is also where troopers file appeals.
Fields asked a series of questions to the commission's director this year, raising doubt about whether the agency is actually needed. Prior to the commission being created, Louisiana State Police operated under Louisiana Civil Service.
"I want to caution the Legislature, when we create these monsters and put it in the constitution, it's easy to create and hard to get rid of," Fields said.
Louisiana is one of the only states in the nation that has a separate civil service commission for state police, Fields noted.
Abolishing the commission won't be easy. It would require approval from the Legislature and the voters that agreed to create it some 30 years ago.
"When we start creating these commissions, I'm a day late and a dollar short," Fields said. "It's created now but it's extraordinary powers. I haven't heard a real good reason why we needed it in the first place."
The State Police Commission declined to comment on the bill.
There is another pre-filed bill that would require Senate confirmation of the police commission members. Right now, the majority of the members are appointed by the governor. The governor also appoints the leader of State Police.
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