BATON ROUGE — Two bills in the Louisiana Legislature could help law enforcement agencies across the state purchase bulletproof vests for officers. 

Both bills, authored by Sen. Rick Edmonds, seek not only to create a fund for the purchase of bulletproof vests but also to provide a way for the fund to be supported.

Senate Bill 143 seeks to provide funding for bulletproof vests for every peace officer in the state through the creation of a Department of Public Safety and Corrections Special Protective Equipment fund that would allow the state treasurer to deposit over $8 million into the fund every year from the state general fund. 

The bill is currently pending House referral after passing unanimously in the Senate. 

To help fund this venture, Senate Bill 96, which has already passed in the Senate and the House, would create the "Fallen Heroes" license plate.

The bill would direct the Department of Public Safety and Corrections to collect annual royalty fees from plates issued to applicants to fund the purchase of bulletproof vests through the Capital Area Law Enforcement Foundation. 

The special prestige license plate would only be created if there is a minimum of 1,000 applicants.