. >> george steimel, a lobbyist for the louisiana defense lawyers association, tried to get the marijuana reform legislation through. but the bill would have affected the hundreds of millions of dollars the sheriffs get from housing state inmates. >> the state pays the sheriffs a per diem for each of the state inmates. and a great deal of those state inmates are serving time in local jails for drug offenses >> so the sheriffs have an economic interest in having a steady flow of inmates? >> that's correct. and they also want to keep as many people on the payroll because that boosts their political popularity. >> the sheriffs provide corrections jobs in the jails they run in their counties, known as parishes. they also have deals with private prison companies that house inmates. >> are the jobs in parish jails a big part of the jobs that sheriffs provide? >> yes. in the northern part of the state, in the rural parishes housing state inmates have become economic development tools. while we should be producing manufacturing jobs we're producing jobs, low paying, low-skilled correctional worke