22 ways lawmakers changed Louisiana this legislative session
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The 2024 Louisiana legislative regular session was nearly 90 days of debates, side chats and bills, both passed and forgotten.
Here's a look at how Louisiana will change based on new legislation that's been sent to Gov. Jeff Landry's desk, or already signed by him.
💊 Two abortion-inducing drugs that also have other medical uses will be reclassified as controlled substances.
🚰 New Orleans water customers will be able to get fixed-rate options and won't see anymore estimates on their bills.
⛪ The Ten Commandments will be displayed in all schools receiving public funds.
❌ Retail nitrous oxide sales will be banned, making Louisiana the first state to do so. (Fox 8)
🦐 Restaurants must let you know if they're cooking with imported seafood. (Louisiana Illuminator)
💵 Parents could get state money to pay for private school tuition and other expenses.
👮 It'll become a crime to come within 25 feet of police when the officer is in the course of their work and already given a warning to stand back. (AP)
🪧 In bills aimed at protestors, it'll be illegal to gather within 50 feet of a person's home if it disrupts their use of it, and drivers who run over protesters are granted immunity from lawsuits if they felt threatened. (Louisiana Illuminator)
🫴 Panhandling will be outlawed on sidewalks, neutral grounds and other public rights of way. (Fox 8)
🗺️ Louisiana gets a new map for state Supreme Court judges. (Democracy Docket)
🤐 School staff can't speak with students K-12 about gender or sexual identity. (NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
🚽 Bathroom use will have to correspond with a person's sex assigned at birth in public schools, domestic violence shelters and correctional facilities. (Gambit)
📛 Public school teachers will need parental permission to use a trans or nonbinary student's preferred pronouns, and they'll be able to reject using those pronouns if they have a religious objection.
🦮 Have an emotional support animal? Giving and using those certifications are getting banned. (Louisiana Illuminator)
🍎 Working teens will lose their required lunch breaks. (NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
📴 Cell phones must be off and stowed out of sight at public schools and on school buses starting next school year. (KALB)
🏠 The three-year rule in Louisiana's homeowners insurance regulations will go away. (Fox 8)
Louisiana will become the first state to surgically castrate those who commit sex crimes against children. (AP)
🐄 Raw milk will become legal to buy and sell.
💐 Florists no longer need special licenses to do business. Louisiana was the only state with that requirement.
📄 Only Louisiana residents will be able to secure public records from the governor's office. (Melinda Deslatte on X)
🌱 Consumable hemp serving sizes will drop, and one can or bottle will be considered one serving. They also can't be purchased from gas stations, and no new bars or restaurants can get a permit to sell them. (NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune)
Zoom in: Landry called his first regular session "a great success" during a Monday press conference with fellow Republican governors.
- "I'm extremely excited that we have done more than I think any other governor has done in a long time in a very short period of time," he said.