NEW ORLEANS — Tuesday, August 1st, new laws will go into effect in Louisiana.
We brought you some in a Breakdown earlier this week, but we’re going over five more.
Act 264, initially known as HB8, requires every public school classroom, including public colleges and universities, to display an 11 by 14 inch poster of the motto “In God We Trust.” There are also regulations on how the posters must look.
In that same vein, Act 215, first known as HB68, authorizes public schools to offer an elective course in the history and literature of the Bible. The law says the course must maintain religious neutrality and not use any particular translation of the Bible for the course.
Act 214, initially known as HB55 or the “Mental Healing Justice for Incarcerated People Act” goes into effect next week. The law allocates funding for access to better mental health services in state prisons, screens those inmates for mental health disorders, and intends to otherwise expand access to mental health treatment behind bars.
Act 399, or HB90, enacts varying but harsher penalties for those convicted of selling fentanyl. Depending on the amount, sellers could face up to life in prison and at least 25 years of that sentence without the possibility of parole.
And starting in August, Act 193, or SB169, requires State Police to track rape kits from collection through storage through conviction. The state police are allowed to implement the tracking system in phases, but must fully participate by next summer.
For a full list of laws signed by the governor – head to the Breakdown page on our website.