BATON ROUGE, La. — Starting Thursday, nearly 500 new laws will go into effect in Louisiana.
At least three laws that go into effect Thursday target the LGBTQ community.
One law will ban transgender people from using school restrooms that align with their gender identity. The law extends to prison and domestic violence shelter bathrooms and sleeping quarters. All-gender, single-occupancy restrooms are still allowed.
Discussing sexuality and gender at school is also banned.
Parents will now have to grant permission for students to change their names or pronouns at school. Plus, school employees cannot be punished for refusing to call a student or colleague by their preferred name.
In 2022 a law went into effect that said mugshots could only be released if the person was considered a threat to the public, but a new law going into effect Thursday reverses that decision.
Meanwhile, local governments will now be allowed to withhold records related to certain economic development projects.
Only Louisiana residents will be able to request public records from the governor's office starting Thursday.
Sex offenders could now be sentenced to surgical castration under a new law. The law states the victim must be under 13, and this does not apply to offenders under 17.
Panhandling on public streets and some sidewalks is banned. It's already illegal on state highways.
Also, the state requirement for lunch breaks for 16 and 17-year-old workers who work five or more hours at a time was eliminated.
Lawmakers added taping a student's mouth shut to the list of corporal punishment that is prohibited in schools.
A few bills that aimed to help the state's insurance crisis also will go into effect.
Homeowners with Louisiana Citizens will now be able to exclude tangible personal property and moveable property from their coverage. The law aims to reduce premiums.
Plus, the fortified roof program was extended and goes into effect Aug. 1.
Another controversial law goes into effect in Orleans Parish on Thursday. Anyone 18 or older without prior felonies can carry a gun without a permit under the new permitless carry law. The law went into effect for the rest of Louisiana on Jul. 4.
For a full list of state laws going into effect, visit this link.
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