New Louisiana abortion, policing, marijuana laws take effect Sunday
BATON ROUGE – Louisiana ends jail sentence for possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana, adds new requirements for doctors administering the abortion pill, and restricts when police officers can use stranglehold as more than 250 new laws go into effect Sunday .
Streets get new names. Candidates for office can now receive unlimited sums from political action committees. Rules are adjusted when judges have to retire. And a new crime is being added to the books because someone is charged with staging a car accident.
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Restaurants are allowed to sell pre-packaged, measured, ready-to-drink alcoholic beverages for delivery. The official Louisiana state song list will include “Southern Nights” by New Orleans native Allen Toussaint. And those convicted of crimes in Louisiana who have been suspended or suspended for five years and come out of jail can serve on a jury.
Once passed by lawmakers, most of Louisiana’s new laws will come into effect in early August. The latest changes were approved in the regular meeting that ended in June.
Recreational marijuana
Starting Sunday, people in Louisiana caught with small amounts of recreational marijuana will be jailed only with a fine and no option. The new law makes possession of up to 14 grams of marijuana – half an ounce – a misdemeanor with a fine of up to $ 100, even for repeated offenses.
The change comes as attitudes towards cannabis have changed in the state. Several Louisiana communities had fined rather than arrested for possession of small amounts of recreational marijuana, and Louisiana has had a legal medical marijuana program for several years.
abortion
Doctors need to provide information to women seeking non-surgical abortions by pill, suggesting that termination of the pregnancy could be stopped midway through the process – although medical groups say it is inaccurate and potentially dangerous.
Medical abortion works through a two-pill process during the first nine weeks of pregnancy. The first causes an embryo to detach from the uterine wall, and the second pill, taken two days later, causes contractions that push the embryo out of the uterus.
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A doctor dispensing the drug must give a woman seeking medical abortion a written statement stating that the first pill “is not always effective in ending a pregnancy,” and a woman suggests that Rethink abortion and speak to a doctor to determine if there are any options available to assist you in continuing your pregnancy. “
In addition, doctors who perform abortions must provide the state with more detailed information about complications and zip code information about where women who terminate their pregnancies live, rather than just the community and the community.
The health department must submit reports of abortions in girls under the age of 13 to the social services department and the attorney general’s office. It also changes the rules of which courts must apply to minors seeking an abortion without parental consent.
Police misconduct
Changes to Louisiana Police Law, which go into effect Sunday, aim to address police misconduct and follow many of the recommendations of a state task force created amid a national conversation about racial bias in policing.
At the beginning of August, officials face new restrictions on the use of strangles and arrest warrants. Strangleholds are only permitted “if the officer reasonably believes that he or another person is in danger of suffering serious bodily harm or if lethal violence is permitted”.
Police authorities need to step up their minority recruitment efforts and hold anti-bias training if they are to be eligible for certain state law enforcement grants.
When an officer commits misconduct, that official’s state certification is suspended or revoked – a provision aimed at preventing officers discharged from one police agency from moving to another.
Other new laws
Among other changes that go into effect on Sunday, Louisiana requires that sporting events held at a taxpayer-funded venue start playing the national anthem – but the requirement is largely symbolic as the law does not include penalties for violations.
The state will impose a new annual fee of $ 100 for every commercial seafood company that sells imported seafood, with the money earmarked for analysis and testing of seafood from overseas.
High school students taking an African American History course can use it as credit towards the TOPS college degree program. And K-12 schools need to include information about the health risks of vaping in their education on alcohol, tobacco, and drug abuse.
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