Louisiana State Legislature
The Louisiana State Legislature is the state's bicameral legislature, made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. Its entries reach back to 2004. They record acts it passed and measures it referred to voters, including changes to the terms used throughout state law, generally alongside the governor who signed them.
Also known as Louisiana Legislature
2026 Events (2)
Louisiana Gov. Landry signed Act 814 replacing 'gender' with 'sex' throughout state law and defining sex as binary and biological
On June 8, 2026, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB578, the "Restoring Biological Truth Act," into law as Act No. 814, replacing references to "gender" with "sex" throughout Louisiana statute and defining sex as a binary, immutable biological characteristic. The law, authored by Rep. Mike Johnson (R-Pineville) and modeled on President Trump's federal executive order of the same name, provides that "gender identity and other subjective terms shall not be used as synonyms or substitutes for sex." Critics said the measure erases transgender and nonbinary people from state law and strips their legal recognition; the act takes effect August 1, 2026.
Louisiana Gov. Landry signed Act 579 barring employers from requiring use of pronouns inconsistent with a person's sex
On May 29, 2026, Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed HB1137 into law as Act 579, barring employers from requiring an employee, as a condition of employment, to address another person by a name other than their legal name or to use pronouns, salutations, titles, or honorifics inconsistent with that person's sex. Authored by Representative Raymond Crews with language developed with the conservative Liberty Counsel, the act shields workplace refusal to use transgender and nonbinary people's names and pronouns from being treated as discrimination. It takes effect August 1, 2026.
2024 Events (3)
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed the 'Given Name Act' restricting school use of students' chosen names and pronouns
On June 19, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed House Bill 121, the "Given Name Act" (Act 680), into law, barring public school governing authorities from adopting policies that require staff or students to use a name or pronoun for a student that is inconsistent with the student's legal name or biological sex -- a standard that, as applied, bars staff from using a transgender student's chosen name or pronouns. The law, sponsored by Rep. Raymond Crews, bars discipline of any employee or student who declines to use a chosen name or pronoun and creates a private civil cause of action for violations. It took effect August 1, 2024.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB122, barring K-12 teachers from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students
On June 19, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB122, by Rep. Dodie Horton, into law as Act 681, prohibiting public K-12 teachers, employees, and other presenters from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity with students in any classroom instruction or extracurricular activity that deviates from state-approved content standards, and from discussing their own sexual orientation or gender identity with students at all. The bill passed the House 69-28 and the Senate 28-7 and took effect August 1, 2024. An identical measure had been vetoed by then-Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2023.
Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed the Women's Safety and Protection Act, mandating birth-sex facility designation in schools, prisons, and shelters
On June 3, 2024, Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry signed HB608, the "Women's Safety and Protection Act," into law as Act 436, defining "sex" in state law strictly as biological sex "as observed or clinically verified at birth" and specifying that gender identity does not apply across all state law and agency rules. The act requires public schools, correctional and juvenile-detention facilities, and domestic-violence shelters to designate multi-occupancy restrooms, changing rooms, and sleeping quarters by biological sex, and creates a private cause of action against non-complying facilities. It passed the House 80-17 and the Senate 29-10 and took effect August 1, 2024.
2022 Events (1)
Louisiana Legislature enacted SB 44, banning transgender girls from school sports, without governor's signature
Louisiana's Senate Bill 44, the "Fairness in Women's Sports Act," became Act No. 283 on June 6, 2022, after Gov. John Bel Edwards declined to sign or veto it within the constitutional window. The law requires schools receiving state funding to designate athletic teams by biological sex and bars transgender girls and women from competing on female-designated K-12 and college teams, effective August 1, 2022.
2004 Events (1)
Louisiana voters ratified HB61/Act 926, adding a same-sex marriage and civil union ban to the state constitution
On September 18, 2004, Louisiana voters approved Constitutional Amendment 1, originating as HB61 (Act No. 926), adding Article XII, Section 15 to the Louisiana Constitution. The amendment defined marriage as the union of one man and one woman and barred state and local recognition of any legal status substantially equivalent to marriage for same-sex couples, including civil unions.