New laws in effect, more conservative laws on the way

State lawmakers have passed a series of new laws that took effect Jan. 1. Many of them may not seem to impact your daily life but could in the months to come.
Louisiana Political Analyst Jim Engster said the marquee item as far as new bills that went into effect at the first of the year is the bill banning gender-affirming care in Louisiana.
Many other states have gone this route which has led to court challenges across the country. He said Louisiana is likely to have one as well, but right now, any attempt to change gender for a minor is off-limits in the state. Engster said Louisianians should expect more controversial legislation.
“I think we’re going to have a wave of conservative legislation largely related to education, and perhaps the libraries and all of this is designed to protect children, so it’ll be interesting to see how it plays out,” said Engster.
Another law that many citizens believe is overdue is a law requiring State Police to track and report data on traffic stops. The law, sponsored by Rep. Denise Marcelle, includes collecting information on the number of people stopped, their race, gender, and age.
“This might be a preemptive strike to keep law-enforcement and others on the up and up because as we know there is discrimination and occasionally it’s fairly evident that people of certain backgrounds are treated differently than others when they’re stopped for various violations,” said Engster.