Baton Rouge, La. (WGNO)— With this year’s regular legislative session over, all bills that passed head to the governor’s desk.
Among those new laws is one that affects defendants in criminal cases, one aimed at saving lives in your home, and one that takes affect if the Supreme Court strikes down Roe v. Wade.
WGNO Legal Analyst Cliff Cardone stated, “It’s (now) criminal for a police department or sheriff’s office to publish any mugshots before an individual is found guilty. There are certain exceptions to that rule.”
Agencies that do publish mugshots must also publish an innocent until proven guilty disclaimer.
All local agencies told us they intended to comply with the law and the NOPD sent us a statement saying in part “The act does not, however, apply to the release of photos of individuals wanted for violent crimes or who are determined to be an imminent threat to the safety of the general public.”
Also signed by Governor John Bel Edwards is a new law requiring carbon monoxide detectors in all one or two family homes sold or leased, and those with whole home generators. This legislation as a result of the number of medical emergencies in the wake of Hurricane Ida.
Perhaps the most controversial of the new laws signed is what some are calling an extreme anti-abortion law, that abortion advocates say reduces choices for women, and could close all abortion providers in the state.
“There are no exceptions to the law, it won’t prevent people from going outside the state to seek abortions to the states that approve abortions. It’s called a trigger law so as soon as Roe V. Wade is overturned, our law will then be triggered and imposed and criminalize that activity.”
Click here for bills signed into law and those vetoed by Governor John Bel Edwards