New Louisiana laws take effect Jan. 1, 2023
A new year means new laws for the state of Louisiana. More than 30 of the bills passed during the 2022 Louisiana legislative session and signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards will take effect on Jan.1, and they cover a wide range of topics.
BATON ROUGE (KTAL/KMSS) — A new year means new laws for the state of Louisiana. More than 30 of the bills passed during the 2022 Louisiana legislative session and signed into law by Gov. John Bel Edwards will take effect on Jan.1, and they cover a wide range of topics.
Among them are new laws targeting fraudulent online sellers and delinquent taxpayers. Another aims to keep "foreign countries of concern" – and their money – out of local politics. Other laws aim to protect kids, homebuyers, and diabetes patients or help pregnant women struggling with opioid addiction. A few specifically target insurance company tactics denying or limiting coverage.
Here is a look at some of the new laws that will go into effect in Louisiana on January 1, 2023.
Elections and politics
Act 741 provides for post-election tabulation audits of paper records, including absentee ballots, but stipulates that the provisions of the new law shall not be implemented until after the
procurement and implementation of a new voting system by the secretary of state.
Act 765 requires detailed disclosures from state agencies and political subdivisions about gifts or grants valued at $50,000 or more, especially from any "foreign country of concern." Any applicants for grants must also disclose any interests from such countries.
Healthcare and health insurance
Act 166 prohibits health insurance issuers from pending, delaying, or denying payment to a healthcare provider for rendered healthcare services solely on the basis of the insured's failure to provide the issuer with notice of the existence of an additional plan or lack thereof.
Act 309 requires drug treatment facilities to provide treatment for opioid use disorder to pregnant women.
Act 501 provides for health insurance coverage of genetic testing for critically ill infants with no diagnosis.
Act 513 requires all licensed hospitals and healthcare providers in Louisiana to provide victims of sexually-oriented criminal offenses with information about emergency contraception.
Act 619 requires pediatric day health care facilities to provide for the installation and operation of cameras at their premises.
Under Act 703 health coverage plans in Louisiana will no longer be allowed to limit or exclude coverage for a minor for a drug approved by the FDA if prescribed for a use different from what the drug was approved, as long as the drug is prescribed by a licensed healthcare professional and is medically necessary for the treatment of a life-threatening, chronic, or seriously debilitating disease or condition. The drug also has to be recognized for treatment of that disease or condition in children.
Act 724 places limits on how much health coverage plans can require enrollees to pay for insulin prescriptions, regardless of the amount or type of insulin, and requires health coverage plans to include at least one insulin from each therapeutic class. The Inflation Reduction Act passed earlier this year includes a $35 a month limit on what patients pay out of pocket for insulin, but that’s only for those with Medicare.
Protecting children
Act 440 allows for commercial entities to be held liable for publishing or distributing material harmful to minors on the internet. It also requires providers to ensure reasonable age verification on websites.
Act 662 requires all mandatory reporters to report alleged sex trafficking to the Department of Children and Family Services regardless of whether there is alleged parental or caretaker involvement, and requires DCFS to communicate as soon as possible all reports involving alleged child victims of sex trafficking to La. State Police for referral to local law enforcement.
Act 745 requires criminal background checks for those applying for an educator credential or teaching authorization; to require criminal background checks upon the renewal, advancement, or other modification of an existing certification or teaching authorization. The law also authorizes the state Department of Education to charge a fee for such purposes.
Motor vehicles and taxes
Act 578 imposes a road usage fee of up to $110 per year on each electric vehicle and
an annual road usage fee of up to $60 per year on each hybrid vehicle operated on state
highways.
Act 701 allows for a driver's license to be suspended or denied renewal if the person fails to pay state income taxes.
Safety and consumer protections
Under changes passed to existing law in Act 458, carbon monoxide detectors will be required in every one or two-family home sold or leased in Louisiana starting Jan. 1, 2023.
Act 316 requires that online marketplaces require "high-volume third party sellers" to provide banking and payee information within 10 days after qualifying as such on the platform. Such sellers are also required to maintain updated banking, identity, and contact information. The law allows online marketplace to suspend any future sales of the seller if they falsely represent their sales volume in order to circumvent certain requirements.
Insurance & protecting homeowners
Among the dozens of new laws taking effect are some addressing the troubled insurance industry in Louisiana and how homeowners are treated in the wake of disasters.
Act 558 requires companies to pay three months of the increased cost of living required for members of an household in the event of the total loss of an insured dwelling, under certain conditions.
Under Act 434, insurance companies will also now have to cover losses suffered by homeowners who are not allowed to access their residential property during an emergency or disaster, even if the property itself is not damaged, in cases where damage to a neighboring property poses a danger.
Act 581 requires property sellers to notify the buyers of certain information regarding the property, including whether the purchaser is obligated to be a member of the homeowners' association in the community in which he is purchasing the property. The new law also requires the seller to notify the purchaser of whether the residential property is subject to a common regime of restrictive covenants or building restrictions, or both.
Below is a list of the bills signed into law by Gov. Edwards from the 2022 legislative session that will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2023.
| Instrument | Author | Status & Description |
| HB83 | SCHLEGEL | Signed by the Governor - Act 434 INSURANCE/HOMEOWNERS: Provides for civil authority prohibited use coverage |
| HB142 | SCHLEGEL | Signed by the Governor - Act 440 LIABILITY/CIVIL: Provides for liability for publishers and distributors of material harmful to minors |
| HB192 | ZERINGUE | Signed by the Governor - Act 116 UNEMPLOYMENT COMP: Provides for the unemployment compensation procedure to be applied by the administrator for 2023 calendar year |
| HB202 | MIKE JOHNSON | Signed by the Governor - Act 728 CAMPAIGN FINANCE DISCLOS: Requires political committees to include specified information on the statement of organization |
| HB278 | ECHOLS | Signed by the Governor - Act 457 INSURANCE/HEALTH: Provides requirements for the Psychiatric Collaborative Care Model |
| HB287 | WILLARD | Signed by the Governor - Act 328 TAX/OCCUPATIONAL: Requires the annual occupational license tax levied on certain computer programming businesses to be set at a flat rate |
| HB293 | HILFERTY | Signed by the Governor - Act 458 FIRE PROTECT/FIRE MARSHAL: Provides relative to carbon monoxide detectors |
| HB317 | WILLARD | Signed by the Governor - Act 331 INSURANCE/POLICIES: Provides for hurricane, named storm, and wind and hail deductibles |
| HB339 | COUSSAN | Signed by the Governor - Act 166 INSURANCE/HEALTH: Provides relative to coordination of benefits requirements |
| HB384 | WHEAT | Signed by the Governor - Act 619 HEALTH CARE/FACILITIES: Requires pediatric day health care facilities to provide for installation and operation of cameras at their premises |
| HB521 | HUVAL | Signed by the Governor - Act 157 INSURERS: Provides for catastrophe response plans |
| HB586 | THOMAS | Signed by the Governor - Act 553 REAL ESTATE: Provides limited authority to the Louisiana Real Estate Commission to access certain criminal history record information of licensees and applicants |
| HB677 | JORDAN | Signed by the Governor - Act 724 INSURANCE/HEALTH: Provides relative to cost sharing for insulin prescriptions |
| HB682 | BROWN | Signed by the Governor - Act 389 INSURANCE DEPARTMENT: Provides for a claims adjuster database |
| HB831 | FIRMENT | Signed by the Governor - Act 558 INSURANCE/HOMEOWNERS: Provides for additional living expense coverage |
| HB856 | GEYMANN | Signed by the Governor - Act 559 INSURANCE/PROPERTY: Provides for an appraisal clause in residential property insurance policies |
| HB866 | FRIEMAN | Signed by the Governor - Act 60 INSURERS: Provides for minimum capital and surplus requirements for certain domestic insurers |
| HB924 | EDMONDS | Signed by the Governor - Act 741 ELECTIONS: Provides for post-election tabulation audits of paper records including absentee ballots |
| HB935 | BOYD | Signed by the Governor - Act 575 INSURERS: Provides for catastrophe claims adjusters |
| HB1031 | FREIBERG | Signed by the Governor - Act 578 MOTOR VEHICLES: Imposes a road usage fee on certain electric and hybrid vehicles |
| HB1058 | HOLLIS | Signed by the Governor - Act 581 PROPERTY/IMMOVABLE: Provides relative to property disclosures regarding building restrictions and restrictive covenants |
| HB1061 | HUGHES | Signed by the Governor - Act 513 HEALTH/WOMEN'S: Provides for procedures for victims of sexually-oriented criminal offenses |
| SB21 | ROBERT MILLS | Signed by the Governor - Act 74 INSURANCE POLICIES: Provides relative to requirements for approved unauthorized insurers. |
| SB63 | MIZELL | Signed by the Governor - Act 662 CHILDREN/FAMILY SERVICES DEPT: Provides for the duties of the Department of Children and Family Services regarding victims of child sex trafficking. |
| SB90 | ROBERT MILLS | Signed by the Governor - Act 589 HEALTH/ACC INSURANCE: Provides relative to network adequacy for health insurer benefit plans. |
| SB154 | TALBOT | Signed by the Governor - Act 501 HEALTH/ACC INSURANCE: Provides for health insurance coverage of genetic testing for critically ill infants with no diagnosis. |
| SB163 | TALBOT | Signed by the Governor - Act 80 INSURANCE CLAIMS: Provides for catastrophe claims process disclosure |
| SB168 | ABRAHAM | Signed by the Governor - Act 259 INSURANCE POLICIES: Provides relative to commercial insurance |
| SB212 | STINE | Signed by the Governor - Act 591 INSURANCE CLAIMS: Establishes the Hurricane Mediation Program. |
| SB235 | ALLAIN | Signed by the Governor - Act 685 TAX/LOCAL: Authorizes parishes to contract with the Louisiana Sales and Use Tax Commission for Remote Sellers for the collection of local sales and use tax |
| SB268 | MIZELL | Signed by the Governor - Act 309 HEALTH CARE: Provides relative to opioid treatment programs for pregnant women. |
| SB389 | REESE | Signed by the Governor - Act 701 TAX/INCOME/PERSONAL: Provides relative to the suspension of driver's licenses for failure to pay taxes. |
| SB394 | BERNARD | Signed by the Governor - Act 703 INSURANCE POLICIES: Requires coverage for drugs under certain conditions and the drug is approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration. |
| SB442 | WARD | Signed by the Governor - Act 316 CONSUMERS/PROTECTION: Provides relative to certain third-party sellers on the online marketplace. |
| SB443 | ALLAIN | Signed by the Governor - Act 428 TAX/SALES: Provides for direct payment of state and local sales tax on purchases by certain taxpayers. |
| SB471 | MILLIGAN | Signed by the Governor - Act 765 CONTRACTS: Provides for foreign sources to fund certain gifts and contracts to the state or political subdivisions |