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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana authorizes municipalities to ban flammable materials under public bridges and overpasses
Last action · June 8, 2026: Effective date: 08/01/2026.Sponsor: Alonzo Knox
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What This Bill Does
Louisiana municipalities can now establish fire limits to prohibit storing, placing, or abandoning flammable, explosive, or combustible materials within public bridge, overpass, viaduct, and tunnel rights-of-way, starting August 1, 2026. Willful violators face fines of up to one thousand dollars per violation. The law exempts utility infrastructure and permits authorized, temporary events.
Property owners, event organizers, and local businesses operating near public infrastructure face new restrictions on material storage and potential fines up to one thousand dollars, while regulated utilities and permitted municipal events receive explicit exemptions.
- House Bill 864 was enacted during the 2026 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature and signed into law as Act 849. context
- Municipal fire limits historically refer to designated zones within a city where specific construction types or hazardous material storage are restricted to prevent conflagrations. context
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Municipalities
Municipalities receive new authority to establish fire limits and issue fines for prohibited material storage within public rights-of-way.
Regulated Utilities
Member-owned electric cooperatives and investor-owned utilities regulated by the Public Service Commission or New Orleans are explicitly exempt from the restrictions.
Event Organizers
Organizers of public events must obtain municipal permits to use flammable or combustible materials.
Key Facts
You don't have to trust us. Each fact below is taken straight from the official document - click any one to see the exact passage, highlighted in the original.
Frequently Asked Questions
What materials are prohibited under public bridges and overpasses?
Are utility companies subject to these new fire restrictions?
What is the penalty for violating the fire limits?
Can permitted community events still use fire or pyrotechnics?
What else do you want to know?
News Coverage
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Votes, people, money & the original sourceWhere This Stands
Current status: Signed into law.
Procedural history
34 actions- Jun 8, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 849.
- Jun 8, 2026HouseEffective date: 08/01/2026.
- Jun 1, 2026SenateEnrolledSigned by the President of the Senate.
- Jun 1, 2026HouseSent to the Governor for executive approval.
- May 31, 2026HouseEnrolledEnrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
- May 29, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, roll called, yeas 96, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.
Show 28 earlier actions
- May 27, 2026HouseScheduled for concurrence on 05/29/2026.
- May 26, 2026SenateFloorRules suspended. Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 35 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
- May 26, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate with amendments.
- May 20, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- May 19, 2026SenateFloorCommittee amendments read and adopted. Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- May 18, 2026SenateReported with amendments.
- May 4, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Local and Municipal Affairs.
- Apr 29, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Apr 28, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Apr 28, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 96, nays 2. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Apr 27, 2026HouseNotice given.
- Apr 27, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/28/2026.
- Apr 22, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Apr 22, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Apr 20, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Apr 20, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Apr 20, 2026HouseNotice given.
- Apr 20, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/22/2026.
- Apr 15, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Apr 15, 2026HouseNotice given.
- Apr 15, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/20/2026.
- Apr 14, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/15/2026.
- Apr 13, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Apr 9, 2026HouseCommitteeReported favorably (16-0).
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs.
- Feb 27, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Municipal, Parochial and Cultural Affairs.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
Version history
Only one version on file - nothing to compare yet. As later stages (committee substitute, engrossed, enrolled) are captured, the redline appears here.
View official text →Lobbying Activity
No state lobbying filings in our records match this bill. Federal lobbying reports (LDA) cover Congress, so they are not listed on state bills.
Full breakdown
Who this bill affects and the strongest case for and against it, written only from the bill’s own text.
Sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
New Municipal Fire Limit Powers
The statute creates specific statewide municipal authority to regulate and penalize material storage within bridge and overpass rights-of-way.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy15Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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