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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana grants churches and religious leaders legal immunity when removing disruptive individuals with reasonable force
Last action · May 15, 2026: Effective date: 08/01/2026.Sponsors: Gabe Firment and 35 others
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What This Bill Does
Act 148 allows religious leaders, authorized security team members, and individuals lawfully present at a place of worship to request that disruptive or trespassing individuals leave and use reasonable force to remove them. The measure provides civil immunity from for individuals and religious organizations using such force, and establishes an against civil or criminal actions, effective August 1, 2026.
Religious organizations and individuals lawfully present at places of worship gain explicit statutory authority and civil immunity to physically remove trespassers or disruptive persons without facing , provided the force used is not grossly disproportionate.
- House Bill 294 was introduced during the 2026 Regular Session of the Louisiana Legislature and was signed into law by the Governor as Act 148. 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.
Religious leaders and organizations
Religious leaders and organizations gain statutory authority to request disruptive individuals to leave, along with civil immunity from tort liability when reasonable force is used.
Trespassers and disruptive individuals
Individuals who commit criminal trespass or substantial disruption at a place of worship are subject to being verbally ordered to leave and physically removed using reasonable force.
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
Who is authorized to ask a disruptive person to leave a place of worship?
Does this law protect individuals who use deadly force?
Can peaceful protesters outside a church be removed under this law?
What happens if someone files a civil lawsuit against a church for removing a trespasser?
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
22 actions- May 15, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 148.
- May 15, 2026HouseEffective date: 08/01/2026.
- May 13, 2026HouseSent to the Governor for executive approval.
- May 12, 2026HouseEnrolledEnrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
- May 12, 2026SenateEnrolledSigned by the President of the Senate.
- May 11, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, roll called, yeas 71, nays 29, Senate amendments concurred in.
Show 16 earlier actions
- May 7, 2026HouseScheduled for concurrence on 05/11/2026.
- May 6, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate with amendments.
- May 5, 2026SenateFloorSenate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 26 yeas and 9 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
- Apr 27, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- Apr 22, 2026SenateIntroducedRead by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- Apr 21, 2026SenateCommitteeReported favorably.
- Apr 14, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary C.
- Apr 13, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Apr 9, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 75, nays 25. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Apr 8, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 04/09/2026.
- Apr 7, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, amended, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Apr 1, 2026HouseReported with amendments (10-2).
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
- Feb 24, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 24, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
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
Show 31 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Expansion of Premises Defense
The bill explicitly extends specific self-defense and property protection frameworks previously reserved for dwellings and businesses to include churches and places of worship.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy65Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz40Current news / social attention level
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