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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana requires Office of Motor Vehicles to display eagle image on driver's licenses and ID cards for verified U.S. citizens
Last action · May 15, 2026: Effective date: 08/01/2026.Sponsors: Dodie Horton and 19 others
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What This Bill Does
Act 170 requires the Louisiana office of motor vehicles to display an image of an eagle in flight on driver's licenses and state identification cards to signify verified United States citizenship, effective August 1, 2026.
Residents seeking a state-issued driver's license or identification card will have a visual citizenship indicator added once citizenship status is verified and system upgrades permit.
- The office of motor vehicles operates under the Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections. 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.
office of motor vehicles
The agency must update credential designs, verify applicant citizenship, and promulgate rules under the Administrative Procedure Act.
drivers and identification card applicants
Applicants who verify their United States citizenship will have an image of an eagle in flight displayed on their identification credentials.
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 symbol will be displayed on driver's licenses to show U.S. citizenship?
What is required before the eagle image can be added to an ID card?
What happens if the current motor vehicles system cannot include the new credential immediately?
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
24 actions- May 15, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 170.
- May 15, 2026HouseEffective date: 08/01/2026.
- May 13, 2026SenateEnrolledSigned by the President of the Senate.
- May 13, 2026HouseSent to the Governor for executive approval.
- May 12, 2026HouseEnrolledEnrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
- May 11, 2026SenateFloorRead by title, passed by a vote of 27 yeas and 9 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
Show 18 earlier actions
- May 11, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate without amendments.
- Apr 28, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- Apr 27, 2026SenateIntroducedRead by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- Apr 22, 2026SenateCommitteeReported favorably.
- Apr 1, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.
- Mar 31, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Mar 30, 2026HouseCalled from the calendar.
- Mar 30, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, amended, roll called on final passage, yeas 72, nays 29. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Mar 26, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, returned to the calendar.
- Mar 26, 2026HouseNotice given.
- Mar 26, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 03/30/2026.
- Mar 25, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 03/26/2026.
- Mar 24, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Mar 23, 2026HouseCommitteeReported favorably (8-5).
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.
- Feb 27, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/27/2026.
- Feb 26, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 26, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works.
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 15 more sponsors
Discoveries
Patterns POLISCOPE noticed across the record. These are observations to investigate, not conclusions.
Introduction of Visual Citizenship Indicators
Louisiana added a statutory requirement to visually denote verified United States citizenship status on standard state identification cards and driver's licenses.
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance60How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy50Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment10Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz45Current news / social attention level
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