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Read. Follow. Verify.Louisiana adds first-degree rape circumstance, sets ten-year prosecution limit for third-degree rape, and repeals oral sexual battery
Last action · May 14, 2026: Effective date: 08/01/2026.Sponsors: Laurie Schlegel and 1 other
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What This Bill Does
Louisiana establishes a new circumstance constituting first-degree rape when a victim is overpowered by force, sets a ten-year prosecution time limit for third-degree rape starting from the victim's discovery, and repeals the crime of oral sexual battery, effective August 1, 2026.
Changes criminal charging standards, alters prosecution deadlines for specific sex offenses, and restructures in criminal trials across the state.
Who It Affects
Groups the bill's text affects, as described in the record. Being affected is not a position for or against it.
Prosecutors
Prosecutors must utilize updated indictment forms, apply new time limitations for third degree rape cases, and navigate revised responsive verdicts.
Defendants
Defendants face new legal definitions for first degree rape, altered prosecution timeframes, and the removal of the oral sexual battery charge.
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 is the new time limit for prosecuting third-degree rape?
What happens to the crime of oral sexual battery under this Act?
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 14, 2026HouseEnrolledSigned by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 103.
- May 14, 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 94, nays 0, Senate amendments concurred in.
Show 16 earlier actions
- May 7, 2026HouseScheduled for concurrence on 05/11/2026.
- Apr 23, 2026HouseReceived from the Senate with amendments.
- Apr 22, 2026SenateFloorSenate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title, passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
- Apr 13, 2026SenateFloorReported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
- Apr 8, 2026SenateIntroducedRead by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
- Apr 7, 2026SenateCommitteeReported favorably.
- Mar 25, 2026SenateCommitteeRead second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary C.
- Mar 24, 2026HouseFloorRead third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 101, nays 0. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
- Mar 24, 2026SenateReceived in the Senate. Rules suspended. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
- Mar 23, 2026HouseFloorRead by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
- Mar 23, 2026HouseScheduled for floor debate on 03/24/2026.
- Mar 18, 2026HouseCommitteeReported favorably (9-0).
- Mar 9, 2026HouseIntroducedRead by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
- Feb 6, 2026HousePrefiled.
- Feb 6, 2026HouseCommitteeUnder the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.
- Feb 6, 2026HouseFirst appeared in the Interim Calendar on 2/6/2026.
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
Connected Entities
Sources
www.legis.la.gov
Analysis Score
0–100- Significance75How much this matters to a regular citizen
- Controversy40Intensity of disagreement among stakeholders
- Entertainment5Compellingness for a non-policy-wonk reader
- Buzz25Current news / social attention level
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