When the calendar turned to August 1st, there was a bevy of new state laws and directives that went into effect that you need to be aware of. Shown below are several of the changes that will most likely have the largest effect on residents. For more information on all the new laws that went into effect click here.
Beginning on August 1, any voter who is registered as Independent will automatically have their party affiliation changed to “No Party.” Many voters registered as Independent, believing that they were choosing not to affiliate with any party; however, they were affiliated with the Independent Party.
Changing voters’ registrations from Independent to “No Party” will help eliminate voter confusion heading into the Closed Party Primaries and will ensure that those who wish to be unaffiliated with a political party can participate in the party primaries.
Beginning in 2026, Louisiana will be transitioning to the Closed Party Primary system, which was created by the Legislature in Act 1 of the 2024 First Extraordinary Session. In party primaries, Democrats can only vote in the Democratic primary, Republicans can only vote in the Republican primary, and No Party voters can choose which party primary they participate in, but these voters must stick with that party through the first round and the party primary runoff, if one occurs.
To learn more, or to check your party affiliation, visit GeauxVote.com or download the
free GeauxVote Mobile App.
Illegal To Use a Handheld Cell Phone While Driving
Key points about the law:
- Handheld devices prohibited: Drivers cannot hold a phone while operating a vehicle, including for calls and texting.
- Hands-free permitted: Using a hands-free device like Bluetooth or speakerphone is allowed.
- School zones: In school zones, all drivers must use a hands-free device.
- Enforcement: Officers can issue warnings for the first few months, transitioning to fines starting January 1st, 2026, according to a local news report.
- Penalties: Violations can result in fines, and potentially double the fine if involved in a crash, and even a 2-year license suspension for repeat offenders, according to information from the Louisiana State Legislature.
- Secondary offense: A driver can be charged with this violation as a secondary offense if pulled over for another traffic violation, according to a local news report.
New dialing procedures for Louisiana’s 318 area code
This doesn’t take effect until August 25th, but you need to start practicing the calling procedure shown below now in order to be ready for when 10-digit dialing becomes mandatory.
You must dial the full 10-digit number, including the area code, when making local calls within the 318 area code in Louisiana starting August 25, 2025. This change is part of an area code overlay, which is adding the new 457 area code to the same geographic region served by the existing 318 area code. If you dial only 7 digits after this date, your call will not go through, and you will receive a recording instructing you to redial with the area code.
Why is this change happening?
The reason for the area code overlay is that the 318 area code is running out of available numbers. The addition of the 457 area code ensures that new phone numbers are available to meet the growing demand in the region.
Important things to remember:
Your current 318 phone number will not change.
You will need to dial the area code + the 7-digit number for all local calls, even those within the same area code.
The price of calls, coverage area, and other services will not change due to this overlay.
Emergency numbers like 911 and 988 will still be reachable by dialing just 3 digits.
You may need to update equipment that relies on automatic dialing, such as life safety systems, medical monitoring devices, security systems, fax machines, etc., to include the 10-digit number.
Left Lane Loiterers BEWARE
If you’re the type to cruise slowly in the left lane, Louisiana is officially cracking down. Act 24 increases the fine for driving too slowly in the passing lane from $100 to $150. Repeat offenders can expect even stiffer penalties. The law is part of a broader effort to improve traffic flow and reduce road rage incidents.
Darker Window Tints Now Street Legal
As of August 1st, Louisiana residents will be allowed to have a darker tint on the front side windows of their vehicles than has been allowed in decades as lawmakers overwhelmingly voted to reduce the amount of light that tinted front side windows allow inside a vehicle from 40% to 25% through Act 143. A 25% tint level is already allowed on rear side windows, and 12% is allowed on back windows. Tint is not allowed on most of the front windshield.
A person driving a vehicle that violates the state’s current or future window tinting restrictions can face a $150 fine for a first offense and a $350 fine for a third or subsequent offense.