HB 294: TRESPASS: Provides places of worship the right to remove disruptive individuals - Louisiana

Senate Floor Bureau Note, #2676, Cloud, Adopted → HB294 Act · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was reorganized from a series of individual amendments into a single, cohesive statute that formally establishes protections for religious organizations. It clarifies the right of religious leaders to request trespassers leave and defines the specific circumstances under which force can be used to remove them or prevent disruption of services. The new text also explicitly limits the use of deadly force and clarifies that these protections do not prohibit peaceful protests outside church grounds.

Scope change

The bill's scope was expanded by formally enacting a new statute (R.S. 13:5233.2) that codifies protections for religious organizations, whereas the previous version was a collection of line-item amendments to existing laws.

DEFINITION

New definitions were added for 'church or other place of worship,' 'religious leader,' and 'substantial disruption' to clarify who is protected and what conduct is covered.

REQUIREMENT

The bill now explicitly requires a verbal request to leave the premises to constitute notice before force can be used to remove a trespasser.

A new immunity process was established where courts must hold a pretrial hearing to determine if a defendant is entitled to protection from civil or criminal liability.

ENFORCEMENT

The use of force is now strictly limited to preventing forcible offenses or removing trespassers who refuse to leave after a request, with specific exclusions for unlawful conduct or grossly disproportionate force.

SCOPE

New provisions clarify that the law does not prohibit peaceful protests outside church premises or limit the authority of law enforcement.

HB294 Original → Senate Floor Bureau Note, #2676, Cloud, Adopted · 5 edits

MODERATE

The Senate amended the bill to broaden who can use force by removing the requirement for a 'security team' status, allowing any lawfully present person to act. It also clarified that a verbal request to leave is sufficient notice, removed the specific exclusion of peaceful protests from the definition of disruption, and streamlined the civil immunity process for defendants.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded to include any individual lawfully present on the premises, rather than limiting the authority to religious leaders or authorized security members.

ELIGIBILITY

Changed the requirement from being an 'authorized security team member' or 'lawfully present and permitted' to simply being 'lawfully on the premises'.

DEFINITION

Replaced the specific instruction to 'request that a person leave' with a broader standard that a 'verbal request' constitutes notice.

Removed the clause stating that the law does not limit the authority of law enforcement.

Deleted the explicit exemption stating that peaceful protests outside the premises that do not obstruct access are not considered substantial disruption.

ENFORCEMENT

Simplified the civil immunity hearing procedure by removing the option for the religious organization to file the motion, restricting it to the individual defendant.

HB294 Enrolled → HB294 Original · 4 edits

MODERATE

The bill was significantly rewritten to broaden its scope from protecting only 'churches' to protecting all 'houses of worship,' including synagogues, mosques, and temples. It expanded the right to remove disruptive individuals to include any lawfully permitted person, not just religious leaders, and added a specific pretrial immunity hearing process for defendants using force against trespassers.

Scope change

The bill's scope expanded from specific religious buildings to all houses of worship and extended the authority to use force from religious leaders to any person lawfully present on the premises.

DEFINITION

The definition of protected locations was changed from 'church or other place of worship' to 'house of worship,' explicitly including synagogues, mosques, and temples.

ELIGIBILITY

The authority to request someone leave and use reasonable force was expanded from 'religious leaders' to include 'any person lawfully present and permitted on the premises.'

ENFORCEMENT

A new requirement was added for courts to conduct a pretrial immunity hearing upon motion, allowing the case to be dismissed if immunity is established by a preponderance of the evidence.

REQUIREMENT

New language clarifies that the right to exclude disruptive individuals is necessary to facilitate the free exercise of religion and explicitly states that the bill does not limit constitutional free speech or free exercise rights.

HB294 Reengrossed → HB294 Enrolled · 2 edits · May 12, 2026

MINOR

The bill was finalized as an Enrolled version, removing the original title and introductory 'Reengrossed' headers while retaining the core text. The substantive legal provisions regarding trespass, use of force, and liability for places of worship remain unchanged from the Reengrossed version.

TECHNICAL

Removed the original bill title and 'Reengrossed' header lines.

Added 'ENROLLED' header and updated the coding legend to reflect the final enrolled status.

HB294 Engrossed → HB294 Reengrossed · 3 edits · May 5, 2026

MINOR

The bill was reengrossed to add multiple new sponsors and update the title page information. A substantive change was made to the definition of a 'place of worship,' expanding it to include outdoor private property, not just buildings owned by religious organizations.

Scope change

The bill's scope regarding protected locations was expanded to include outdoor private property used for religious activities.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'church or other place of worship' was updated to include 'outdoor private property' in addition to buildings and structures.

TECHNICAL

A list of new co-sponsors was added to the bill header.

The title page was updated to reflect the bill's new status as 'Reengrossed' instead of 'Engrossed'.

TRESPASS: Provides places of worship the right to remove disruptive individuals

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