Shreveport's Public Health Rules: The Rules That Matter

Every city handles public health rules a little differently. In Shreveport, Louisiana, there are 2 distinct rules that residents and property owners should be aware of. Some are stricter than what neighboring cities enforce, and others are more relaxed. Here is what you need to know.

Syringe Disposal

Shreveport authorizes nonprofit and health-department needle exchange programs under Sec. 50-220, covering sharps disposal, naloxone kits and disease-prevention education at no cost to participants. Sec. 50-221 decriminalizes possessing or distributing needles and syringes for employees, volunteers, and enrolled participants in an authorized program.

Key details: Authorized operators: Nonprofits and the local health department. Cost to participants: All supplies distributed free of charge. Includes: Naloxone kits, disposal, education materials. Legal protection: Decriminalizes paraphernalia for program participants. Adopted: Ord. No. 81, 2018, 11-13-18.

Sec. 50-221 removes criminal exposure rather than creating it: employees, volunteers and enrolled participants acting within an authorized Sec. 50-220 program cannot be charged with distributing or possessing drug paraphernalia for the needles, syringes and related supplies used in that program. Anyone distributing or possessing syringes outside an authorized program's structure remains subject to Louisiana's general drug-paraphernalia statutes, since the decriminalization in Sec. 50-221 applies only to conduct tied to a program established under Sec. 50-220.

Shreveport is more permissive than most cities when it comes to syringe disposal. That said, there are still limits.

Rodent Control

New business buildings, curb markets and farmers' markets in Shreveport must be built ratproof under chapter 58's rodent control article. The health officer can inspect any business building without notice for rat infestation, and can order an owner to install rat-stoppage measures within at least 15 days once one is found.

Key details: Applies to: New business buildings, curb & farmers' markets. Inspections: Unannounced, by the health officer. Compliance window: At least 15 days to rat-stop. Mesh spec: Openings no larger than 1/2 inch. Door protection: 24-gauge sheet metal on door edges.

Missing the health officer's written deadline, at least 15 days, to complete rat-stoppage or other rat-control work is itself an offense under the rodent control article. Maintaining a rat harborage through accumulated garbage, waste or dumped food violates section 58-182 outright. Because the article sets no specific fine of its own, a violation defaults to the general penalty in section 1-14: up to $1,000.00, up to 60 days in jail, or both, with each day the violation continues counted as a separate offense, and the health officer can additionally close a heavily infested building until it's cleared.

The Bottom Line

Shreveport's public health rules rules are a mixed bag. Some areas are strict, others are relaxed, and the details matter. The best approach is to check the specific rule that applies to your situation rather than assuming Shreveport is broadly strict or permissive.

Keep in mind that Shreveport can amend these rules at any council meeting. For the most current version of any rule mentioned here, check the specific ordinance page, where we track updates as they happen.