Public Conduct in Louisiana (2026)

Unincorporated Rapides Parish outlaws vagrancy as a misdemeanor under Sec. 19-11, and its definition sweeps in anyone…

Terrebonne Parish has no ordinance singling out 'aggressive' panhandling, but its vagrancy law at § 19-238 makes it a…

Bossier Parish does not single out aggressive conduct by name; instead, Sec. 86-2 requires anyone panhandling in…

Lake Charles bans aggressive panhandling outright: touching, blocking, following, or repeating a request within ten…

Within the Downtown Development District, New Orleans bans panhandling after 7:00 p.m. or before 6:00 a.m., within 30…

Ouachita Parish makes it unlawful to stand or stay on the road surface of any public road in the unincorporated parish…

Shreveport doesn't ban panhandling outright, but Code of Ordinances Sec. 50-166 bars soliciting within 15 feet of ATMs…

Caddo Parish bans solicitation that accosts a person or forces company on them, plus begging from drivers in traffic…

Jefferson Parish's lewd conduct ordinance makes it a crime to urinate or defecate in a public place or anywhere open to…

Lafayette makes it a criminal misdemeanor to willfully and intentionally urinate or defecate in a public place, in a…

Willful public urination or defecation in Lafayette is a misdemeanor under City Code § 62-90, covering any public…

The Police Jury bans urinating or defecating on the Bossier Parish courthouse grounds in Benton, and the same ban…

Section 13-27.1 makes it unlawful to urinate on the streets, in gutters, on sidewalks, or in alleys, driveways or other…

Shreveport makes it a criminal offense to urinate or defecate on any street, sidewalk, gutter, alley or driveway within…

St. Tammany Parish makes it a misdemeanor to willfully urinate or defecate in a public place, in a spot not meant for…

Terrebonne Parish Code § 19-223 makes it a misdemeanor to urinate on public property, in a public road or right-of-way…

Jefferson Parish bans skateboarding entirely in Veterans Memorial Square, the neutral ground at the Causeway Boulevard…

Sec. 11:233 bans skateboarding, bicycling, and roller skating on the structures and site furnishings of nine named…

Roller skates, roller blades and skateboards are banned outright on any public street, sidewalk, park or other public…

Lake Charles bans skateboarding outright at the Civic Center grounds, the Ryan Street Mall sidewalks between Kirby and…

St. Tammany Parish bans skateboards, bicycles and other wheeled conveyances on the parish fishing pier, the converted…

Terrebonne Parish Code Sec. 19-10 bans skateboarding and roller blading inside or right around public buildings, on the…

Lafayette's noise control code bans amplified party sound plainly audible 200 feet away after 10 p.m. or loud enough to…

Lafayette has no blanket loitering ban -- only loitering for a specific illicit purpose is a crime. Sec. 62-49 makes it…

Willfully blocking a sidewalk, street, alley, or the entrance to a public building in Shreveport is a crime under Code…

St. Tammany Parish's loitering ordinance is narrow: it does not criminalize loitering in general but specifically bars…

Baton Rouge City-Parish law bars anyone but an adjoining owner or occupant from walking, loitering or driving in an…

Jefferson Parish's loitering law targets standing around in a way that blocks streets, sidewalks, or entrances, or…

Lafayette bans loitering in public to solicit prostitution or promote illegal drug activity, both misdemeanors under…

New Orleans makes it a misdemeanor to willfully obstruct the free, convenient use of any public sidewalk, street…

Terrebonne Parish Code § 19-251 makes it unlawful to remain or loiter on a public street or sidewalk after a law…

Ouachita Parish bans smoking in the unincorporated parish to the full extent of Louisiana's Smokefree Air Act, but goes…

Baton Rouge City-Parish's Clean Air Act bans smoking outdoors in three specific public spots even without walls around…

Lafayette bans smoking within 25 feet of any public-place entrance, outdoor playground, bleacher, dugout, ball field…

Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government bans smoking within 25 feet of building entrances, playgrounds, sports…

New Orleans bars smoking and vaping in specific unenclosed public areas: within five feet of the Bloch Cancer Survivors…

Shreveport's Smokefree Air Act reaches outdoors too: Sec. 50-212 bans smoking in any playground or park, within 25 feet…

In unincorporated Bossier Parish, the Police Jury's only public-place smoking restriction targets the parish courthouse…

Lake Charles bars smoking within ten feet of the entrances, windows, and vents of any enclosed area where smoking is…

St. Tammany Parish bans smoking outdoors at North Shore Beach Park on Debbie Drive in Slidell. Section 30-1 lists it…

Tangipahoa Parish's Clean Air Law bans smoking on every property the parish government owns, leases or controls, from…

Terrebonne Parish bans smoking within 10 feet of any public building or public-place entrance, in any service line, and…

Caddo Parish bans smoking or possessing a lit tobacco product inside any parish-owned or leased building, and, in the…

Jefferson Parish bans pedestrians and bicyclists, even someone walking a bike, from crossing three of its busiest…

Crossing outside a marked or unmarked crosswalk in Baton Rouge and East Baton Rouge Parish is legal but the pedestrian…

Lafayette City-Parish law requires pedestrians to cross a roadway at right angles or by the shortest route to the…

Shreveport requires pedestrians to cross only at a marked or unmarked crosswalk in the business district, and bars…

Lafayette City-Parish Code § 86-67 requires a pedestrian to cross at a crosswalk when one exists; away from a…

New Orleans outright bars smoking marijuana anywhere outside a private home or residence under City Code § 66-73.1…

Baton Rouge City-Parish's Clean Air Act defines 'smoking' to expressly include marijuana, 'whether natural or…

Section 13-26.4 makes it unlawful to knowingly possess marijuana, THC, synthetic cannabinoids or hallucinogens without…

Shreveport punishes simple marijuana possession with a fine-only summons, not a custodial arrest. Under Code of…

It is unlawful in Caddo Parish to drink alcoholic beverages inside any public building controlled by the parish…

Carrying an open glass container of beer, wine, liquor, or soda on any Lafayette street, sidewalk, park, or parking lot…

City of Lafayette bans carrying an open glass alcoholic beverage container on public streets, sidewalks, parks and lots…

Shreveport Code § 10-190 bans drinking or carrying an open alcoholic beverage on any public street or sidewalk, in a…

It is unlawful to carry an open alcoholic beverage container on any public street, roadway, sidewalk, park, school…

Bossier Parish's Police Jury bans drinking, consuming, or possessing an open container of alcohol inside any private…

Jefferson Parish bans open alcoholic beverage containers and drinking inside any retail store that lacks a license…

Lake Charles bans open alcohol containers on public streets, sidewalks, parks and playgrounds citywide. City Code Sec…

New Orleans bans carrying or drinking from an open glass container on public streets, sidewalks and parks within the…

In unincorporated Ouachita Parish, licensed alcohol dealers may not sell alcoholic beverages for consumption, or allow…

St. Tammany Parish makes it a crime to carry an open, unsealed alcoholic drink off the premises of any parish-licensed…

Terrebonne Parish Code § 19-244 bars carrying or using open glass or glass-like containers to drink alcoholic or…