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2026 Regular Session ACT No. 308
HOUSE BILL NO. 635
BY REPRESENTATIVES HORTON AND EDMONSTON AND SENATOR HODGES
1 AN ACT
2 To enact Part IV-A of Chapter 2 of Title 14 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to be
3 comprised of R.S. 14:391 through 391.3, and R.S. 40:2405.10, relative to offenses
4 affecting organized government; to provide for legislative intent; to provide for
5 definitions; to provide for types of conduct that constitute criminal activity; to
6 provide for penalties; to authorize certain training programs; to provide for an
7 effective date; and to provide for related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. Part IV-A of Chapter 2 of Title 14 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of
10 1950, comprised of R.S. 14:391 through 391.3, is hereby enacted to read as follows:
11 PART IV-A. PROTECTION OF CONSTITUTIONAL LIBERTIES
12 IN LOUISIANA ACT
13 §391. Legislative intent; short title
14 A. The legislature hereby finds that certain foreign adversaries and foreign
15 terrorist organizations pose a growing threat to the citizens and residents of this state
16 based on the practice of extranational enforcement of foreign laws, foreign
17 directives, or foreign religious tenets that are contrary to the Constitution of the
18 United States and the Constitution of Louisiana and are invoked as a substitute for
19 federal or state law. The purpose of this Part is to counter this threat by protecting
20 persons in this state from the harassment and repression of liberty and freedom
21 caused by these extranational practices.
22 B. This Part shall be known and may be cited as the "Protection of
23 Constitutional Liberties in Louisiana Act".
24 §391.1. Definitions
25 For the purposes of this Part, the following terms have the following
26 meanings:
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1 (1) "Agent of a foreign adversary" means a person, entity, or organization
2 directed or controlled by a foreign adversary or who is the proxy of a foreign
3 adversary.
4 (2) "Agent of a foreign terrorist organization" means a person, entity, or
5 group directed or controlled by a foreign terrorist organization or who is the proxy
6 of a foreign terrorist organization.
7 (3) "Constitutionally protected conduct" means any action or behavior that
8 is lawful under the laws of this state or the United States and constitutes the free
9 exercise of any of the following:
10 (a) Freedom of religion, as protected by the First Amendment of the
11 Constitution of the United States of America and Article I, Section 8, of the
12 Constitution of Louisiana.
13 (b) Freedom of speech or expression, as protected by the First Amendment
14 of the Constitution of the United States and Article I, Section 7, of the Constitution
15 of Louisiana.
16 (c) The right of assembly or to petition any federal, state, or local
17 government entity for the redress of grievances as protected by the First Amendment
18 of the Constitution of the United States and Article I, Section 9, of the Constitution
19 of Louisiana.
20 (4) "Foreign adversary" means any country specified in 15 CFR 791.4 or any
21 similar regulation that is subsequently promulgated in the Code of Federal
22 Regulations.
23 (5) "Foreign law" means any law, rule, or legal code or system established
24 and used or applied by a foreign adversary or foreign terrorist organization in a
25 jurisdiction outside of the states or territories of the United States.
26 (6) "Foreign terrorist organization" means any of the following:
27 (a) An entity designated as a foreign terrorist organization in accordance
28 with 8 U.S.C. 1189 or any similar law that is subsequently promulgated by the
29 United States Department of State.
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1 (b) An entity designated as a "specially designated national" in accordance
2 with 31 CFR 515.306 or any similar regulation that is subsequently promulgated in
3 the Code of Federal Regulations by the United States Department of the Treasury.
4 (7) "Transnational repression" means an act emanating from or attributable
5 to a foreign adversary or foreign terrorist organization that is committed by an agent
6 of that foreign adversary or foreign terrorist organization with the intent to harass,
7 intimidate, censor, or otherwise extend the ability of the foreign adversary or foreign
8 terrorist organization to influence, control, or impose its preferences on the behavior
9 of people outside of the territorial jurisdiction of the foreign adversary through either
10 of the following means:
11 (a) Directly by means of physical contact, threats, or electronic targeting.
12 (b) Indirectly by means of actual or credible threats of collective punishment,
13 financial coercion, abuse of administrative processes, selective prosecution of laws
14 of general application, the use or direction of social media or telecommunication
15 entities, or harassment of others.
16 §391.2. Violation; penalties
17 A.(1) No agent of a foreign adversary or agent of a foreign terrorist
18 organization shall commit any criminal offense in this state while knowingly acting
19 at the direction of, on behalf of, or under the influence of a foreign adversary or
20 foreign terrorist organization with the intent to do any of the following:
21 (a) Coerce a person to act on behalf of a foreign adversary or foreign terrorist
22 organization.
23 (b) Coerce a person to leave the United States or cause another person to
24 leave the United States.
25 (c) Cause a person to refrain from engaging in constitutionally protected
26 conduct.
27 (d) Retaliate against a person for engaging in constitutionally protected
28 conduct.
29 (2) No person shall intentionally engage in the obstruction, detection,
30 investigation, monitoring, or surveillance of another person or governmental entity
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1 with the intent to enforce or institute the prosecution of a foreign law in violation of
2 the laws of this state or of the United States.
3 B.(1) Any person who violates the provisions of Paragraph (A)(1) of this
4 Section by committing a criminal offense that is a noncapital felony shall, in addition
5 to the penalty for commission of the underlying offense, be punished as follows:
6 (a) If the underlying offense is punishable by imprisonment for a term of not
7 more than five years, the offender shall be imprisoned with or without hard labor for
8 an additional period of one year. The additional penalty imposed pursuant to this
9 Subparagraph shall be served consecutively to the sentence imposed for the
10 underlying offense.
11 (b) If the underlying offense is punishable by imprisonment for a term of
12 more than five years but less than fifteen years, the offender shall be imprisoned with
13 or without hard labor for an additional period of two years. The additional penalty
14 imposed pursuant to this Subparagraph shall be served consecutively to the sentence
15 imposed for the underlying offense.
16 (2) Whoever violates the provisions of Paragraph (A)(2) of this Section shall
17 be punished as follows:
18 (a) If the offender was acting as an agent of a foreign adversary or an agent
19 of a foreign terrorist organization at the time of the violation, the offender shall be
20 fined not more than ten thousand dollars, imprisoned with or without hard labor for
21 not less than three years nor more than six years, or both.
22 (b) If the offender was not acting as an agent of a foreign adversary or an
23 agent of a foreign terrorist organization at the time of the violation, the offender shall
24 be fined not more than five thousand dollars, imprisoned with or without hard labor
25 for not less than two years nor more than four years, or both.
26 §391.3. Application of foreign law; unenforceability
27 Any decision from a court, arbitrator, tribunal, or administrative agency that
28 is based in whole or in part on foreign law is void and unenforceable in this state if
29 it denies a party a liberty, right, or privilege guaranteed by the Constitution of the
30 United States or the Constitution of Louisiana.
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1 Section 2. R.S. 40:2405.10 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
2 §2405.10. Transnational repression recognition and response; training and education
3 The Department of Justice, office of the attorney general, Louisiana Bureau
4 of Investigation, may provide or adopt a training program for transnational
5 repression recognition and response. The program may be obtained from another
6 state or federal governmental entity or from a nongovernmental entity that
7 specializes in training and educating law enforcement. The training may be updated
8 to address emerging threats and specific information on tactics used by specific
9 foreign adversaries or foreign terrorist organizations.
10 Section 3. The Department of Justice, office of the attorney general, Louisiana
11 Bureau of Investigation may implement the training program authorized in R.S. 40:2405.10
12 as enacted by Section 2 of this Act on or before July 1, 2027.
13 Section 4. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
14 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
15 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
16 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
17 effective on the day following such approval.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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