SB 470 Louisiana Senate · 2026 Regular Session

HEALTH CARE: Provides relative to pregnant women in custody. (gov sig) (EN INCREASE LF EX See Note)

This bill modifies an existing law regarding pregnant women in custody to clarify that funding for their care can come from nonprofit organizations or federal grants. The change is a minor amendment that adds specific sources of financial support to the current legal framework. It directly affects state agencies responsible for managing the healthcare of incarcerated pregnant women. The legislation does not alter the core requirement for providing care but expands the list of permissible funding origins.

Bill status signed all 5 stages cleared

Introduction

Mar 2026

Committee Review

May 2026

Senate Passage

Apr 2026

House Passage

May 2026

Signed into Law

May 2026

Introduced Mar 31, 2026 Signed May 29, 2026

Maddy AI version diff · 4 comparisons

What changed between versions

SB470 Original → SB470 Act 520 · 5 edits

MODERATE

The bill was updated from an original draft to its final enrolled version, adding a new sponsor and refining the legal text. The core policy remains focused on protecting pregnant and postpartum prisoners by banning certain restraints and requiring pregnancy testing, but the specific legal citations and definitions were adjusted to align with the final legislative process.

Scope change

The bill's scope remains consistent, targeting pregnant and postpartum individuals in the criminal justice system, though the specific statutes amended were slightly reorganized in the final version.

TECHNICAL

The bill title was updated to indicate it is an 'Enrolled Act No. 520' and the sponsor list was expanded to include additional senators and representatives.

DEFINITION

The definition of 'postpartum' was clarified to specify a minimum duration of six weeks after childbirth, extendable by medical judgment.

REQUIREMENT

Pregnancy testing requirements were updated to specify that tests must be offered to women aged 55 or younger during intake, and results must be documented.

ENFORCEMENT

Restraint restrictions were refined to explicitly ban waist restraints and shackles during transportation and recovery, and to define 'therapeutic restraints' as flex cuffs or soft restraints.

SCOPE

The specific Code of Criminal Procedure articles amended were reorganized and renumbered in the final text compared to the original draft.

Floor votes · Senate Apr 20, 2026 · House May 19, 2026

How they voted

37–0

Passed · 3 other

Total votes 40

Apr 20, 2026

D Democratic12

10 Yea 2

83% Yea

R Republican28

27 Yea 1

96% Yea

Vote distribution

All Yea All Nay Mixed No data

Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions

Key actions

Committee

Amendments

May 19, 2026

Lower · Passed

Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 93, nays 0. Finally passed, ordered to the Senate.

lower

May 13, 2026

Introduced

Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments.

lower

May 12, 2026

Lower · Passed

Reported favorably (10-0). Referred to the Legislative Bureau.

lower

Apr 22, 2026

Committee

Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Administration of Criminal Justice.

lower

Apr 20, 2026

Upper · Passed

Senate floor amendments read and adopted. Read by title and passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays; ordered reengrossed and sent to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.

upper

Apr 14, 2026

Upper · Passed

Reported with amendments.

upper

Mar 31, 2026

Introduced

Introduced in the Senate. Read by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.

upper

1 primary · 12 co-sponsors