Take Heed, There Are New Laws On The Books
by Mike Hasten - Shreveport Times (excerpt)

BATON ROUGE — Quit text messaging while you're driving, and tell your teenager to turn off the cell phone while behind the wheel.

Those are just two of the many laws that went into effect July 1.

New state laws adopted this year generally go into effect Aug. 15, but many carried specific dates for implementation. More than 50 specified July 1, and a number say they were effective upon signature of the governor.

Many bills, such as the Stelly tax repeal in SB87, by Sen. B.L. "Buddy" Shaw, R-Shreveport, say they are effective upon the governor's signature but are not to be implemented until later.