Louisiana Legislative Session Yields Cyber, Privacy Laws

Source Domain: www.govtech.com

During Louisiana’s 2026 legislative session, which adjourned June 1, lawmakers focused on two questions: What happens when local governments are hit by cyber attacks, and how much control should residents have over their personal information?

Answers emerged through a series of technology measures that address cybersecurity, data sharing and consumer privacy and have been signed into law. One places new cybersecurity expectations on local governments that turn to the state for help after a cyber incident. Another creates new privacy rights for consumers and limits how some businesses can collect and use personal information. And a third seeks to standardize how state agencies exchange information through a framework designed to support privacy-compliant data sharing.

Of the three, state Senate Bill 75 may have the biggest impact on local governments.

The legislation, sponsored by state Sen. Valarie Hodges, directs the Governor’s Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness to develop cybersecurity standards for local governments seeking state assistance after a cyber attack or other cybersecurity incident.

Specifically, the law requires the agency to create rules “establishing cybersecurity standards applicable to local governmental subdivisions and political subdivisions that seek state assistance in response to a cybersecurity incident.”

Those standards must include “technical management practices that assure cybersecurity compliance with national cybersecurity standards” and spell out what local governments must do if they want state assistance.

The bill does not prevent the state from helping communities that fall short of those standards. But it does create financial consequences. Under the law, state officials may still provide assistance during an incident. However, “reimbursement of costs associated with these services shall be the obligation of the noncompliant local…

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