BATON ROUGE — Attorney General Liz Murrill on Friday reminded Louisiana residents of several new state laws set to take effect Aug. 1.

The laws cover a range of areas including student athlete protections, gang violence, child safety and victims' rights.

Senate Bill 389 focuses on Name, Image and Likeness deals for student athletes. The law establishes regulatory guidelines for athlete agents, gives student athletes the right to sue agents directly for actual damages, attorney fees and forfeiture of the agent's compensation if they suffer harm to their eligibility, finances or reputation. It also introduces background checks and disclosure requirements for agents.

House Bill 789 allows law enforcement to seize off-road vehicles used in violation of the law.

Another measure, HB 102, expands the definition of first-degree murder to include shootings and gang violence in public venues. The change is a direct response to the shooting at the Mall of Louisiana, which took the life of 17-year-old bystander Martha Odom and injured five others. That same bill also creates the crime of second-degree cruelty to the elderly and persons with infirmities, bringing penalties in line with protections provided to children and covering those with intellectual disabilities, people in mental health facilities and nursing home residents.

Two laws address child sexual abuse material. SB 110 makes it illegal to use the image of a child to generate child sexual abuse materials through artificial intelligence. The other, HB 305, aims to minimize the need to duplicate and share child sexual abuse materials in investigations.

HB 131 closes a loophole that allowed convicted individuals to be released on bail before the state exhausted its rights to appeal when a district court granted post-conviction relief without a stay. The change keeps a convicted individual in jail until the appellate process is complete.

HB 243 requires that when a district attorney recuses from a prosecution, the attorney general steps in to prosecute the case. It also ensures only a qualified prosecutor is appointed if the attorney general has a conflict as well.

HB 251, focused on crime victims, requires Louisiana courts to give victims the opportunity to be heard before a final conviction is vacated or a sentence is reduced. It also requires written notice to victims and allows a victim's family to speak if the victim is deceased or disabled.

HB 310 addresses judge-shopping by requiring a case be reassigned to another judge when a criminal defendant waives a jury trial. The district attorney or attorney general can waive that reassignment.

HB 355 extends citizenship verification requirements to nonprofits before they can receive taxpayer-funded assistance, applying the same standard already required of state agencies and other entities.

For more laws taking effect on Saturday, click here.