BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — A handful of Louisiana laws take effect with the start of the new year.

Water bills will rise by a few dollars a year to support drinking water inspections. State museums can start hiring police officers. And new regulations are aimed at protecting the elderly from financial abuse.

Nineteen new or revised statutes are slated to hit the books when 2017 begins, passed by lawmakers during their spring legislative sessions.

Louisiana's community water systems will raise fees on nearly 1.6 million customers from $3.20 to $12 a year to help cover the state Office of Public Health's drinking water inspection program. Overall, that should raise $13.5 million annually for the program doing safety tests on the state's drinking water supply.

 

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