The Denham Springs City Council voted on June 10 to deny a city ordinance that would ban the sale and possession of kratom so the ordinance can be redrafted to match a new state law.

Council members said the state legislature enacted and the governor signed a law addressing the sale and possession of the substance after the city's ordinance was introduced. City staff recommended denying the local ordinance and preparing replacement language that mirrors the state statute so the city code and state law align.

Mayor Gerard Landry and council members closed the public hearing after no members of the public spoke on the item. Councilman Gilbert moved to deny the ordinance so a new, state-consistent draft could be prepared; the motion received a second and was approved in roll call vote.

Council members did not describe substantive differences between the original local draft and the newly signed state law during the meeting; the city clerk and staff said the revised ordinance will be drafted for a future meeting. The council did not adopt any penalty schedule or effective date at this meeting; those details were to be included in the rewritten ordinance.

The public hearing was declared closed before the council moved on to other agenda items.