Jefferson Parish chiefs urge local option for speed cameras; committee defers bill

Representative Cox presented House Bill 11 59 to let municipal police departments in Jefferson Parish operate automated speed‑enforcement programs exempt from last year’s statewide restrictions.

A coalition of police chiefs from Jefferson Parish described how the technology reduced crashes and fatalities in their jurisdictions. Chief Lawson of the Gretna Police Department and Deputy Chief Jason DeMarco said photo enforcement cut fatalities on a stretch of LaPalco Boulevard to zero after the city deployed cameras. “Photo enforcement has proven to slow vehicular traffic down... By slowing traffic down, we decrease the number of crashes, but it also saves lives,” DeMarco said.

Dwayne Munch (Westwego police) told the committee his department saw a 63% increase in traffic accidents on a corridor after cameras were removed. Small department chiefs said revenue from citations historically helped fund body cameras, in‑car cameras and other safety technology; they described local contest procedures and said vendor contracts historically gave vendors a share of collected fines (one example cited: on a $69 citation the vendor received $25).

Members raised procedural concerns about singling out one parish by population designation and about exposing the floor to repeated local amendments; the chair and author discussed alternatives and other instruments in process. The committee first moved to involuntarily defer the bill and later accepted a voluntary deferral after additional member motions.

What happens next: HB 11 59 was deferred so members can consider broader instruments and avoid opening the House floor to serial local amendments.