St. Martin Parish

Statewide

1. June 2015 The Legislature passed Senate Bill 250, which would have set up a statewide pilot program using automatic license plate recognition to find stolen vehicles and uninsured drivers. Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoed it, writing that the plate and location data would sit in a central database open to participating agencies and some private entities even when no violation was found, which he called "a fundamental risk to personal privacy." (Louisiana Legislature, June 2015; IDG News Service (via CIO.de), June 22, 2015)
2. May 2016 SB 54 later died when the House and Governmental Affairs Committee voted 7-3 against it, according to the Associated Press. The plate-reader pilot never became law. (Associated Press (via Insurance Journal), May 26, 2016)
3. May 10, 2016 A follow-up bill, SB 54 by Sen. Ronnie Johns, would have run plate-reader cameras in nine parishes to find uninsured drivers, with sheriffs working with district attorneys, a 60-day cap on keeping most data, and a Jan. 1, 2022, end date. The House Committee on the Administration of Criminal Justice voted 6-5 to defer it on May 10, 2016. (Louisiana Legislature, May 2016; WAFB, May 10, 2016)
4. April 2017 A Louisiana State Police Troop D spokesman told KPLC that troopers use some plate-scanning technology and that agencies across the state use it. (KPLC, April 18, 2017)
5. March 2023 The state Department of Transportation and Development has a separate permit form for automatic license plate cameras on its right-of-way (revised March 2023). The permit must be in the name of a law enforcement agency, and contractors may not hold it. DOTD staff must visit the site first, the cameras may not go on DOTD traffic signal equipment or draw power from it, and the agency must carry insurance and hold DOTD harmless. The form does not address how data is kept or shared. (Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, March 2023)
6. 2024 Act 343 of the 2024 Regular Session added R.S. 14:57.1, which makes it a crime to intentionally vandalize, tamper with or destroy a "crime camera system." The law defines that term to include any license plate reader installed to watch for or deter illegal activity. The penalty is up to two years in prison, a fine of up to $2,000, or both. The statute covers damage to the equipment; it does not regulate how plate data is collected, kept or shared. (Louisiana Legislature, Aug. 1, 2024)
7. Aug. 2026 State Rep. Danny McCormick, who represents District 1, said he intends to propose a bill banning Flock cameras in Louisiana. Until the Legislature meets again next spring, he wants DOTD to stop permitting the cameras, and he said he has filed public records requests with DOTD to learn who owns them. (KTBS 3, Aug. 5, 2026; KNOE, Aug. 12, 2026)
8. Aug. 2026 A Louisiana State Police spokesman confirmed to KNOE that the agency uses Flock cameras. He said they help find vehicles tied to missing or endangered people and wanted persons, and that the agency does not discuss specific technologies or locations. (KNOE, Aug. 12, 2026)
9. Aug. 2026 Louisiana lawmakers approved a 10-year, $192.6 million contract with Motorola that was not competitively bid; Gov. Jeff Landry's chief information officer said her office secured savings in the deal. About $54.4 million is for radios, license plate readers, body cameras and in-car video for State Police, Wildlife and Fisheries, Public Safety and Corrections, Probation and Parole, the Office of Juvenile Justice and the State Fire Marshal. The contract expires Aug. 13, 2036, depends on the Legislature funding it each year, and gives sheriffs and local agencies the same equipment discount as the state. (Louisiana Illuminator, Aug. 14, 2026)

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