Can it be that big-government know-it-alls are running amok in the Louisiana Legislature?
And isn’t Louisiana a bastion of small-government, local-control ideology that prides itself on letting communities decide for themselves what’s best for their constituents?
Welcome to paternalistic, big-government (dare I say it?) socialism over yonder in Louisiana.
http://www.theneworleansadvocate.com/home/8778876-172/bill-to-curb-traffic-cameras
A Louisiana House committee has passed a bill that would enable the state to ban the use of electronic cameras to regulate traffic. You know, it’s those dreaded red-light cameras … kind of like those currently deployed right here in Amarillo.
According to the New Orleans Advocate, “The bill would ban local governments from using traffic cameras to issue tickets on state highways, including those within city limits, unless motorists are traveling more than 10 miles per hour over the posted speed limit.”
It passed the Louisiana House Transportation Committee by an 8-7 vote and now heads to the full House for what is likely to be a raucous debate.
The Texas Legislature once had a ban on cities deploying red-light cameras. Then it relented. Some cities now use them with varying degrees of success. Some cities have yanked them, citing public unhappiness over them.
State Rep. Jeff Arnold, D-New Orleans, a critic of the cameras, said, “We are here to stand up for the citizens.”
Well, OK. But what if some cities want the option of deploying them while allowing other cities to forgo them? Isn’t that the essence of small-government legislation? Let communities make these calls for themselves.
That’s not how some folks see it. Some in the Texas Legislature continue to harp on keeping the state’s hands wrapped tightly around these traffic enforcement policies. Meanwhile, mayors and senior city law enforcement authorities say they can use the electronic assistance in helping them enforce traffic laws.
Big government is supposed to be anathema in these so-called “red states,” right? But is it? Really?