Louisiana bill seeks to limit traffic cameras

Senate Bill 396, which was to be held May 8 in the Senate Local and Municipal Affairs Committee, would make it against the law for photographs to be taken from the front of red-light-running vehicles, which allows whoever evaluates the pictures to see the passengers.

"We must strike a balance between providing public safety and protecting people's privacy rights," said the bill’s creator, La. Sen. Troy Hebert, D-Jeanerette Hebert. "This is a slippery slope that we are going down, and the state needs to ensure that certain rules and guidelines are established before there is a camera on every street corner. That's not the America I know and love."

The bill also makes it illegal for governments to provide private information, such as Social Security numbers, to the companies contracted to operate the cameras.