§ 47:820.5.4 — LA 1 Project toll violations

Louisiana § 47:820.5.4

• Jurisdiction: Louisiana
• Title 47: Revenue and Taxation

Text

§820.5.4. LA 1 Project toll violations
A. In the exercise of its authority to impose tolls, the Louisiana Transportation
Authority and its agent, the Department of Transportation and Development, hereafter in this
Section referred to as the "LTA", are authorized to exercise so much of the police powers of
the state as shall be necessary to maintain the peace and accomplish the orderly handling of
authority, subject to the provisions of this Section.
B. Terms as defined in R.S. 32:1 shall retain such definitions, unless such term or
terms are specifically defined in this Subsection. As used in this Section, unless the context
otherwise indicates, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Electronic mail" means a message, file, or other information that is transmitted
through a local, regional, or global computer network.
(2) "Electronic mail address" means a destination, commonly expressed as a string
of characters, to which electronic mail may be sent or delivered.
(3) "Electronic toll collection" or "ETC" means a system of collecting tolls or
charges that is capable of charging an account holder for the appropriate toll by transmission
of information between a device on a motor vehicle and a toll collection facility.
(4) "Pay" means paying a toll by cash, by permitting a charge against a valid toll tag
account with the LTA, or by another means of payment approved by the LTA as applicable
at the time.
(5) "Photo-monitoring system" means a motor vehicle sensor installed to work in
conjunction with a toll collection facility that automatically produces a photograph,
microphotograph, videotape, or other recorded image of a motor vehicle or trailer when the
operator of the motor vehicle fails to pay a toll.
(6) "Recreational vessel" means any vessel that is manufactured or used primarily for
pleasure or leased, rented, or chartered to a person for the pleasure of that person. The term
"recreational vessel" does not include a vessel that is engaged in commercial use or carries
paying passengers.
(7) "Registered owner" means a person in whose name a motor vehicle or trailer is
registered under the law of a jurisdiction, including a person issued a dealer or transporter
registration plate or a lessor of motor vehicles for public lease.
(8) "Toll" or "tolls" means tolls, fees, or charges as imposed, revised, and adjusted
from time to time by LTA.
(9) "Toll tag" means the electronic device that the LTA issues for use with the ETC
on the LA 1 Project.
(10) "Valid toll-tag account" means an existing toll-tag account with the LTA with
a balance of not less than fifty cents.
C. No motor vehicle shall be driven and no motor vehicle or trailer shall be towed
through the toll collection facility of the LA 1 Project without payment of the proper toll.
In the event of nonpayment of the proper toll, as evidenced by video or electronic recording,
the registered owner of such vehicle or trailer shall be liable to make prompt payment to the
LTA of the proper toll and, in certain circumstances, an administrative fee of twenty-five
dollars to recover the cost of collecting the toll.
D. A motor vehicle or trailer that is not toll tag equipped may not pass through a
dedicated toll-tag lane. A toll tag equipped motor vehicle that passes through the toll
collection facility of the LA 1 Project incurs a toll, and the LTA shall charge the account
holder for the appropriate toll. Valid toll-tag accounts shall not be charged the administrative
fee of twenty-five dollars.
E. The registered owner is prima facie responsible for the payment of the toll,
administrative fees, and late charges that the LTA assesses in accordance with this Section,
and it is not a defense to liability under this Section that a registered owner was not operating
the motor vehicle or trailer at the time of the failure to pay. However, if a report that the
motor vehicle or trailer was stolen is given to a law enforcement officer or agency before the
failure to pay a LTA toll occurs or within forty-eight hours after the registered owner
becomes aware of the theft, the registered owner shall not be liable under this Section.
F. The following procedures shall be taken for the collection of tolls, administrative
fees, and late charges under this Section:
(1) The LTA shall send a violation notice by first-class mail to a person alleged to
be liable as a registered owner of the vehicle at the address shown on the records of the
Louisiana Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of motor vehicles. The LTA
may aggregate multiple violations in one violation notice. A manual or automatic record of
the mailing prepared in the ordinary course of business of the LTA is prima facie evidence
of the mailing of the notice.
(2) The violation notice shall include the name and address of the person alleged to
be liable as a registered owner for the failure to pay a toll or tolls under this Section, the
amount of the toll or tolls not paid, the registration number of the vehicle or trailer involved,
the date and the approximate time of the failure or failures to pay the toll or tolls, the
administrative fees due, an electronic mail address and physical or post office box mailing
address to which an appeal may be sent, and such other information as the LTA may deem
appropriate.
(3) The violation notice shall also include a warning that the registered owner must
pay the toll or tolls and administrative fees stated in the notice or appeal the violation by
making a request for a hearing to the LTA within thirty days after issuance and describe the
means and content of the response for payment or appeal. The violation notice shall also
include a statement notifying the registered owner that he may waive his right to a hearing
by notifying the LTA that he is waiving this right and appealing the violation by request for
a written disposition. The failure of the registered owner to appeal the violation in one of the
manners provided and within the delays allowed shall be deemed to be an admission of
liability and a waiver of available defenses.
(4) Within thirty calendar days after the date of the issuance of the violation notice,
the registered owner to whom the violation notice is issued must either pay the tolls and
administrative fees provided by this Section, or appeal the violation as provided by this
Section.
(5) The registered owner may, without waiving judicial review, appeal a violation
notice by notifying the LTA in writing, by either mail or electronic mail, that he is waiving
his right to a hearing and requests a review and written disposition of the violation from a
LTA violation clerk by mail or electronic mail. This appeal must contain a signed statement
from the registered owner explaining the basis for the appeal. The signed statement must be
accompanied by signed statements from witnesses, police officers, government officials, or
other relevant parties or photographs, diagrams, maps, or other relevant documents that the
registered owner determines to submit. Statements or materials sent to a violation clerk for
review must have attached to them the name, address, and electronic mail address of the
registered owner as well as the number of the violation notice and the date of the violation.
All information submitted by the registered owner becomes part of the violation record. The
violation clerk shall, within sixty days of receipt of such material, review the material and
dismiss or uphold the violation and notify the registered owner of the disposition of the
violation in writing by mail or electronic mail. If the appeal by request for written
disposition is denied, the violation clerk shall explain the reasons for the determination. The
violation clerk shall have the authority to waive the administrative fees, in whole or in part,
for good cause shown.
(6) A registered owner issued a violation notice may make a written statement for
an appeal hearing before an agent designated by the LTA. The violation clerk shall, within
thirty days of receipt of a request for an appeal, notify the registered owner in writing by first-class mail of the date, time, and place of the hearing. The hearing shall be informal, the rules
of evidence shall not apply, the Administrative Procedure Act shall not apply, and the
decision of the agent shall be final, subject to a judicial review. The parties to the appeal
hearing shall be notified in person or by mail or electronic mail of the decision following the
hearing. Each written appeal decision shall contain a statement of reasons for the decision,
including a determination of each issue of fact necessary to the decision. Failure to appear
at the date, time, and place specified on the hearing notice shall automatically result in denial
of the appeal. The hearing agent shall have the authority to waive administrative fees, in
whole or in part, for good cause shown.
(7) Electronic mail sent by the registered owner to the address provided in the
violation notice shall be presumptive evidence of receipt by the LTA. Electronic mail sent
by the LTA to the address provided by the registered owner shall be presumptive evidence
of receipt by the registered owner.
G.(1) Failure to comply with the requirements of this Section shall result in the
following late charges or sanctions, or both, against the registered owner:
(a) The LTA may assess the following penalties for late payment, for failure to pay,
or for otherwise failing to respond or both against the registered owner:
(i) A registered owner who fails to pay the administrative fees specified in a violation
notice and who fails to appeal a violation notice as provided by this Section within thirty
calendar days after the date of the issuance of the violation notice shall incur a late charge
of five dollars. A registered owner who fails to respond to a violation notice within sixty
calendar days after the date of issuance of the violation notice shall not be able to renew his
driver's license until all matters regarding the alleged toll violation are disposed of in
accordance with law. The violation clerk shall notify the registered owner by first-class mail
of this delinquency and consequences thereof.
(ii) A registered owner who fails to respond to a violation notice as provided by this
Section within sixty calendar days after the date of the issuance of the violation notice shall
be prohibited from renewing his driver's license. The violation clerk shall notify the
Louisiana office of motor vehicles of this delinquency. Upon notice from a violation clerk
of the LTA, the office of motor vehicles shall place the matter on record and shall not renew
the driver's license of the registered owner or the registration of the vehicle until after notice
from the violation clerk that the matters have been disposed of in accordance with law.
(b) After a notice to the office of motor vehicles provided in Item (a)(iii) of this
Paragraph, the LTA shall not be required to send violation notices of delinquency to
registered owners with ten or more toll violations. However, the tolls and administrative fees
of such registered owner shall continue to accumulate.
(2) The LTA may pursue such civil and criminal action as it deems appropriate to
collect the tolls and administrative fees assessed in the violation notice as well as such
subsequent late charges assessed in accordance with this Section.
H.(1) A photograph, microphotograph, videotape, or other recorded image produced
by a photo-monitoring device is admissible in a proceeding to collect a toll or other charge
of the LTA, to collect criminal penalties imposed, or to impose criminal liability for a failure
to pay the toll or charge.
(2) An original or facsimile of a certificate, sworn to or affirmed by an agent of the
LTA that states that a failure to pay has occurred and states that it is based upon a personal
inspection of a photograph, microphotograph, videotape, or other recorded image produced
by a photo-monitoring system, as defined in this Section, is prima facie evidence of the facts
contained in the certificate.
(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, a photograph,
microphotograph, videotape, or other recorded image prepared for enforcement of LTA tolls
is for the exclusive use of the LTA in the discharge of its duties under this Section.
I. The LTA shall from time to time designate one or more violation clerks and agents
to perform the functions specified in this Section at the pleasure of the LTA and for such
finite or indefinite period as the LTA deems desirable. The LTA shall supervise and
coordinate the processing of violation notices in accordance with this Section. The LTA may
hire or designate such personnel and organize such sections as the LTA may deem necessary,
or contract for such services, in order to carry out the provisions of this Section.
J. The tolls and fees to be collected, as herein provided, are to be deposited in
accordance with the Master Indenture of Trust dated as of April 1, 2005, and all supplements
thereto, and in furtherance of the provisions of R.S. 48:2071 through 2083, inclusive, with
such funds to be deposited and expended in accordance with the foregoing in the trustee
accounts as provided in such bond indentures as amended.

Legislative History

Acts 2007, No. 342, §1; Acts 2010, No. 775, §2, eff. June 30, 2010; Acts 2013, No. 206, §1, eff. June 10, 2013; Acts 2024, No. 361, §1.