INDReporter

Lafayette Parish is getting tough on litter

by Patrick Flanagan

The fight to clean up Lafayette Parish could get some added ammunition with two ordinances up for votes Tuesday by the City-Parish Council targeting litter-bugs.

The fight to clean up Lafayette Parish could get some added ammunition with two ordinances up for votes Tuesday by the City-Parish Council targeting litter-bugs.

The anti-littering efforts of the council fall in line with City-Parish President Joey Durel's Project Front Yard - a recently launched initiative aimed at improving Lafayette's curbside appeal for visitors and potential transplants.  The two ordinances will go before the council Tuesday for final adoption. The first of the ordinances calls for increasing the penalties for littering, while also making the offense prosecutable in city and district courts and by local justices of the peace. It also expands the definition of what constitutes litter, while also creating new penalties for commercial littering.

Under the proposed law, the penalty for first offenders would either be $75 or the option of working eights hours of community service. Second and subsequent offenses would warrant either a $500 fine or 16 hours of community service. For commercial offenders, the first offense fine would be set at $100, followed by a mandatory court appearance for any additional violations.

The second ordinance up for a vote Tuesday enhances the laws governing motor vehicle littering, and expands the power of the law to include litter that flies from a motor vehicle, even if it's unintentional. And this ordinance specifically targets cigarettes and other tobacco products thrown from a vehicle, complete with its own separate set of rules and a costlier set of penalties - this was actually put into state law during the most recent Legislative Session.

The proposed law would also make the driver of the vehicle liable for the violation, and sets the fine for a first conviction on vehicle littering at $250, followed by a $500 fine for a second conviction occurring within 24 months of the first conviction. For any subsequent convictions, the fine is still $500 but also includes anywhere from a three to 30 day stint jail.

For cigarettes thrown from vehicles, the new law calls for a $300 fine for first-time offenders as well as an eight hour community service requirement. A second conviction for cigarette littering would carry a fine of up to $700 and a 16-hour community service requirement. And for third offenders, the penalties get even harsher, with a potential fine of up to $1,000, a one year suspension of the offender's driver's license and 80 hours of community service in a litter abatement program.