Can a Louisiana police chief adopt a policy allowing drivers to exceed posted speed limits?

Plain-English summary

McNary's police chief asked whether he could set a policy allowing officers to overlook slight speeds above a posted limit caused by a driver's variable acceleration. In 2005, the Attorney General said a department policy granting discretion to enforce a higher effective speed conflicted with the state rules for setting speed limits. LSA-R.S. 32:41 allowed municipalities to establish speed limits and zones only within state-law bounds, and a change required an ordinance rather than the chief's policy.

The AG contrasted an earlier opinion about ticket quotas, where no state-law limit on the number of tickets existed. Here, the proposed policy implicated speeds fixed by law and the prescribed way to change them. The office did not find an opinion recognizing municipal traffic-ticket revenue needs or a reported decision in the case the chief mentioned.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005 under the cited traffic law. Verify current speed-zone authority, state limits, and municipal ordinances before changing an enforcement policy.

What this means for you

Police chiefs and patrol officers

The opinion rejected the proposed standing policy to treat driving above the posted speed as permitted. It addressed the department's policy power and lawful speed-setting process; it did not decide the facts of an individual traffic stop.

Municipal councils and drivers

The AG said a municipality could establish or modify local speed limits by ordinance, subject to the state restrictions in LSA-R.S. 32:41. A police chief's internal policy could not substitute for that ordinance.

Common questions

Could the chief announce a tolerance above the sign's speed?

The AG said that proposed policy conflicted with the statute governing speed limits and their modification.

Could the town change a speed zone at all?

The opinion said municipal authorities could adopt ordinances for non-state-maintained highways within their limits, provided the limits did not exceed state maximums or conflict with the Highway Regulatory Act.

Did the AG decide whether a specific officer must ticket every slight speeding incident?

No. The request concerned a department policy granting discretion above posted speeds, and the opinion addressed that policy's conflict with the statutory speed-setting framework.

Background and statutory framework

LSA-R.S. 32:41(A)(9) addressed municipal speed limits and zones. Subsection (13) allowed additional local traffic regulations on qualifying highways only if they did not modify or conflict with state provisions. The opinion distinguished a chief's authority over enforcement activity from the municipal ordinance required to alter a speed limit.

Citations

• LSA-R.S. 32:41(A)(9) (municipal speed-limit authority).
• LSA-R.S. 32:41(A)(13) (nonconflicting additional traffic regulation).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0189

Original opinion text

April 26, 2005
OPINION NUMBER 05-0189

77- Officers; 71- Municipalities

Malcolm English, Chief of Police Implementing or formulating a policy granting police officers discretion in enforcing traffic speeds above the posted
McNary Police Department
speed in a given speed zone is in direct conflict with the
P.O.Box 1197
provisions establishing speed limits set forth in LSA-R.S.
Glenmora, Louisiana 71433
32:41 of the Louisiana Highway Regulatory Act.

Dear Mr. English:

Your request for an Attorney General’s opinion was forwarded to me for research and reply. In particular, you asked whether a police department can enact a policy whereby discretion can be granted to a patrol officer in enforcing traffic speeds above the posted speed in a given speed zone? In your request, you explained that such a policy would be implemented for circumstances wherein an officer would not be required to enforce slight speeding infractions based on a driver’s variable accelerations above the posted speed limit.

Pursuant to Louisiana Revised Statute 32:41, a municipality has general police power to adopt certain ordinances relating to traffic as long as the regulations do not modify, or conflict with the provisions of the Louisiana Highway Regulatory Act.

Specifically, LSA-R.S. 32:41(A)(9) and (13) provides that:

A. Except as otherwise provided by law, this Chapter shall not be deemed to prevent local municipal authorities, with respect to highways other than state maintained highways within their corporate limits, from adopting ordinances:

(9) Establishing speed limits and speed zones, provided that no speed shall be permitted which is in excess of the specific maximum speed limits established by this Chapter.

(13) Creating additional regulations controlling traffic upon non- state maintained highways within their corporate limits under their general police power so long as such regulations do not modify, or conflict with, the provisions of this Chapter or regulations of the department and the commissioner adopted pursuant hereto.

Page 2

Malcolm English
Opinion No. 05-0189
Page 2

Under LSA-R.S. 32:41, local municipal authorities are given authority to adopt ordinances controlling traffic speeds on highways within their corporate limits as long as the speed limits do not exceed those already mandated by state law. If such speed limits are established or modified within the corporate limits, the amendment must be implemented by way of ordinance and not by a policy put in place by the chief of police.

In La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 97-470 (see enclosed), our office addressed a similar issue of whether the chief of police had authority to set quotas for the amount of traffic tickets issued within a certain period of time. In that opinion we cited, Lentini v. City of Kenner, 211 So.2d 311 (La. 1968) and Cogswell v. Town of Logansport, 321 So.2d 774 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1975), for the proposition that the chief of police is charged with the general responsibility for law enforcement, including the obligation of enforcing municipal ordinances and applicable state laws. There we concluded that the chief of police had authority to set quotas for the amount of traffic tickets issued as part of his power to control the enforcement of state laws and municipal ordinances under LSA-R.S. 33:423. There is no state law or prohibition on the amount of tickets that may be issued by a particular municipality. Distinguishably, the issue here involves the modification of traffic speeds already mandated by state law and a procedure for such modification. Thus, implementing or formulating a policy granting police officers’ discretion in enforcing traffic speeds above the posted speed in a given speed zone is in direct conflict with the provisions set forth in LSA-R.S. 32:41 of the Louisiana Highway Regulatory Act.

In addressing your other concerns, we regret to inform you that our research did not reveal an opinion specifically acknowledging a small municipalities’ need to enforce speed or other traffic zones as a necessary source of revenue, nor did we find a reported decision for the case you mentioned, Steelman v. Jordan.

We hope the foregoing opinion has sufficiently addressed your concerns. If our office may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: ____
CHARLENE PATTERSON
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

Page 3

Malcolm English
Opinion No. 05-0189
Page 3

SYLLABUS

OPINION 05-0189

77- Officers

71- Municipalities

Implementing or formulating a policy granting police officers discretion in enforcing traffic speeds above the posted speed in a given speed zone is in direct conflict with the provisions establishing speed limits set forth in LSA-R.S. 32:41 of the Louisiana Highway Regulatory Act.

Malcolm English, Chief of Police
McNary Police Department
P. O. Box 1197
Glenmora, Louisiana 71433

Date Received:

Date Released: April 26, 2005

Charlene Patterson
Assistant Attorney General