The red light cameras in Louisiana have stirred controversy during the past year, and the debate will be discussed in this year’s legislative session.The cameras that allow public officials to catch drivers running a light haven’t cost the government anything, but drivers have paid.In East Baton Rouge Parish, 27,742 citations were issued from February 2008 to February 2009, according to The Traffic Engineering Division of the Department of Public Works.But two Louisiana lawmakers are challenging the laws that allow red light cameras, introducing a new bill on the legislative agenda.State Reps. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, and Jeff Arnold, D-New Orleans, are proposing a bill that would prohibit local authorities in any parish from enforcing traffic laws with red light cameras. The House Transportation Committee will hear the bill in the legislative session that started April 25.”[Red light cameras] are just a revenue generator,” Richmond said.Richmond said the red light cameras are unconstitutional in several ways, explaining the information an officer uses to decide if a person is guilty of violating a traffic law and the civil suit is served through the mail when all civil suits are legally supposed to be served personally.Traffic Engineering division engineer Sarah Edel said all the money in East Baton Rouge parish is dedicated to traffic safety. Edel said the money is in a fund that has not been spent yet, but will be used for low budget safety traffic projects.”We take pride in our program,” Edel said. “We take great steps to ensure privacy.”While at least 18 states have allowed red light cameras, six states have banned or restricted their use, according to a report by the National Conference of State Legislatures.  Before the lawmakers proposed the red light camera bill, The Traffic Engineering Division had begun plans to install four new cameras in East Baton Rouge Parish. But Edel said the project is on hold to wait for the legislature’s final decision on the cameras.Currently, 24 cameras are installed at 15 intersections, according to the traffic engineering division.Another problem the senator has with red light cameras is they increase rear-end collisions because the driver has to make sudden stops. “If you want to reduce the number of crashes … you extend the yellow light by one second,” Richmond said.But Edel said the numbers of traffic citations are showing that red light cameras are working to at least cut down on the number of drivers who run the red lights.  “The evidence that we’re seeing is [the] number of citations issued is starting to even out and staying equal from month to month,” Edel said. College Drive at Interstate 10 had 358 citations issued in October 2008, and the numbers decreased to 284 by February 2009. The Nicholson Drive at Burbank Drive intersection shows 106 drivers were issued citations in October 2008, and the number decreased to 23 citations issued by February 2009.Another Louisiana lawmaker has a different idea about controlling red light cameras.Rep, Eddie Lambert, R-Gonzales, proposed a separate bill about red light cameras which would give 50 percent of the revenue from the camera’s tickets to the state. Lambert’s proposal would allow the cameras to remain in use.The bill states a fair, impartial hearing must be held in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, and a driver found guilty cannot pay more than $150 for a first time offense.—-Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]