The 2009 Louisiana Legislative session winds down today after heated debates.RED-LIGHT CAMERA BILLRed-light cameras will continue to catch Louisiana motorists after a bill to ban the equipment was voted down in a House committee early in the Legislative session. Rep. Cedric Richmond and Jeffery Arnold’s bill failed, 9-7, in the Committee on Transportation, Highways and Public Works on May 18. After Richmond, D-New Orleans, and Arnold, D-New Orleans, presented their bill that would have banned the state from using red-light cameras to patrol drivers’ running a red light, and arguments continued for two hours from both sides. “This is truly a money grab,” Richmond said to the committee. “If you really want to decrease those accidents you could increase the yellow light.” Arnold told the committee that citizens aren’t given a due process to fight the tickets. After receiving a ticket, the driver must go before a hearing officer but cannot appeal the ticket unless a lawsuit is filed.”You are guilty until proven innocent,” Arnold said.Rep. Jack Montoucet, D-Crowely, said he was opposed to the bill because he believed the red light cameras were effective for helping drivers to run less red lights.”It’s made me aware of my driving habits,” Montoucet said. A Lafayette city-parish councilman argued the red-light cameras never were a “money grab” in his city. He said the program was working in Lafayette to enforce traffic safety. But the bill never made it out of the committee for debate.CELL PHONE BILLA Senate committee killed a bill that would have banned motorists from using handheld cell phones when driving.Rep. Austin Badon’s cell phone ban was stopped again. The bill also failed in last year’s session. Badon, D-New Orleans, told the Louisiana House in the floor debate in May more than 4,000 motor accidents in the state were related to handheld cell phones. Law enforcers have said cell phones are the No. 1 problem on highways, Badon said. Five states have previously banned using handheld devices. “We have the technology to fix this problem,” Badon said. If passed, a violator would be fined $100 for a first offense and cited for a moving violation. House Bill 146 passed through the House on May 27, 57-41, but did not make it out the Senate Transportation, Highways and Public Works Committee on June 18.NATURAL GAS BILLA bill providing tax incentives for Louisiana residents using or selling natural gas vehicles is waiting for Governor Bobby Jindal’s approval or veto. Rep. Jane Smith and Sen. Nick Gautreaux’s bill will provide tax credits for citizens purchasing or converting vehicles to using natural resources or installing equipment to pump natural gas if signed by the governor. Smith told The Daily Reveille at the beginning of the session the bill aims to create incentives and encourages people to begin making the transition to cleaner fuel. “[We] cannot let this opportunity pass us by,” Smith said. “We’re going to be doing a great service to the state and to America.”The bill passed through the House, 84-12, on June 4 and was unanimously passed in the Senate.—-Contact Joy Lukachick at [email protected]