The House Ways and Means Committee will hear a bill today that would increase the tax on cigarettes by one dollar. Sean Richardson has more.

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Today, the Senate Judiciary Committee will consider a bill to outlaw speed cameras in the state. SB99 was filed by Monroe Republican Senator Stewart Cathey, who says speed cameras are unconstitutional.

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Cities have maintained that speed cameras are a tool to improve public safety by getting drivers to slow down. Senator Cathey and other critics say they’re nothing but a money grab; he says Mangham, in Richland Parish, collected more money from speed camera fines than property taxes, local sales taxes and franchise fees combined.

If you’re cited for a moving violation within a work zone, your fine could go up significantly, depending on which parish you’re in. DOTD secretary Joe Donahue says the legislature is considering making work zone fines more uniform statewide.

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In 2023, the latest year in which statistics are available, 14 people were killed in Louisiana work zones, with 898 killed nationwide.