CHAPTER 21. STATEWIDE BEAUTIFICATION

PART I. LOUISIANA LITTER VIOLATIONS AND PENALTIES

§2531. Intentional littering prohibited; criminal penalties; simple littering prohibited; civil penalties; special court costs

            A. Intentional littering. (1) No person shall intentionally dispose or permit the disposal of litter upon any public place in the state, upon private property in this state not owned by him, upon property located in rural areas in this state not owned by him, or in or on the waters of this state, whether from a vehicle or otherwise, including but not limited to any public highway, public right-of-way, public park, beach, campground, forest land, recreational area, trailer park, highway, road, street, or alley, except when such property is designated by the state or by any of its agencies or political subdivisions for the disposal of such litter and such person is authorized to use such property for such purpose.

            (2) Whoever violates the provisions of this Subsection shall:

            (a) Upon first conviction, be fined five hundred dollars and sentenced to serve eight hours of community service in a litter abatement work program as approved by the court.

            (b) Upon second conviction, be fined nine hundred dollars and sentenced to serve twenty hours of community service in a litter abatement work program as approved by the court.

            (c) Upon third or subsequent conviction, be fined two thousand five hundred dollars, have his motor vehicle driver's license suspended for one year, and be sentenced to serve eighty hours of community service in a litter abatement work program as approved by the court, or all or any combination of the penalties provided by this Subparagraph.

            (3) Whoever violates the provisions of this Subsection by the intentional disposal or permitting the disposal of cigarettes, cigarette butts, cigars, cigarillos, or cigar or cigarillo tips from a motor vehicle shall:

            (a) Upon first conviction, be fined three hundred dollars and sentenced to serve eight hours of community service in a litter abatement work program as approved by the court.

            (b) Upon second conviction, be fined seven hundred dollars and sentenced to serve sixteen hours of community service in a litter abatement work program as approved by the court.

            (c) Upon third or subsequent conviction, be fined one thousand five hundred dollars, have his motor vehicle driver's license suspended for one year, and be sentenced to serve eighty hours of community service in a litter abatement work program as approved by the court, or all or any combination of the penalties provided by this Subparagraph.

            (4) A violation of this Subsection shall be cited within one year of the date on which law enforcement knew or reasonably should have known of the commission of the act.

            B. Simple littering. (1) No person shall dispose of, or create a condition that the person knew or should have known was likely to result in the disposal of, litter upon any public place in this state, upon private property in this state not owned by him, upon property located in a rural area in this state not owned by him, or in or on the waters of this state, whether from a vehicle or otherwise, including but not limited to any public highway, public right-of-way, public park, beach, campground, forest land, recreational area, trailer park, highway, road, street, or alley.

            (2) Persons found liable under the provisions of this Subsection shall be assessed the following civil penalties and costs:

            (a) For a first violation, such person shall either be fined one hundred fifty dollars or given the option to perform eight hours of community service in a litter abatement work program in lieu of the assessed one hundred fifty dollar fine.

            (b) For a second and each subsequent violation, such person shall either be fined nine hundred dollars or be given the option to perform twenty hours of community service in a litter abatement work program in lieu of the nine hundred dollar fine.

            (3) A violation of this Subsection shall be cited within one year of the date on which law enforcement knew or reasonably should have known of the commission of the act.

            C. Whoever violates the provisions of this Section shall pay special court costs of one hundred dollars in lieu of other costs of court, and the special court costs shall be disbursed as follows:

            (1) For simple littering violations cited and prosecuted by the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries:

            (a) Seventy-five dollars shall be paid to the state treasury for credit to the Conservation Fund.

            (b) Twenty-five dollars shall be paid to the state treasury for credit to the Litter Abatement and Education Account.

            (2) For all other violations:

            (a) Twenty dollars shall be paid to the judicial expense fund for that judicial district, or to the justice of the peace or the city court, as the case may be.

            (b) Twenty dollars shall be paid to the office of the district attorney, to the constable, or to the municipal prosecuting attorney, as the case may be.

            (c) Ten dollars shall be paid to the clerk of the district court, or to the justice of the peace or the city court, as the case may be.

            (d) Twenty-five dollars shall be paid to the state treasury for credit to the Litter Abatement Account.

            (e) Twenty-five dollars shall be paid to the law enforcement agency that issued the citation.

            D.(1) If the litter is disposed from a motor vehicle, boat, or conveyance, except a bus or large passenger vehicle or a school bus, all as defined in R.S. 32:1, there shall be an inference that the driver of the conveyance disposed of the litter. If such litter was possessed by a specific person immediately before the act of disposing, there shall be an inference that the possessor committed the act of disposing. If there is photographic evidence of the license plate of a vehicle from which litter is disposed, there shall be an inference that the registered owner of the vehicle has violated this Section.

            (2) When litter disposed in violation of this Section is discovered to contain any article or articles, including but not limited to letters, bills, publications, or other writings, which display the name of a person or in any other manner indicate that the article belongs or belonged to such person, there shall be an inference that such person has violated this Section.

            E. A person who violates this Section shall be cited for the offense by means of a citation, summons, or other means provided by law.

            F. A person may be found guilty or held liable and fined under this Section although the commission of the offense did not occur in the presence of a law enforcement officer if the evidence presented to the court establishes that the defendant has committed the offense.

            G. For the purposes of this Section, each occurrence shall constitute a separate violation.

            H. In addition to penalties otherwise provided, a person convicted or held liable under this Section shall:

            (1) Repair or restore property damaged by or pay damages for any damage arising out of the violation of this Section.

            (2) Pay all reasonable investigative expenses and costs to the investigative agency or agencies.

            I. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, this Section shall not apply to any activity by persons owning or operating duly licensed commercial vehicles engaged in the collection and transportation of solid waste, construction, or demolition debris or wood waste, as such terms are defined by the rules and regulations of the Department of Environmental Quality, occurring in the course of servicing scheduled pickup routes pursuant to commercial or local government contracts or en route to an authorized pickup station, transfer station, or disposal facility. To qualify for the exemption provided for in this Subsection, the commercial vehicle shall be covered at all times, except during loading and unloading, in a manner that prevents rain from reaching the waste, prevents waste from falling or blowing from the vehicle, and ensures that leachate from the waste is not discharged from the vehicle during transportation.

            Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 148, §3; Acts 2003, No. 950, §3, eff. Jan. 1, 2004; Acts 2007, No. 233, §1; Acts 2014, No. 100, §1; Acts 2015, No. 368, §1; Acts 2017, No. 128, §1; Acts 2018, No. 509, §1; Acts 2022, No. 15, §1; Acts 2022, No. 17, §1; Acts 2022, No. 101, §1; Acts 2023, No. 78, §1.