§57. Duties of the secretary; appointment of traffic control officers

A.(1) The secretary of the Department of Transportation and Development may, at his discretion, appoint, fix salaries of, and pay traffic control officers in accordance with Department of State Civil Service regulations. The secretary may make and amend rules and regulations for the conduct, management, and control of such officers.

(2) The secretary shall implement the traffic control officer program provided for in this Section only if and to the extent funds are specifically appropriated or made available for it.

B.(1) Persons hired as traffic control officers shall be at least eighteen years of age and of good character. After January 1, 2004, all persons appointed as traffic control officers under this Section shall complete and graduate from a training program as approved and accredited as provided in R.S. 40:2401 et seq., entitled: Peace Officer Standards and Training Law. Each officer so appointed shall furnish bond in accordance with law in a sum to be fixed by the secretary. The bond shall be conditioned on the faithful performance of the officer's duties, and any person injured or damaged by such officer may sue upon such bond.

(2)(a) The traffic control officers shall have, under the direction and control of the secretary, the same powers to regulate and enforce traffic laws and make arrests and the power to execute and return all warrants and processes as police officers of the city of New Orleans on the portion of Interstate 10, in the parish of Orleans, from its eastern intersection with Interstate 610 to the St. Tammany Parish line and the approaches and the public ways contiguous thereto. These traffic control officers, under the same direction and control of the secretary, shall have all other powers of police officers of the city of New Orleans as peace officers, on the portion of Interstate 10, in the parish of Orleans, from its eastern intersection with Interstate 610 to the St. Tammany Parish line and the approaches and the public ways contiguous thereto.

(b) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this Subsection to the contrary, the jurisdiction of the traffic control officers shall be over that portion of Interstate 10, in the parish of Orleans, from its eastern intersection with Interstate 610 to the St. Tammany Parish line.

(c) The traffic control officers shall exercise concurrent police jurisdiction with the police chief of the city of New Orleans under the provisions of this Section unless the police chief of the city of New Orleans gives written notification that such concurrent police jurisdiction is terminated by that law enforcement agency as to the exercise of concurrent jurisdiction within its law enforcement jurisdiction.

(3) In an emergency situation, at the request of the chief of police of the city of New Orleans, the traffic control officers shall have the above-conferred powers throughout the geographic limits of the city of New Orleans until such time as the requesting authority has certified that the emergency no longer exists. An emergency situation declared under the provisions of this Paragraph shall not last more than ten days unless the extension of the emergency situation is approved by a majority of the legislative delegation representing Orleans Parish.

(4) No person appointed as a traffic control officer pursuant to this Section shall receive any state supplemental pay.

C. Any person arrested by traffic control officers appointed under this Section and the return of all warrants or processes served by these officers shall be surrendered or delivered to the appropriate custodial authorities of the city of New Orleans. However, nothing in this Section shall prevent the New Orleans City Police from making arrests or serving warrants or processes in any place or on any premises.

Acts 2003, No. 558, §1, eff. June 27, 2003.