Free and unhampered passage on toll bridges and ferries; firemen

A. All firemen shall have free and unhampered passage on and over toll bridges and ferries in this state, regardless of whether the firemen are in uniform or in civilian clothes, if the firemen are performing firefighting or related duties. For purposes of this Section "related duties" shall include traversing to and from their place of employment. Except as provided herein, procedures currently in effect for Louisiana state police to sign a register when granted an exemption from tolls shall also apply to personnel granted an exemption pursuant to the provisions of this Section. However, firemen may have free and unhampered passage if they have a toll tag decal affixed to their windshield. For the purposes of this Section "firemen" shall be defined as in R.S. 33:1991(A). B. Any volunteer fireman shall have free and unhampered passage on and over toll bridges and ferries in this state when such fireman is performing official firefighting or fire prevention services. "Volunteer fireman" shall include any person who is a member of an organized volunteer fire department and who provides firefighting or fire prevention services on a voluntary basis. C. (1) The right of free passage on and over the Crescent City Connection Bridge at New Orleans for firemen shall be exercised only by means of automatic vehicular identification toll tags. (2)(a) Upon the written request of the chief of a municipal or parish fire department or of a fire prevention district and payment of the deposit required by Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph, the Crescent City Connection Division of the Department of Transportation and Development shall issue to such department or district the number of automatic vehicular identification toll tags requested for use in connection with the exemption granted by this Section. (b) Each fireman shall be charged a deposit of twenty-five dollars for the issuance of his tag. The deposit shall be refunded to such fireman upon the return of the tag to the division. (3) The use of the automatic vehicular identification toll tags provided to a fire department or district shall be limited to bridge crossings made by firemen during the performance of fire fighting and related duties. The appropriate fire department or district shall be responsible for any crossing made using the automatic vehicular identification toll tag outside the scope of the exemption granted by this Section. D. The Department of Transportation and Development shall adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act for the administration of the provisions of this Section on those toll bridges and ferries under their jurisdiction.