Kenner drivers might not have to buy one more brake tag after all. District 5 Councilman Danny Riehm is pushing legislation that would kill the city's brake-tag requirement immediately, rather than letting it limp along until its previously scheduled end date of Jan. 1, 2027.
Riehm says he is introducing legislation to immediately repeal the city's brake tag requirement, according to WDSU. Under his proposal, the repeal would take effect once the City Council passes it, the mayor signs it and it is advertised for 10 days — a process that could move much faster than the ordinance already on the books. Kenner's current ordinance, approved earlier this year, does not end the brake-tag program until Jan. 1, 2027, per the same report.
Riehm has framed the timing gap as unfair to drivers. He said it is wrong to require drivers to buy a brake tag for the remainder of the year when they will not be ticketed for going without one. The councilman has spearheaded the broader effort to scrap the requirement across the city.
A Vote Set for Friday
The legislation was introduced at the City Council's Sept. 3 meeting, with a final vote scheduled for Friday, Sept. 18. That vote would decide whether to accelerate the effective date of the brake-tag repeal the council already approved earlier this year.
Kenner Police Chief Keith Conley has voiced support for ending the requirement early, which would also end police enforcement of it, the station's report notes. The financial stakes for the city are modest either way: Kenner officials have said brake-tag revenue comes to roughly $200,000 a year, about what the program costs to run, according to Fox 8. Police issue about 400 brake-tag citations annually, compared with roughly 900 moving-violation citations every month, per the same station.
State Law Already Paused Enforcement
None of this is happening in a vacuum. Louisiana law already bars law enforcement from ticketing drivers for missing inspection stickers during a transition period running from June 30, 2026, through Jan. 1, 2027, according to KALB. When that window closes, the state plans to replace the familiar sticker with a $6 QR code tied to vehicle registration for most personal vehicles, Fox 8 reported. Commercial vehicles and school buses will still be required to undergo regular safety inspections, according to NOLA.com.
Kenner, New Orleans and Westwego have been the only local jurisdictions in Louisiana with their own brake-tag requirements layered on top of the state system, NOLA.com reported. Kenner was the first of the three to repeal its local rule, doing so in June, according to the outlet. New Orleans followed a month later by pausing enforcement and issuance of brake tags, though it has not fully repealed its program, and Westwego's City Council has since voted unanimously to repeal its own inspection requirement, per the same report.
What It Means for the Region
Louisiana's new law leaves room for cities to keep running their own brake-tag systems if they choose, according to WWL-TV. New Orleans ended brake tags for most drivers earlier this year, WDSU reported, though the exact timing of that change was not detailed further. Fox 8 has also noted that having different brake-tag requirements among neighboring Jefferson Parish jurisdictions could complicate enforcement, a wrinkle that has shaped how officials in Kenner, New Orleans and Westwego have each approached winding down their local programs.
For now, the question in Kenner comes down to Friday's vote. If the council approves Riehm's measure and the mayor signs off, the city could close the book on its brake-tag requirement well before the state's own overhaul kicks in on Jan. 1, 2027.
