Section 154 transfer program: open container (23 C.F.R. Part 1270; 23 U.S.C. § 154) ― penalty transfer funds to support alcohol and drug-impaired driving countermeasures in states that fail to enact…

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration awarded $1,840,689 to the Louisiana Highway Safety Commission, a division of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety, on October 1, 2025, under the Alcohol Open Container Requirements program (CFDA 20.607). The award funds alcohol and drug-impaired driving countermeasures in Louisiana in response to the state's failure to enact and enforce a compliant open container law prohibiting possession or consumption of open alcoholic beverages in motor vehicle passenger areas on public highways. The funding is obligated through September 30, 2029, with place of performance in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Under Section 154 authority, Louisiana received this transfer of reserved federal highway funds; the state may avoid such transfers by enacting and enforcing a conforming open container statute. The commission, as Louisiana's designated highway safety office, administers federal grant funding and coordinates behavioral highway safety initiatives statewide, including sub-awarding to local agencies, law enforcement entities, nonprofits, and other organizations. Records must be retained for three years following submission of final expenditure reports and project deliverables.

Section 154 transfer program: open container (23 C.F.R. Part 1270; 23 U.S.C. § 154) ― penalty transfer funds to support alcohol and drug-impaired driving countermeasures in states that fail to enact and enforce conforming open alcohol container laws. Under section 154, to avoid the transfer of funds, a state must enact and enforce an open container law that prohibits the possession of any open alcoholic beverage container, or the consumption of any alcoholic beverage, in the passenger area of any motor vehicle (including possession or consumption by the driver of the vehicle) located on a public highway, or the right-of-way of a public highway, in the state. 23 U.S.C. 154(B)(1)