Golden Meadow Can Now Let UTVs Join Golf Carts on Town Road Shoulders, Under Rep. Joseph Orgeron's Act 554

The town of Golden Meadow can now allow utility terrain vehicles, along with golf carts and low-speed vehicles, on the shoulders of its roads posted at 30 mph or less. That authority comes from Act 554 of 2026 by state Rep. Joseph Orgeron, which took effect Aug. 1.

The new law builds on one Orgeron passed a year earlier. Act 203 of 2025 first gave Golden Meadow's governing authority the power to permit golf carts and low-speed vehicles on road shoulders in town. This year's act adds UTVs to that list and broadens the definition of a golf cart by striking the word "electric," so the definition no longer limits golf carts to electric models. A golf cart under the law is still a four-wheeled vehicle built for golf courses and other green spaces, with a top speed of 25 mph.

The act also spells out what counts as a UTV. It is a recreational motor vehicle, built to travel over designated roads, that is between 50 and 74 inches wide and weighs between 700 and 3,500 pounds. The definition includes recreational off-highway vehicles, often called ROVs, and vehicles without a federal certification label. It does not include golf carts, vehicles specially designed to carry a person with a disability, or vehicles already registered under the state's regular vehicle registration law.

The permission is local, and it comes with conditions. Nothing changes on a given street until the town acts. The law says Golden Meadow's governing authority "may, in its discretion, by ordinance" authorize the vehicles, and the ordinance has to be recorded in the town's minutes. The town can add its own conditions and can revoke the authorization in whole or in part at any time.

The vehicles may run only on the shoulder of a public road or street with a speed limit of 30 mph or less, and never on Louisiana Highway 3235. Anyone driving one must be licensed to drive on Louisiana highways and must carry proof of insurance as required by state law.

Each vehicle also has to be registered with the town. The owner receives a registration decal, displayed the way the town decides, and the registration lasts as long as the same owner keeps the vehicle. The town may set a registration fee by ordinance, with the money going into the municipal general fund.

In a community stretched along Bayou Lafourche, the law gives the town a clear legal framework for these vehicles.

The bill moved through the Legislature without a single "no" vote. House Bill 503 was reported with amendments by the House transportation committee 13-0 and passed the House 98-0 in March 2026. The Senate passed it 35-0 on May 20 without changes, and Gov. Jeff Landry signed it May 29.

Orgeron, a Republican, represents House District 54, which covers parts of Jefferson and Lafourche parishes, according to his House page. His district office is in Cut Off. He was first elected in 2020, graduated from South Lafourche High School and earned a bachelor's degree in physics from Nicholls State University, followed by a master's and a doctorate in physics from the University of Texas.

Residents who want to know whether Golden Meadow has adopted an ordinance under the new law, and what the decal costs, can check with Town Hall. The town's code of ordinances is also published online through Municode.

The legislator series has also covered Louisiana's new Atchafalaya Basin fishing limits, and readers on the bayou can revisit our story on the Grand Isle Tarpon Rodeo, just down LA 1.

Photo: Mark Souther, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0. Bayou Lafourche in Golden Meadow, 1997.