The Louisiana Senate gave final approval May 10 to a bill to prohibit open alcohol containers in vehicles. It now heads to Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who is expected to sign it.

Under Louisiana law, drivers are prohibited from having an open alcoholic beverage, but passengers are free to drink while in the vehicle, The Times-Picayune reported.

SB341, sponsored by Sen. Joel Chaisson II, D-Destrehan, would eliminate the open container provision, although exceptions would be made for passengers of limousines, parade trucks and floats.

Currently, Louisiana is required to spend a chunk of its federal highway funds on traffic safety because the state doesn’t have a ban on open containers of alcohol in vehicles.

The state is one of only 14 nationwide that allows passengers to drink; last year, that distinction pulled 3 percent out of the highway construction budget and put it to other uses, according to a published report.

The federal government mandated in 2001 that states either pass open container laws or spend a percentage of federal highway dollars on public safety projects such as drunken driving checkpoints or installing cables to prevent crossover accidents.

“It’s not designed as a punishment but it is a transfer from one use to another,” said Tim Hurd, a spokesman for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “If safety is diminished by the fact they don’t have an open-container law, some funds have to be used for enforcement programs or the reduction of hazards.”