Did a Louisiana parish have to place its health unit in the parish seat, or could it open a satellite elsewhere?

Plain-English summary

The Catahoula Parish Police Jury was planning a new health unit facility and asked whether it had to be in the parish seat. The attorney general's office concluded in 2000 that a parish health unit had to have its legal domicile, or main location, in the parish seat. For Catahoula Parish, the opinion identified Harrisonburg as that seat.

The office also said a parish could have satellite health units outside the parish seat. Its answer distinguished the legal domicile of the parish health unit from additional locations serving residents elsewhere.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Parish officials at the time

The opinion said the parish health unit had to be domiciled or located in the parish seat. It allowed satellite health units at other locations.

Public health administrators at the time

The office distinguished the health unit's legal domicile from additional satellite facilities. It relied on an earlier opinion about Catahoula Parish for the satellite point.

Facility planners at the time

The opinion's location answer turned on whether a facility was the parish health unit itself or a satellite. It did not specify construction requirements for the proposed building.

Common questions

Q: Could Catahoula Parish put its main health unit outside Harrisonburg?
A: The 2000 opinion said the parish health unit had to be domiciled or located in the parish seat, which it identified as Harrisonburg.

Q: Could the parish operate a health unit at another location too?
A: Yes. The opinion said satellite parish health units could be outside the parish seat.

Q: Why did the office distinguish the main unit from satellites?
A: It read LSA-R.S. 40:19 as fixing the health unit's legal domicile in the parish seat and cited an earlier opinion permitting satellite units.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion cited LSA-R.S. 40:12 for the requirement that each parish provide a health unit or department and LSA-R.S. 40:19 for the unit's legal domicile in the parish seat. It also referred to an earlier attorney general opinion allowing satellite parish health units.

Citations and references

• LSA-R.S. 40:12 (parish health-unit requirement)
• LSA-R.S. 40:19 (legal domicile in parish seat)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0296

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain; the linked PDF is authoritative.

September 28, 2000
OPINION NUMBER 00-296

Sheila Clark 49 - HEALTH - Louisiana State Board of Health
including parish boards of health
Secretary-Treasurer 90 - POLICE JURIES - Powers & Functions
Catahoula Parish Police Jury 88 - POLICE JURIES - In General
P.O. Box 258
LSA-R.S. 40:19
Parish Health Unit facility must be domiciled in the parish Harrisonburg, Louisiana 71340 seat of the parish.

Dear Ms. Clark:

This office is in receipt of your opinion request regarding a new Health Unit facility for the parish. In your request you state that the Catahoula Parish Police Jury is presently in the planning stages to construct a new Health Unit facility for the parish. You specifically request an opinion from this office as to whether there are any laws that state that this new Health Unit facility would have to be located in the parish seat.

In answer to your question LSA-R.S. 40:12 states,

"Each parish of the state shall provide a health unit or department.
These units or departments shall be known as parish health units."

Additionally, and more specific to your question, LSA- R.S. 40:19 states,

"All parish health units shall have their legal domicile in the parish seat of its particular parish."

In Opinion No. 00-89, also addressed to the Catahoula Parish Police Jury, our office stated that satellite parish health units were permissible. That opinion also stated, "Thus, as Harrisonburg is the parish seat of Catahoula Parish it is the proper domicile of the health unit."

Residence and domicile are not synonymous, and a person can have several residences, but only one domicile. David v. Glen Eagle Ship Management Corp., App. 4 Cir.1997, 97-0878 (La.App. 4 Cir. 8/27/97), 700 So.2d 228; Gauthier v. Benson, App. 4 Cir.1996, 95-1730, 95-2470 (La.App. 4 Cir. 1/11/96, 667 So.2d 1181, writ denied 96-0275 (La. 2/9/96), 667 So.2d 545; Wilson v. Butler, App. 1 Cir.1987, 513 So.2d 304.

Unlike domicile, one may have more than one residence. Martin v. Willis, App. 2 Cir.1991, 584 So.2d 1192, writ denied 590 So.2d 589.

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OPINION NUMBER 00-296
Sheila Clark
Page - 2 -

Considering the above, it is the opinion of this office that a parish health unit must be domiciled or located in the parish seat, but satellite health units may be located outside the parish seat.

I hope that the above addresses your concerns. Should you have any questions or comments please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Yours very truly

RICHARD P. IEYOUB

BY: _____
CHARLES H. BRAUD, JR.
Assistant Attorney General
RPI: CHB, Jr./mjb

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OPINION NUMBER 00-296
Sheila Clark
Page - 3 -

SYLLABUS

49 - HEALTH - Louisiana State Board of Health including parish boards of health
90 - POLICE JURIES - Powers & Functions
88 - POLICE JURIES - In General

LSA-R.S. 40:19

Parish Health Unit facility must be domiciled in the parish seat of the parish.

Sheila Clark
Secretary-Treasurer
Catahoula Parish Police Jury
P.O. Box 258
Harrisonburg, Louisiana 71340

Date Received:
Date Released: September 28, 2000

CHARLES H. BRAUD, JR.
Assistant Attorney General