Did a Louisiana housing authority have to publish its board proceedings in a newspaper?

Plain-English summary

A representative asked the Attorney General to reconsider an earlier view that a local housing authority had to keep meeting minutes available but did not have to publish them in an official journal. The AG noted a later statutory change defining local housing authorities as political subdivisions of Louisiana. He concluded that R.S. 43:171's newspaper publication requirement applied to the proceedings of their boards.

The answer turned on the authority's statutory status. The AG said an older opinion treating housing authorities as municipal instrumentalities no longer controlled after the statutory change.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2001. 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.

Common questions

Did the AG say keeping minutes available was enough?
No. In this opinion he said local housing authorities also had to publish their board proceedings in a newspaper.

Why did the AG reach a different answer from the earlier analysis?
He relied on a statutory amendment that classified a local housing authority as a political subdivision, independent of the municipality or parish that established it.

Did the opinion choose a particular newspaper?
No. It quoted R.S. 43:171's direction for covered boards to select a newspaper at their first June meeting for a one-year term.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion contrasted an earlier Open Meetings Law analysis with the later political-subdivision definition for housing authorities. It then applied R.S. 43:171, which required political subdivisions covered by the provision to publish board proceedings and specified financial statements in a newspaper. The source text refers to the housing authority definition with differing section numbers, so this page relies on the quoted classification and the opinion's conclusion rather than resolving that numbering discrepancy.

Citations and references

• R.S. 43:171
• R.S. 40:384(16), as quoted in the opinion

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/01-0028

Original opinion text

March 14, 2001
OPINION 01-28

Honorable Hunt Downer
LA. House of Representatives
P.O. Box 44273
Baton Rouge, LA 70804

Dear Representative Downer:

This office is in receipt of your request for an opinion of the Attorney General in regard to publication of minutes by a local Housing Authority. You indicate in Atty. Gen. Op. 96-263 this office found that a local housing authority was required to keep minutes which shall be made available within a reasonable time after the meeting, but opined that the Open Meetings Law did not require a local housing authority to publish its minutes in an official journal. However, it is your opinion that a local housing authority is required to publish its minutes in a newspaper. Therefore, you request that this office reconsider the latter opinion with regard to whether a local housing authority being a political subdivision of the state is required to publish its minutes under Louisiana law.

As you observe, Atty. Gen. Op. 96-263 concluded as follows:

Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the Housing Authority of the City of New Iberia is subject to LSA-R.S. 42:7.1 and must keep minutes of its meetings to be made available within a reasonable time after the meeting.
However, this mandate does not require the Housing Authority to publish its minutes in an official journal.

You further note that R.S. 40:384(16) provides as follows:

"Local housing authority" or "authority" means a public body, corporate and politic, previously established, or to be established, by a municipality or a parish pursuant to the authority provided in this Chapter, exercising necessary and essential governmental functions for the purposes stated in this Chapter in matters of statewide concern, although its operations are local in nature. It is a political subdivision of this state, independent from the municipality or parish which established it or which may appoint some or all of its commissioners.

Page 2

Any reference in this Chapter to a local housing authority shall also be deemed to include a "housing authority" or a
"regional or consolidated housing authority" unless the context clearly otherwise requires. "Local housing authority" also includes any housing authority established under prior law.
It is pertinent to recognize that R.S. 40:484(16) was enacted pursuant to Act 1188 of 1997 wherein it established the Local Housing Authority as "a political subdivision of the state", but at the time that Atty. Gen. Op 96-263 was rendered, it was set forth in R.S. 40:391, "In each parish and in each city, there is hereby created a public body corporate and politic known as the housing authority of the city or parish." Accordingly, in Atty. Gen. Op 93- 263, with reliance upon State v. Coulan, 3 So. 2d 241, 197 La. 1058 (1941) that held local boards and commission while created by the Legislatures were not local subdivisions of the state, this office had stated that local housing authorities are not considered state agencies, and concluded, "In our opinion, housing authorities can be considered to be instrumentalities of municipal governments * * *." However, subsequently, in Atty. Gen. Op. 00-126 this office recognized pursuant to R.S.40:381 that the statute defined a "local housing authority" as a political subdivision of this state, independent from the municipality which established it.

By amendment of the statutes pertaining to housing authorities, Atty. Gen. 93-263 is no longer applicable. Our opinion under the present law is that in accordance with R.S. 43:171 the housing authorities shall have the proceedings of their board published in a newspaper inasmuch as that statute provides as follows:

A(1) Levee, drainage, subdrainage, road, subroad, navigation, and sewerage districts, or other political subdivisions of the state and parishes, shall have the proceedings of their board and such financial statements required by and furnished to the legislative auditor published in a newspaper. The newspaper shall be selected at their first meeting in June of each year for a term of one year.

We hope this sufficiently responds to your inquiry, but if we can be of further assistance do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Attorney General

By:_________
BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE

Page 3

Hon. Hunt Downer
OPINION 01-28
Page 3

Assistant Attorney General
RPI/bbr

OPINION 01-28

53-1 Housing Authorities
R.S. 40 384
R.S. 43:171

Housing Authorities shall have
the proceedings of their board
published in a newspaper.

Honorable Hunt Downer
LA House of Representatives
P.O. Box 44273
Baton Rouge, LA 70804

Date Received: Jan. 22, 2001
Date Released: March 14, 2001

BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE
Assistant Attorney General