Could a Louisiana levee district lend staff and equipment to a nonprofit's ship display project?

Plain-English summary

The Lafourche Basin Levee District was asked to use its employees and equipment to excavate a temporary trench so a nonprofit could move a replica historic ship to a permanent display. The request said the work was unrelated to drainage or flood control. The Attorney General concluded that the district could not supply the requested assistance.

The AG acknowledged the project's cultural and tourism purpose, but found no legal obligation or authorization for the levee district to give its resources to the foundation. He read the constitutional rule against donating public assets together with City of Port Allen, which said a cooperative endeavor for a public purpose did not by itself excuse a gratuitous transfer.

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

Could the district provide its equipment to dig the trench?
The AG said no. He found neither a legal duty nor statutory authority for the district to undertake that work for the foundation.

Did the historic display's public appeal change the answer?
No. The opinion said a cultural or tourism purpose alone did not overcome the constitutional restriction on giving away public assets.

Did calling the arrangement a cooperative endeavor authorize it?
The AG said the cooperative endeavor provision was not an exception to the prohibition on gratuitous transfers as applied in the cited case.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion examined La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14, La. R.S. 38:325 and 38:334 on the district's authority, and City of Port Allen v. Louisiana Municipal Risk Agency. It applied those sources to the specific proposed trench work, which the request said had no drainage or flood-control purpose.

Citations and references

• La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14
• La. R.S. 38:325 and 38:334
• City of Port Allen v. Louisiana Municipal Risk Agency, 439 So.2d 399 (La. 1983)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/01-0056

Original opinion text

June 21, 2001
Opinion Number 01-56

63 LEVEES, DRAINAGE DISTRICTS & FLOOD CONTROL 90-A-2 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS - Loan, Pledge
Mr. Joseph C. Wiley
or Grants
Assistant District Attorney
Lafourche Basin Levee District is constitutionally prohibited from
23rd Judicial District
contributing use of its equipment and employees to the Fort Butler
P.O. Drawer 279
Foundation for excavation of a trench in batture area so that a “tall
Napoleonville, Louisiana 70390 ship” can be floated from the Mississippi River to its permanent location for use as a historical and cultural attraction.

Dear Mr. Wiley:

This office is in receipt of your request for an Attorney General’s opinion on behalf of the Lafourche Basin Levee District (the “District”). Specifically, you are interested in determining whether or not the District can authorize the use of its equipment and employees on a project involving the Fort Butler Foundation (the “Foundation”), a non- profit organization headquartered in Donaldsonville, Louisiana.

According to your correspondence, the Foundation has been active in promoting historical and cultural tourism in connection with Fort Butler, which was built during the Civil War and has recently been the subject of extensive archaeological investigation. The Foundation has acquired a full-scale replica of the ship, the Le Pelican, used by the French explorer Iberville, when he discovered Bayou Lafourche. The Foundation intends to permanently display this “tall ship” as a tourist attraction on the batture of the Mississippi River near Fort Butler on the site of the former confluence (now closed by the levee) of the Mississippi River and Bayou Lafourche. The Foundation has asked the District for assistance in excavating a trench in the batture area in which to float the ship from the Mississippi River to the location where the ship will be permanently situated. After floating the ship to its permanent location, the trench would be back-filled and closed permanently.

You advise that although the work would not be related to either drainage or flood control, the Commissioners of the District would like to assist the Foundation if such work is authorized by law. As such, you seek our opinion on the legality of such an arrangement.

Your inquiry must be examined in light of La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14(A), which prohibits the state and its political subdivisions from loaning, pledging or donating public funds, assets or property to persons, associations or corporations, public or private. Although La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14(B) creates certain exceptions to the general prohibition of Art. VII, Sec. 14(A), the District’s contemplated assistance to the Foundation is not among those exceptions.

Page 2

Opinion Number 01-56
Mr. Joseph C. Wiley
Assistant District Attorney
rd
23 Judicial District
Page -2-

Pursuant to La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14(C), the state and its political subdivisions may engage in cooperative endeavors for public purposes. However, these constitutional provisions must be scrutinized in light of the decision of the Louisiana Supreme Court in City of Port Allen v. Louisiana Municipal Risk Agency, 439 So.2d 399 (La. 1983). Therein, the Supreme Court ruled that La. Const. Art. VII, Sec. 14(A) “…is violated whenever the state or a political subdivision seeks to give up something of value when it is under no legal obligation to do so.” The Court went on to state that the constitutional authorization for cooperative endeavors, contained in Art. VII, Sec. 14(C), does not provide an exception to the prohibition contained in Sec. 14(A):

“There is no indication that [Sec. 14(C)] is meant to be an exception to the rule of Sec. 14(A)…Thus, even if political subdivisions cooperate for a public purpose, they still may not give away their assets to other political subdivisions, the United States government or public or private associations or corporations merely for a ‘public purpose’.”

We have examined the District’s legal authority, particularly as set forth in La. R.S. 38:325 and 38:334. In our opinion, when read in pari materia with La. Const. Art VII, Sec. 14, these statutes do not authorize the District to assist in the excavation of a trench for the benefit of the Foundation. Although the display of the Le Pelican near Fort Butler for the promotion of historical and cultural tourism is a laudatory endeavor, this office is unaware of any legal obligation imposed upon, or authorization granted to the District, to assist the Foundation as requested.

In light of the Supreme Court’s decision in City of Port Allen, it is the opinion of this office that the Lafourche Basin Levee District is constitutionally prohibited from contributing the use of its equipment and employees to the Fort Butler Foundation for the excavation of the trench in question.

We trust the foregoing to be of assistance. If we can be of assistance in other areas of the law, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours very truly,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Attorney General

BY:
JEANNE-MARIE ZERINGUE BARHAM
Assistant Attorney General
RPI/JMZB/dam

Page 3

Opinion Number 01-56
Syllabus

63 LEVEES, DRAINAGE DISTRICTS & FLOOD CONTROL
90-A-2 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS - Loan, Pledge or Grants

Lafourche Basin Levee District is constitutionally prohibited from contributing use of its equipment and employees to the Fort Butler Foundation for excavation of a trench in batture area so that a “tall ship” can be floated from the Mississippi River to its permanent location for use as a historical and cultural attraction.

Mr. Joseph C. Wiley
Assistant District Attorney
23rd Judicial District
P.O. Drawer 279
Napoleonville, Louisiana 70390

Date Received:

Date Released: June 21, 2001

Jeanne-Marie Zeringue Barham
Assistant Attorney General