Could Terrebonne Parish's sales tax advisory board hire its own lawyer without council approval?

Plain-English summary

The Terrebonne Parish Attorney asked whether the parish Sales and Use Tax Advisory Board could retain a lawyer other than the parish attorney. In the official opinion, the AG answered that the board lacked unilateral authority to do so. The board was part of the Sales and Use Tax Department, which the parish charter placed under the parish council's jurisdiction.

The charter made the parish attorney the chief legal adviser to the council and its departments. It also said that special counsel for the parish government required a written contract and council approval. The AG concluded that the parish attorney properly represented the advisory board at the time, while the council retained authority to decide whether separate counsel should be hired for parish bodies.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2002. 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 sales tax advisory board hire its own lawyer?
The AG said no. The advisory board could not retain separate legal counsel without the parish council's decision.

Who represented the advisory board under the charter?
The opinion said the parish attorney was providing legal representation to the board. Charter Section 4-03 made that attorney the chief legal adviser to the parish's departments, offices and agencies.

Could the parish council choose separate counsel for the board?
The AG said the council remained generally empowered to make counsel-retention decisions for the parish and its departments. The charter required a written contract and council approval for special counsel.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion read Terrebonne's home rule charter provisions together. Section 25-98 placed the advisory board within the Sales and Use Tax Department, Section 25-96 put that department under the council's jurisdiction, and Section 4-03 assigned legal representation to the parish attorney while conditioning special counsel on a written contract and council approval. The AG also referred to Opinion 00-189, which had addressed the council's authority to hire a separate attorney to represent it.

Citations and references

• Terrebonne Parish home rule charter §§ 25-98, 25-96 and 4-03, as quoted in the opinion.
• Louisiana Attorney General Opinion 00-189, cited by the opinion.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/02-0001

Original opinion text

DEPARTMENT OF IUSTICE
P.O. Box 9400.5
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
TEL: (S04) 342-7013
ATTORNEY GENERAL 70804-9005 FAX: (504) 342-7335

Janua~ 28, 2002
OPINION 02-0001

Ms. Carolyn A. McNabb 84 Parishes
Parish Attorney
The council of the Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Govemment remains
generally empowered under the terms of its home rule charter to make
8026 Main Street, Suite 520
decisions concerning the retention of legal counsel for lhe parish and its
Houma, La 70360
departments.

Dear Ms. McNabb:

You advise this office that a question has arisen concerning the authority of the Sales & Use Tax Advisory Board of Terrebonne Parish to retain separate legal counsel other than that provided by the parish attorney.

The Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government is governed by the provisions of a home rule charter. The Sales and Use Tax Advisory Board is "a part of the sales and use tax department." See Section 25-98 of the home rule charter1. The Sales and Use Tax Department operates "under the jurisdiction of the parish council." See Section 25-

962. Thus, both the Department and its Advisory Board are subject to the authority of
     the parish council as dictated by the charter.

The parish council alone exercises authority with respect to the hiring of legal counsel to represent the parish government and its departments. Of particular import is Section 4- 03 of the home rule charter, concerning the legal department, which provides:

1 Section 25-98 is entitled "Advisory board" and provides:
Sec. 25-98. Advisory Board
(a) There is hereby created, as a part of the sales and use tax department, an eight-member sales and use tax advisory board, which shall be composed of the parish president, the council chairman, the parish finance committee chairman, the school board president, the school board vice-president, superintendent of schools, the parish sheriff and a member designated by the Terrebonne Parish Library Board of Control.

2 Section 25-96 pertains to the Sales and Use Tax Department and provides: Sec. 25-96. Created; purpose; composition.
There is hereby created a separate department of the parish to operate under the jurisdiction of the
parish council, for the sole and exclusive purpose of administering and enforcing the collection and distribution of the sales and use tax imposed by this article, which shall be known and designated as the sales and use tax department. The department shall consist of a director, such employees as may be necessary to accomplish the functions and purposes thereof, and an advisory board to supervise and make recommendations to the director and the council for the proper administration and operation of the department, all as provided in this division.

Page 2

Ms. Carolyn McNabb
OPINION 02-0001
Page 2

Sec. 4-03. Legal department

(a) The head of the legal department shall be the parish attorney who shall be appointed by the president on an annual basis and such appointment shall be subject to approval by the council.

(b) The parish attorney shall be an attorney licensed to practice in the courts of Louisiana and shall have at least five (5) years’ continuous practice of law and shall be a resident of the parish for at least two (2) years prior to the date of appointment.

(c) The parish attorney shall serve as chief legal adviser to the president, council and all departments, offices and agencies, shall represent the parish government in all legal proceedings and shall perform other duties prescribed by this charter or by ordinance.

(d) Any assistant attorneys authorized by the council shall be appointed by the parish president subject to approval by the council and serve at the pleasure of the parish president.

(e) No special legal counsel shall be employed by the parish government except by written contract and approval of the council.

The advisory board is without the unilateral authority to retain separate legal counsel. Currently, legal representation to the advisory board is properly provided by the parish attorney. However, as this office determined in Attorney General Opinion 00-189, which was addressed to you on the related issue of the council’s authority to hire a separate attorney to represent the council, the parish council remains generally empowered to make decisions concerning the retention of legal counsel for the parish and its departments.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
A’I-rORNEY GENERAL

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