Could the Calcasieu sheriff lease law enforcement district space to a private ambulance service?

Plain-English summary

Calcasieu Parish sheriff's counsel asked whether a private ambulance provider could rent space at a law enforcement center. The center belonged to the Law Enforcement District, and the provider proposed to house personnel and an ambulance there. The AG said it was unaware of a law barring the sheriff from properly negotiating such a lease. Its answer depended on the district not otherwise needing the property for law enforcement, receiving rent commensurate with the property's value, and obtaining beneficial lease terms.

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 sheriff lease unused district space to an ambulance service?
The AG said it was unaware of a prohibition if the stated conditions for need, rent, and terms were met.

Did the sheriff's office own the proposed space?
No. The request said the Law Enforcement District owned the center, and the AG framed the lease around district property and rental payments to the district.

What rent did the AG require?
The opinion gave no dollar figure. It said payments should be commensurate with the property's value.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion did not cite a statute or case. It answered the specific proposed lease and did not describe a general bidding procedure or decide whether a particular draft lease met the stated conditions.

Citations and references

The opinion cites no statute or case.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/02-0073

Original opinion text

~i~t~ of ~a~i~i~it~i
One American Place
301 Main Street, Suite 600
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P O. Box 9400S
CIVIl DIVISION
TEL (225~ 342-701 ~
BATON ROUGE
FAX: (225/ 342-2090

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

Opinion Number 02-0073

107- SHERIFFS

Sheriff can properly negotiate a lease with a private party
Mr. Robert C. McCorquodale
for the lease of Law Enforcement District property that is
not otherwise needed for law enforcement purposes, as
In-House Counsel
long as the Law Enforcement District will receive rental
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office
payments commensurate with the value of the property and
1011 Lake Shore Drive, Suite 305
as long as the lease will be on terms that are beneficial to
the Law Enforcement District.
Lake Charles, Louisiana 70601

This office is in receipt of your opinion request, as follows:

"The Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office has recently been approached by a local ambulance provider who wishes to house ambulance personnel and an ambulance at one of our law enforcement centers. The law enforcement center is owned by the Law enforcement District and not the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office. The ambulance service has offered to pay rent and it occurred to us, prior to entering into any type of contract of this nature, we should have some sort of an opinion from the Attorney General’s Office regarding the legality of us leasing property owned by the Law Enforcement District to a private enterprise."

Please be advised that this office is unaware of any provision of law which would prohibit a sheriff from properly negotiating a lease with a private party for the lease of Law Enforcement District property that is not otherwise needed for law enforcement purposes, as long as the Law Enforcement District will receive rental payments commensurate with the value of the property and as long as the lease will be on terms that are beneficial to the Law Enforcement District.

We trust the foregoing to be of assistance.

Yours very truly,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

                                         BY:                   ~        ~/

~LI~/~NNE’-MARIE Z’~-"RINGUE g:ARHAM
Assistant Attorney General

RPI:JMZB:dam