Could Dubach use regular municipal employees without plumber licenses to finish plumbing at its RV park?

Plain-English summary

Dubach asked whether its regular municipal employees, who were not licensed plumbers, could finish plumbing work at a village recreational vehicle park. The mayor said labor and materials would cost less than five hundred dollars. The AG found the stated cost below the public bid threshold and quoted a plumber-licensing provision excluding employees of municipal departments and specified utility systems. It concluded there was no prohibition on using those regular employees for the project.

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

Did the employees need plumber licenses for this village project?
The AG said the licensing provision it quoted did not apply to employees of a municipal department, so it found no prohibition on their work here.

Did the public bid law stop the village from using its own maintenance staff?
The AG said the described project cost was below the applicable threshold and found no impediment on that ground.

Was the opinion about all private plumbing jobs?
No. It addressed regular municipal maintenance employees working on the village’s own low-cost project.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion applied R.S. 38:2212E(3) to the stated project cost and quoted R.S. 37:1375(C) on municipal employees. Its conclusion was tied to the village project described.

Citations and references

• The cited provisions appear in the reproduced opinion below.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/02-0088

Original opinion text

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
One Ameucan Place
301 Main btreet butte
CIVIl. DIVISION
P 0 Box
BATON ROUGE
TEL ~225, ~42-70!
FAX ~225 ai42-20q0
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
7O804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

APR 18 200Z
OPINION NUMBER 02-0088

90-A-1 Publ=c Funds and Pubhc Contracts
Honorable Margaret Rogers, Mayor 63-B Licensing-For professions or occupations
Village of Dubach
P. O. Box 252
There ~s no prohibition to using unlicensed plumbers who are
Dubach, LA 71235
regular maintenance municipal employees to complete a
wllage project.

Dear Mayor Rogers:

You have requested an opinion from this office regarding whether employees of the Village of Dubach who are not licensed plumbers may install the plumbing required to finalize the village recreational vehicle park.

The Public Bid Law of the State of Louisiana (LA R.S. 38:2211-2225.1) applies to all political subdivisions of the state. R.S. 38:2212E(3) states:

The provisions of this Section shall not prevent entities from using their regular maintenance employees for labor necessary in the maintenance, construction, or extension of publicly owned and operated electric public utilities. With respect to the construction or extension of all other public utilities, the provisions of this Section shall not prevent public entities from using their regular maintenance employees when the cost of the work per project does not exceed one hundred thousand dollars, including labor and materials. All purchases of materials or supplies exceeding the sum provided for in Subsection A of this Section shall be let by public bid as provided in this Part.

You stated that the cost of the labor and materials to complete the plumbing project at the recreational vehicle park is less than five hundred dollars. As the threshold requirements of public bid law are not met by the project costs, there appears to be no impediment to using regular municipal maintenance employees to complete the plumbing work on the park. (See also Attorney General Opinion 83-478).

Page 2

Opinion Number 02-0088
Honorable Margaret Rogers, Mayor
Village of Dubach
Page -2-

You have also asked if employees who are not licensed plumbers may install the required plumbing. R.S. 37:1375 provides for the applicability of Professions and Occupations Law governing plumbers. Paragraph "C" of LA R.S. 37:1375 states:

Nothing herein contained shall be construed to apply to any employee of any municipal department or gas, sewer, and/or water district system.

In conclusion, there appears to be no prohibition to using unlicensed plumbers who are regular maintenance municipal employees to complete the village project.

We hope this opinion answers your questions. If you desire additional information, please contact our office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

SUE MCNABB
Assistant Attorney General

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