Could a Louisiana public board member join by telephone to vote or make a quorum?

Plain-English summary

The New Orleans Regional AIDS Planning Council asked about proxy voting under Louisiana’s open meetings statute. The AG quoted the ban on proxy voting and concluded that a member had to be physically present to participate in any manner. It specifically rejected telephone participation for forming a quorum or voting by an absent board member. The opinion relied on an earlier AG opinion and a court decision about allowing the public to observe officials’ conduct.

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 a member vote by telephone?
The AG said no; it read the statute as requiring physical presence.

Could a call-in member count toward a quorum?
No. The opinion expressly rejected using telephone participation to obtain a quorum.

Was the answer limited to proxy votes?
The opinion interpreted the rule more broadly, saying physical presence was required for any participation in the meeting.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion applied La. R.S. 42:5(B) and (C), discussed Opinion 01-0256, and cited United Tax Payers v. Louisiana Housing Finance for the open meetings purpose.

Citations and references

• The legal authorities discussed 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/02-0106

Original opinion text

One AmeNcan Place
301 Main Street, Suite 600
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P O Box q4005
CIVIl DIVISION
TEL. (225~ 342-70! ~
FAX (2251 342-2090
BATON ROUGE
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

APR 2, 3 2002
Opinion Number 02-0106

90-B-4 PUBLIC MEETINGS - State & Loca Governing Bodies
Mr. Kevin W. Jones
La. R.S. 42:5

Administrative Coordinator
The intent of Louisiana R.S. 42:5(B) is to require
New Orleans Regional AIDS Planning Council physical presence at open meetings in order to participate in any matter. Any participation via
2601 Tulane Ave. - Suite 400
telephone, whether it is to obtain a quorum or to
New Orleans, Louisiana 70119
allow voting by non-present board members is a
violation of the open meetings law.

Dear Mr. Jones:

Your request for an Attorney General Opinion has been forwarded to me for research and a response. You requested an opinion to clarify the intent of Louisiana R.S. 42:5, specifically regarding proxy voting in the Louisiana Open Meetings Act.

The pertinent statute is as follows:

La. R.S. 42:5 Meetings of public bodies to be open to the public

B. Each public body shall be prohibited from utilizing any manner of proxy voting procedure, secret balloting, or any other means to circumvent the intent of R.S. 42:4.1 through R.S. 42:8.

C. All votes made by members of a public body shall be viva voce and shall be recorded in the minutes, journal, or other official, written proceedings of the body, which shall be a public document.

Previous Attorney General Opinion Number 01-0256 addresses the statutory intent of La. R.S. 42:5 by citing United Tax Payers v. Louisiana Housing Finance, 703 So.2d 107, (La. App. 1 Cir. 1997), which states that, "the purpose of the open meetings law is to allow the public to observe and evaluate public officials, public conduct and public institutions...". Therefore, this opinion concluded that the intent of La. R.S. 42:5(C) is to require personal attendance at meetings and

Page 2

Mr. Kevin W. Jones
Opinion No. 02-0106
Page 2

to prohibit any participation via telephone, whether it is to obtain a quorum or to allow voting by non-present board members.

Therefore, to uphold the intent of the open meetings law pursuant to La. R.S. 42:5, one must be physically present at the meeting in order to participate in any manner¯ Representation by telephone is not sufficient.

I hope this opinion sufficiently answers you question. If we may be of further assistance to you, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:
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Assis;{ant Attorney General

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