Could Louisiana's nursing board buy an office building under its power to establish offices?

Plain-English summary

The Louisiana State Board of Nursing asked whether its authority to establish offices let it buy land or a building for one. In Opinion 03-0100, the Attorney General concluded the board lacked statutory authority to purchase immovable property. Permission to establish offices in principal cities described where the board could operate; it did not expressly grant real-estate purchasing power.

The AG said a state board needed specific legislative authorization to buy or sell immovable property. He found none in the statutes creating or empowering the nursing board. He added that the board lacked authority to borrow money or incur debt, so it could not finance a purchase through a loan, mortgage, or owner-financed deal. He noted that the Legislature could provide property-purchase authority.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. 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.

What the opinion meant at issuance

Nursing board

The opinion separated authority to establish offices from authority to acquire the building. The AG found no specific purchase power in the board's cited statutes and no borrowing power to fund acquisition.

State agency finance staff

The AG treated a board's general duties and necessary-and-proper powers as insufficient for purchasing immovable property. His conclusion applied the legislative-authorization rule he described for state boards.

Common questions

Q: Did authority to open offices let the nursing board buy office property? A: No. The AG found the office-location statute gave no express authority to purchase immovable property.

Q: Could the board borrow the purchase price or enter an owner-financed deal? A: The opinion said the board also lacked borrowing and debt authority, which ruled out those financing arrangements.

Q: Could the Legislature change the result?
A: Yes. The AG said the Legislature could grant the specific property-purchase authority then missing.

Background and statutory framework

The letter quoted La. R.S. 37:919 on the board's domicile and offices and summarized La. R.S. 37:918 on its duties and powers. Neither provision expressly authorized buying immovable property. The AG cited earlier opinions requiring express legislative authority for a state body to buy or sell it. The signed letter is dated March 28, 2003.

Citations and references

Authorities in the opinion: La. R.S. 37:919; La. R.S. 37:918; Attorney General Opinions 01-46, 95-342, 94-226, and 82-247.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0100

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
One American Place
301 Ma~n Street, Suite 600
CIVIL DIVISION
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE
TEL : (225) 342-7013
FAX: (225) 342-2090
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

MAR 2 8 2003
Opinion Number O3-O1OO

90-B-1 Public Lands, Acquisition & Transfer
Mr. E. Wade Shows, Attorney
La. R.S. 37:919
La. R.S. 37:918
Shows, Cali & Berthelot, LLP
Louisiana State Board of Nursing The Louisiana State Board of Nursing has no
P.O. Drawer 4425
statutory authority to buy immovable property.

Baton Rouge, LA 70821

Dear Mr. Shows:

On behalf of the Louisiana State Board of Nursing, ("Nursing Board"), you have requested the opinion of this office on whether LSA R.S. 37:919 provides legislative authority for the Nursing Board to purchase immovable property for the establishment of an office. You point out that LSA R.S. 37:919 (Domicile of the Board) authorizes the Nursing Board to establish offices in the principal cities of Louisiana. Attached to your request was a copy of the minutes of the December 4, 2002, Board Meeting approving a resolution authorizing the Executive Director to ask for an Attorney General opinion on whether the Nursing Board has the authority to purchase immovable property.

The Louisiana State Board of Nursing is created pursuant to LSA R.S. 37:911 et seq.
LSA R.S. 37:919, entitled Domicile of Board, provides as follows: "The domicile of the board shall be in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, but offices for the purposes of administering the provisions of this Part may be established by the board in any of the principal cities in Louisiana."

LSA R.S. 37:918 sets forth the duties and powers of the Nursing Board and which include hearings for nurse educational programs; establish and publish standards of nursing practice and education; examine, approve, renew, and reinstate licenses; deny, revoke, suspend, probate, limit licenses; conduct discipline hearings, prosecute violations of the law; and have all other powers necessary and proper to the performance of their duties, including but not limited to the power to subpoena. Neither statute includes a provision that authorizes the Nursing Board to purchase immovable property.

In order for a state department, agency, board or district to buy or sell immovable property, it must be specifically authorized to do so by the legislative act by which it is created. See Attorney General Opinion Nos. 01-46; 95-342; 94-226; and 82-247. This office is of the opinion that the statutes relating to the establishment of the Louisiana

Page 2

Opinion Number 03-0100
Mr. E. Wade Shows, Attorney
Shows, Cali & Berthelot, LLP
Louisiana State Board of Nursing
Page -2-

State Board of Nursing do not contain any provision that specifically authorizes the Nursing Board to purchase immovable property. However, this authority could be provided by the legislature.

It should also be noted that the Nursing Board does not have the authority to borrow money or incur debt. Without that authority, the Nursing Board could not borrow the purchase price, mortgage the building nor enter into any owner-financed arrangement.

We trust that this answers your inquiry.

Very Truly Yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Attorney General

I~ICHARD L. MCGIMSEY ~
Assistant Attorney General
Public Finance & Contracts Section

RPI/RLM/dam