Could a Louisiana parish add a different road to an existing paving contract by change order?

Plain-English summary

In Opinion 03-0263, the Louisiana Attorney General told the Cameron Parish Police Jury it could not use a change order to add paving on Kathy Road to its existing Broussard Road contract. The original advertisement and contract covered an asphalt overlay of Broussard Road "and nothing more." The added road therefore changed the project's scope rather than remaining an integral part of its original objective.

The distinction mattered even though the proposed Kathy Road work was smaller than the opinion's public-bid threshold. The AG said a change order had to remain "within the scope of the contract"; a different road not contemplated by the advertised project failed that test. For the separate Kathy Road project, estimated at $44,702.00, the Police Jury could negotiate with the existing contractor, negotiate with others, or seek public bids. The opinion did not authorize attaching that work to the old contract as a change order.

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

Parish officials managing road contracts

The AG's scope test required looking at the project description used in the advertisement and specifications. Because Broussard Road alone had been advertised and no additional roads were contemplated, the proposed Kathy Road work could not be added by change order. The opinion allowed a separate procurement path because that new work's estimate was below the threshold it described at the time.

Contractors and bidders

The existing contractor did not gain the Kathy Road work through the Broussard Road contract. The Police Jury could negotiate a new contract with that contractor alone or include other contractors in negotiations; it could also invite bids.

Common questions

Q: Could the parish call the Kathy Road work an additive change order? A: No. The AG concluded that the original advertisement limited the contract to Broussard Road and did not contemplate adding other roads, so Kathy Road was outside the contract's scope.

Q: Did the opinion say every change order over a fixed dollar amount was barred? A: No. It said the statute imposed no general size or value limit on change orders, but required them to remain within the existing contract's scope. It separately described bidding for out-of-scope work above the then-applicable threshold.

Q: Was a public bid required for the separate Kathy Road project? A: The AG said it was not required on the facts presented. The engineer estimated $44,702.00, below the $100,000 threshold stated in the 2003 opinion, so the Police Jury could negotiate a separate contract or voluntarily seek bids.

Q: Could the parish negotiate only with its current paving contractor? A: Yes, for that separate below-threshold work as the opinion described it. The AG expressly listed negotiating with the existing contractor alone, negotiating with others, and public bidding as options.

Background and statutory framework

The Police Jury had accepted a $97,976.00 low bid for an asphalt overlay on Broussard Road. It then proposed a soil, cement, and asphalt overlay on nearby Kathy Road, with an engineer's estimate of $44,702.00. The opinion described Louisiana's public-bid law as then requiring advertisement and award to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder for public works costing $100,000 or more. It read the change-order provisions together with the statutory definition of a change order "within the scope of the contract," meaning one that did not alter the nature of the thing to be built and was integral to the project objective.

The first-page date stamp in the available PDF transcription reads AUB 0 6 2003, so the precise issue day is not asserted in this record.

Citations and references

Statutes in the opinion: R.S. 38:2211 A (2)-(4) (change-order definitions); R.S. 38:2212 A (4)-(7) (change orders under the public-bid law).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0263

Original opinion text

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

~t~te o~
One American Place
301 Main Street, Suite 600
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. Box 94005
CIVIL DIVISION
TEL.: (225) 342-7013
BATON ROUGE
FAX: (225) 342-2090

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

AUB 0 6 2003
Opinion Number 03-0263

90-A-1 Public Funds & Contracts
R.S. 38:2211 A (2)-(4)
R.S. 38:2211 A(11)
Mr. Cecil R. Sanner, District Attorney R.S. 38:2212 A (4)-(7) 38th Judicial District, Cameron Parish R.S. 38:2212 A (1) (a) & (d) North Courthouse Square
Proposed addition to existing public work contract is
Post Office Drawer 280
outside scope of contract and must be either
Cameron, LA 70631
negotiated or let by public bid rather than by change
order to existing contract.

Dear Mr. Sanner:

On behalf of the Cameron Parish Police Jury you have requested an opinion of our office regarding whether the execution of a additive change order to an existing public works contract would be in violation of the Louisiana Public Bid Law. The Police Jury accepted a low bid of $97,976.00 to furnish an asphalt overlay of Broussard Road in Cameron Parish. The Police Jury now wishes to expand the project to construct a soil, cement and asphalt overlay on nearby Kathy Road. The engineer’s estimate for this project is $44,702.00.

Under the Louisiana Public Bid Law, contracts for public works projects costing $100,000 or more must be advertised and let to the lowest responsive and responsible bidder. There are no provisions that set forth procurement requirements for smaller public works projects. Public works means the erection, construction, alteration, improvement, or repair of any public facility or immovable property owned, used or leased by a public entity. LSA R.S. 38:2212A(1)(a) & (d) and 38:2211A.(11).

Change orders are provided for in the Louisiana Public Bid Law at LSA-R.S.
38:2212A(4)-(7). The statute does not place any limit on the size or value of a change order, but does require that any change order be "within the scope of the contract". A change order "outside the scope of the contract" and in excess of the $100,000 contract limit must be let out for public bid. Change order means an alteration, deviation, addition or omission to a preexisting public work contract and a change order "within the scope of the contract" means a change order which does not alter the nature of the thing to be constructed and which is an integral part of the project objective. LSA R.S.
38:2211A.(2) & (4).

A determination must first be made as to whether the changes in the work, specifically the asphalt overlay on Kathy Road, would be within the scope of the preexisting contract to overlay Broussard Road. Typically this would include an evaluation of the project description that was used in the legal advertisement for the work and in the

Opinion Number 03-0263
Mr. Cecil R. Sanner, District Attorney
38th Judicial District, Cameron Parish
Page -2-

introduction of the specifications. A review of the advertisement for the original project shows that the project was limited to the asphalt overlay of Broussard Road and nothing more. The original contract did not contemplate the possibility that additional roads would be added or included in the overall project.

It is therefore the opinion of this office that the proposed addition to the existing public works contract is outside the scope of the contract and cannot be the subject of a change order. However, because the amount of the additional public work is less than the contract limit the Police Jury may either negotiate the contract with the existing contractor alone, include other contractors in the negotiations, or it may let the contract out for public bids.

We trust that this answers your inquiry.

Yours very truly,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Attorney General

BY:
RICHARD L. MCGIMSE~
Assistant Attorney General

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