Could St. Charles Parish put new council business on a supplemental agenda the morning of a meeting?

Plain-English summary

St. Charles Parish asked whether a supplemental agenda issued at 10 a.m. on the day of a scheduled council meeting became part of the published regular agenda. The AG said the supplement alone did not add the new items. Under the open meetings notice rule then in effect, the council could take up an item absent from the published agenda only with approval from two-thirds of the members present at the meeting.

The opinion also cited an earlier AG warning against frequent use of that amendment procedure to evade advance public notice. It said action on an item taken up without the required vote and prior notice was voidable, rather than automatically void, and described enforcement proceedings available under the statutes it cited.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2004. 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 sending a supplemental agenda on meeting day satisfy the published-agenda requirement?

The AG said no. Placing an item on a 10 a.m. supplement did not make it part of the previously published regular agenda.

Could council members still discuss a new item?

The opinion said they could take it up if two-thirds of the members present approved doing so at the public meeting.

What if an item was taken up without notice or the vote?

Quoting an earlier opinion, the AG said the action was voidable rather than automatically null. It also identified statutory enforcement proceedings for an open-meetings violation.

Background and statutory framework

R.S. 42:7 required meeting notice to include an agenda at least twenty-four hours before a regular, special, or rescheduled meeting. It also allowed a public body, with approval of two-thirds of members present, to take up a matter not on the agenda. The AG cited R.S. 42:10 and related provisions for possible enforcement of those notice rights.

Citations

• R.S. 42:7 (meeting notice and agenda additions).
• R.S. 42:10 (who could seek enforcement).
• R.S. 42:9 (judgment concerning action taken in violation).
• Atty. Gen. Op. 87-649 (agenda-amendment procedure).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/04-0013

Original opinion text

February 6, 2004
OPINION 04-0013

Mr. Lance Marino
Council Chairman
Parish of St. Charles
P.O. Box 302
Hahnville, LA 70057

Dear Councilman Marino:

This office is in receipt of your request for an opinion of the Attorney General in regard to a supplemental agenda at a regularly published scheduled meeting of the St. Charles Parish Council. You ask the following:

“Once an agenda has been published regarding matters for discussion at a regular published scheduled meeting, do additional items placed on a Supplemental Agenda (which comes out at 10:00 a.m. on the day of the meeting) become part of or an extension of the regular Agenda or does the Supplemental Agenda fall under the Sunshine Law, item 7 Notice of meetings (b)(I) - (ii).”

R.S. 42:7, Notice of meetings, provides in part as follows:

A. (1)(a) All public bodies, except the legislature and its committees and subcommittees, shall give written public notice of their regular meetings, if established by law, resolution, or ordinance, at the beginning of each calendar year. Such notice shall include the dates, times, and places of such meetings.

(b)(I) All public bodies, except the legislature and its committees and subcommittees, shall give written public notice of their regular, special, or rescheduled meeting no later than twenty-four hours before the meeting.

(ii) Such notice shall include the agenda, date, time, and place of the meeting, provided that upon approval of two-thirds of the members present at a meeting of a public body, the public body may take up a matter not on the agenda.
We must conclude, as observed in Atty. Gen. Op. 87-649, that after the agenda has been

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Councilman Lance Marino
OPINION 04-0013
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published for a regularly scheduled meeting that additional items can only be placed on the agenda when there is “approval of two-thirds of the members present at the meeting” as set forth in R.S. 42:7. However, the opinion included an admonition that frequent use of the agenda amendment procedure should be avoided because such could become a subterfuge for avoiding advance public notice of the actual agenda.

Additionally, in the latter opinion this office observed, “If an item is taken up illegally, that is, without the two-thirds vote and without prior notice, the action becomes voidable rather than absolutely null and void.” It was recognized that in accordance with R.S. 42:10 the Attorney General, the District Attorney or any person who has been denied any right conferred by the provisions of R.S. 42:4.1 through R.S. 42:8 or who has reason to believe that the provisions of R.S. 42:4.1 through R.S. 42:8 have been violated may institute enforcement proceedings as provided in R.S. 42:11. This would include a writ of mandamus, injunctive relief, declaratory judgment or a judgment rendering the action void as provided in R.S. 42:9.

In conclusion, we would advise that any supplement agenda would not become a part of the regular agenda by placing the additional items on a supplemental agenda at 10:00 on the morning of the day of the meeting. It is only to be brought before the Council after two- thirds of the members present at the public meeting approve considering the matter under the Sunshine Law.

We hope this sufficiently answers your inquiry, but if we can be of further assistance, do not hesitate to contact us.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:_________
BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE
Assistant Attorney General
CCF/bbr

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Councilman Lance Marino
OPINION 04-0013
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OPINION 04-0013

73- A Notice Requirements
84 - Parishes

R.S. 42:7
R.S. 42:10

Supplemental agenda for the
Parish Council is only to be
brought before the Council
after two thirds of the members
present at the public meeting
approve the new matter.

Mr. Lance Marino
Council Chairman
Parish of St. Charles
P.O. Box 302
Hahnville, LA 70057

Date Received:
Date Released: February 6, 2004

BARBARA B. RUTLEDGE
ASST. ATTORNEY GENERAL