Could a Louisiana town contribute public money to support a veterans hospital through a parish agreement?

Plain-English summary

In 2005, Elton asked whether it could help fund a VA hospital in Jennings through an agreement with the Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury. The Attorney General concluded that supporting the hospital could serve a public purpose and the town could contribute public funds. A cooperative agreement with the parish was permissible if it met the constitutional requirements the office applied to such agreements.

The AG identified three requirements: a legal obligation to spend public funds, a public purpose, and a cost proportionate to the public benefit. It found the first two satisfied in this setting, relying on earlier opinions about public support for veterans and their medical care. Proportionality was a fact question for Elton. The opinion said the proposed amount appeared nominal, but did not make the final cost-benefit finding for the town.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005. 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 prohibition on donating public funds rule out Elton's contribution?

The AG said no in these circumstances. It treated support for the veterans hospital as a public duty and purpose, while still requiring the cooperative agreement to satisfy the constitutional limits on public spending.

Was an agreement with the parish automatically valid?

No. The AG said a valid cooperative endeavor required a legal obligation, a public purpose, and a proportionate cost. It found the first two satisfied, but left the proportionate-cost determination to the town.

Did the AG decide how much Elton could pay?

No. It observed that the proposed cost appeared nominal, but said Elton had to determine whether its cost was proportionate to the public benefit. The opinion did not set a dollar cap.

Background and statutory framework

La. Const. Art. VII, Section 14(A) supplied the general ban on donating public funds. Section 14(C) authorized cooperative endeavors, but the AG said that authorization did not erase the donation limit. The office drew on prior opinions about veterans' memorials, medical transportation, and public gratitude to explain why helping the hospital served a public duty. Its approval of the agreement remained conditional on Elton's factual proportionality finding.

Citations

• La. Const. Art. VII, Section 14(A) and (C) (public-funds limits and cooperative endeavors).
• Town of Brusly v. WBR Police Jury, 283 So.2d 288 (1st Cir. 1973) (cited in the public-funds discussion).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0121

Original opinion text

March 18, 2005
Opinion Number 05-0121

90-A-2 Public Funds: Loans, Pledges or Grants La. Const. Art. VII, Section 14(A) and (C) Honorable Cathy Hollingsworth
Mayor, Town of Elton
Town of Elton may enter into cooperative
endeavor with Parish to contribute to support of
P. O. Box 27
VA hospital in Jennings.
Elton, Louisiana 70532

Dear Mayor Hollingsworth:

You have requested the opinion of this office regarding the legality of the Town of Elton entering into an agreement with the Jefferson Davis Parish Police Jury for the support of the VA Hospital in Jennings. As provided in your letter, the VA has had financial difficulties and shortfalls in the administration of its hospital facility in Jennings and has requested that the Town of Elton, along with other area towns, contribute to the support of the hospital. The Town Council wants to know whether it can legally contribute public funds to support the VA Hospital.

Louisiana Constitution Article VII, Section 14(A) contains the general prohibition against the donation of “funds, credit, property, or things of value of the state or of any political subdivision”. Generally, political subdivisions are found to have violated this provision if they give up something of value when they are under no legal obligation or duty to do so.1 In identifying legal obligations and duties, this office has on several occasions opined as follows:

All public responsibilities are not carefully written into the text of laws. Some are there by inference. Such an inference can be drawn from the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution which declares that the purpose of government is to provide for the common defense and to promote the general welfare. The general welfare is closely associated with not only the welfare of all the people, but the welfare of individual groups. Public tributes to war veterans in the erection of memorials have been an accepted public purpose throughout the history of our country. For public bodies to neglect to express public gratitude would be to neglect public duty.2

We have also opined that the transportation of veterans for medical treatment is no less a public duty than the erection of memorials, and therefore, the use of public funds to

1
st
Town of Brusly v. WBR Police Jury, 283 So.2d 288 (1 Cir. 1973); Atty. Gen. Op. No. 90-651 2
Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 91-230, 98-398 and 02-411

Page 2

Opinion Number 05-0121
Mayor Cathy Hollingsworth
Town of Elton
Page -2-

purchase a van accomplishes the public purposes of providing medical treatment to veterans and of granting citizens the opportunity and satisfaction of being able to express their gratitude.3 Ceremonies honoring war veterans also serve the public purpose of allowing citizens to express their gratitude to those who risked their lives defending their country.4

Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that the Town of Elton may contribute public funds to support the VA hospital in Jennings. Moreover, it can do so through a cooperative endeavor, provided the agreement meets the requirements for a constitutionally-sanctioned cooperative endeavor as will be discussed below.

The constitutional authority for political subdivisions to engage in cooperative endeavors is found in La. Const. Art. VII, Sec.14(C), which authorizes political subdivisions to engage in cooperative endeavors. This authorization does not exempt political subdivisions from the prohibition against the donation of public funds. This office has consistently opined that a constitutionally-sanctioned cooperative endeavor must meet the following three requirements: 1) The entity must have a legal obligation to expend public funds; 2) The agreement must be for a public purpose; and 3) The cost must be proportionate to the public benefit.

The first and second requirements have been discussed above and are met. The third requirement is a factual determination. The Town must determine whether the costs to the Town, which appear to be nominal in this instance, are proportionate to the public benefit it will receive. If the Town determines that the costs are proportionate to the benefit, it may legally enter into the cooperative agreement with the Parish to support the VA hospital.

We trust this adequately addresses your concerns. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _______
DENISE B. FITZGERALD
Assistant Attorney General
CCF, JR:DBF:dam

3
Atty. Gen. Op. No. 98-398
4
Atty. Gen. Op. No. 02-411

Page 3

Opinion Number 05-0121
Syllabus

90-A-2 Public Funds: Loans, Pledges or Grants
La. Const. Art. VII, Section 14(A) and (C)

Town of Elton may enter into cooperative endeavor with Parish to contribute to support of VA hospital in Jennings.

Honorable Cathy Hollingsworth
Mayor, Town of Elton
P. O. Box 27
Elton, Louisiana 70532

Date Received:

Date Released: March 18, 2005

Denise B. Fitzgerald
Assistant Attorney General