Could a Louisiana village pay to extend water service outside its limits for residents who could not afford it?

Plain-English summary

Calvin's mayor asked whether the village could pay to extend a water line eight-tenths of a mile beyond its boundary to several homes whose owners said they could not afford the connection. In 2005, the Attorney General said the village could not simply pay for the private extension. Louisiana's ban on donating public funds applied even to a worthy use.

The opinion identified a limited social-welfare exception. Calvin could extend the line through a program established to aid needy people if recipients were screened under objective criteria. The village could create that program or use an existing one by agreement. The AG did not decide that the named homeowners qualified; it made the result depend on the program's eligibility process.

The letter is dated March 18, 2005, while its final syllabus prints “DATE RELEASED: March 18, 2004.” This page uses the letter date and retains the conflicting syllabus date in the reproduced text below.

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

Could the village fund the extension just because the homeowners could not afford it?

Not without a qualifying program. The AG said the general no-donation rule barred a simple public-funded extension to private homes outside village limits, regardless of the worthiness of the proposal.

What did the social-welfare exception require?

The AG said aid had to flow through a program for the needy that used objective screening criteria. It did not prescribe particular income limits or find that the requesting homeowners met them.

Did Calvin have to create its own assistance program?

No. The opinion said the village could establish a program itself or enter an agreement with an existing program to provide the services.

Background and statutory framework

La. Const. Art. VII, Section 14(A) barred donations of public funds or things of value. Section 14(B) allowed public funds for programs of social welfare aiding the needy. The AG applied the exception only where an objective eligibility process could establish who qualified, separating that program from a direct subsidy to particular homeowners.

Citations

• La. Const. Art. VII, Section 14(A) and 14(B) (public-funds prohibition and social-welfare exception).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0128

Original opinion text

March 18, 2005
OPINION NUMBER 05-0128

90-A-2 PUBLIC FUNDS-Loan, Pledge, or Grant La. Const. Art. VII, Section 14(A) and 14(B)

Honorable Bob Carpenter
The Village of Calvin may use public funds to extend a
water line outside its boundaries through a program Mayor, Village of Calvin established for the aid and support of the needy,
P. O. Box 25
provided the program uses objective criteria to
Calvin, LA 71410
determine who is needy.

Dear Mayor Carpenter:

You have requested an opinion from this office as to whether the Village of Calvin may use public funds to extend a water line eight tenths of a mile beyond its limits to supply water to several homes that do not have water connections. You said the owners of these homes have asked the Village to extend the line because they cannot afford to do so themselves, and the Village would like to extend the lines.

Louisiana Constitution Article VII, Section 14(A) prohibits the donation of public “funds, credit, property, or things of value of the state or any political subdivision.” Political subdivisions have been found to have violated this provision if they gave up something of value when they were under no legal obligation to do so.1 The jurisprudence also makes it clear that the worthiness of the contemplated use of public funds is immaterial to the constitutionality of the transfer of public funds.2

Section 14(B) contains an exception to the general prohibition against donating public funds, and allows “the use of public funds for programs of social welfare for the aid and support of the needy.” This office has previously found that the exception in Paragraph (B) is operative as long as those assisted through such a program are screened pursuant to objective criteria to insure that they are needy.3

Accordingly, the Village of Calvin may not simply extend the water line to private residences outside its limits. It may, however, expend funds to extend the lines through a program established for the aid and support of the needy, provided the program uses objective criteria to determine who is needy. The Village may establish such a program itself or enter into an agreement with an existing program to provide these services.

1
City of Port Allen v. La. Risk Management, 439 So.2d. 399 (La. 1983)
2
nd
James v. Rapides Parish Police Jury, 113 So.2d 88, (La. App. 2 Cir 1959) 3 Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 00-174, 04-088, 94-157

Page 2

Mayor Bob Carpenter
OPINION NUMBER 05-0128
Page -2-

If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact our office.

With kindest regards, I am

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: ________
DENISE B. FITZGERALD
Assistant Attorney General
CCF, JR:DBF:jv

Page 3

OPINION NUMBER 05-0128

90-A-2 Public Funds– Loan, Pledge, or Grant
La. Const. Art VII, Section 14(A) and 14(B).

The Village of Calvin may use public funds to
extend a water line outside its boundaries
through a program established for the aid and
support of the needy, provided the program
uses objective criteria to determine who is
needy.

Honorable Bob Carpenter, Mayor
Village of Calvin
P. O. Box 25
Calvin, LA 71410

DATE RECEIVED:
DATE RELEASED: March 18, 2004

DENISE B. FITZGERALD, ASSISTANT
ATTORNEY GENERAL