Could a Louisiana city court marshal hire a private collection agency for unpaid fines and costs?

Plain-English summary

A state representative asked whether a court entity such as a marshal's office could hire a collection agency for unpaid fines and court costs. In 2005, the Attorney General said no without special legal authorization. LA-R.S. 13:1898 placed collection of city-court fines, forfeitures, penalties, and costs with the clerk or the marshal designated by the judge, except as provided by special law.

The AG discussed a former statute, LA-R.S. 9:3576.6, that had allowed certain public bodies to contract with licensed collection agencies for public debts. It said that provision had been repealed in 2003, removing the authority on which earlier AG advice had relied. The opinion therefore treated the earlier contrary advice as no longer authoritative on this question.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2005 after a statutory repeal. Verify current court-collection and contracting law before relying on its answer today.

What this means for you

City court marshals and clerks

The AG assigned the unpaid fine-and-cost collection duty to the city court clerk or judge-designated marshal under the statute then in force. It said they could not hand that duty to a private collection agency without special legal authority.

Judges and public finance officials

The opinion treated the repeal of the former public-debt contracting provision as decisive. It did not identify another special law authorizing a collection-agency contract for the proposed court debts.

Common questions

Could the marshal sign a collection contract based on general administrative convenience?

No under the AG's answer. The cited statute assigned collection to the clerk or designated marshal unless a special law provided otherwise.

Had Louisiana once allowed some public-debt collection contracts?

Yes. The opinion quoted a former statute authorizing certain public bodies to use licensed collection agencies, but said it was repealed in 2003.

Did an older AG opinion still permit the contract?

The AG said earlier opinions based on the repealed provision, including Opinion No. 96-71, were no longer authoritative on this issue.

Background and statutory framework

LA-R.S. 13:1898 assigned city-court collections to the clerk or marshal, with a special-law exception. LA-R.S. 9:3576.6 had supplied a separate public-debt collection-agency authorization, but the opinion said it was repealed by a 2003 act. The AG concluded that the described marshal contract lacked the special authority required by the first statute.

Citations

• LA-R.S. 13:1898 (city-court collection duty and special-law exception).
• LA-R.S. 9:3576.6 (former collection-agency authority, described as repealed).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0197

Original opinion text

December 6, 2005
OPINION NO. 05-0197

10 CLERKS OF COURT – Compensation & Fees;
Powers & Duties, General
Mike Walsworth
15 COURTS
State Representative ~ District 15
LA-R.S. 13:1898, LA-R.S. 9:3576.6, Op.Atty.Gen., No.
704-A Trenton Street
96-71
West Monroe, Louisiana 71291
Without special authorization provided by law, a court entity such as a Marshal’s office may not contract with a collection agency to assist in collecting unpaid fines and
Dear Mr. Walsworth: court costs.

This office is in receipt of your Attorney General’s opinion request, wherein you presented the following question as we understand it:

May a court entity, such as a Marshal’s office, contract with a collection agency to assist in collecting unpaid fines and court costs?

It is the opinion of this office that a court entity, such as a Marshal’s office, may not contract with a collection agency to assist in collecting unpaid fines and court costs.

Louisiana Revised Statute 13:1898 states, in pertinent part:

A. Except as otherwise provided by special law and in Subsection B thereof, the clerk of the city court or the marshal, as designated by the judge, shall collect all fines, forfeitures, penalties, and costs… [emphasis added.]

Because of the language emphasized, except as provided by special law, it is clear that a the clerk of court or the marshal has the sole responsibility of collecting unpaid fines UNLESS there is special authorization.

An example of such authorization would be the Revised Statute 9:3576.6, which stated "State and federal agencies, departments, political subdivisions of the state, incorporated municipalities, and parishes, may, by written contract, utilize collection agencies licensed and bonded under this Part for the purpose of collecting public debts owed by any person, except those arising from outstanding bench warrants, parking fines, and traffic tickets."

However, it does not apply to the instant case because it was repealed by Acts 2003, No. 638, § 1. The repeal indicated that the legislative intent was “…to repeal licensing

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OPINION 05-0197
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and regulatory provisions regarding collection agencies.” It is the opinion of this office that because of the aforementioned emphasized language (Except as otherwise provided by special law) the removal of the authorization in an attempt to deregulate collection agencies also removed the authority to utilize said agencies.

Further, previous Attorney General Opinions based on said repealed laws, such as Opinion No. 96-71 to Rep. Diez, are no longer authoritative on the issue.

I hope the foregoing Opinion has been responsive to your question.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: ______
STEPHEN STREET
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

SS/mv/jy

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OPINION NO. 05-0197

10 CLERKS OF COURT – Compensation & Fees; Powers & Duties, General 15 COURTS

LA-R.S. 13:1898, LA-R.S. 9:3576.6, Op.Atty.Gen., No. 96-71

Without special authorization provided by law, a court entity such as a Marshal’s office may not contract with a collection agency to assist in collecting unpaid fines and court costs.

Mike Walsworth
State Representative ~ District 15
704-A Trenton Street
West Monroe, Louisiana 71291

Date Received: May 5, 2005
Date Released: December 6, 2005

STEPHEN STREET
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL