Can a member inspect an electric cooperative's employment contracts in Louisiana?

Plain-English summary

In 2005, Senator Robert Adley asked whether Louisiana's Public Records Law covered electric cooperative records and whether a member could see the cooperative's contracts. The Attorney General said the records generally were outside the Public Records Law unless the cooperative was a public entity. The opinion applied the statutory definition of a "public body" to that question.

A separate cooperative statute allowed a member or the member's attorney to inspect contracts worth more than fifteen thousand dollars during regular office hours. The AG said this included employment contracts above that amount and found no additional recordkeeping duty beyond what R.S. 12:417.1 provided.

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.

Common questions

Were all electric cooperative records public records?

The AG said no, generally. It concluded that an electric cooperative did not fall within the quoted Public Records Law definition unless it was a public entity.

Could a cooperative member inspect a large employment contract?

The AG said yes if the employment contract exceeded fifteen thousand dollars. R.S. 12:417.1 allowed a member or the member's attorney to inspect contracts above that amount during regular office hours.

Did the inspection rule add another recordkeeping duty?

The AG found no additional recordkeeping responsibility beyond those provided by R.S. 12:417.1.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion quoted R.S. 44:1A(1)'s definition of "public body" and applied it conditionally to the cooperative. It then read R.S. 12:417.1 as granting members and their attorneys access to contracts above the statutory dollar threshold, including employment contracts. It did not decide whether the particular cooperative was a public entity.

Citations

• R.S. 44:1A(1) (definition of "public body" quoted by the opinion).
• LSA-R.S. 12:417.1 (inspection of cooperative contracts).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0204

Original opinion text

June 14, 2005
OPINION NUMBER 05-0204

90-C Public Records

R.S. 44:1A(1); R.S. 12:417.1
Honorable Robert Adley
Senator, District 36
Records of an electric cooperative are generally not subjected to the
Public Records Law. R.S. 12:417.1 provides for inspection by a member
716 Main Street
or his attorney of any contract in excess of fifteen thousand dollars,
Minden, LA 71055
including employment contracts.

Dear Senator Adley:

In your letter of May 4, 2005, you requested an opinion of the Attorney General’s Office concerning electric cooperatives and their records. Specifically you asked the following questions:
(1) Whether an electric cooperative’s records are subject to the Public Records Law?
(2) Whether R.S. 12:417.1 places additional record keeping responsibilities on an electric cooperative to provide for inspection of every contract in an amount in excess of fifteen thousand dollars?
(3) Whether an employment contract is contemplated as “every contract” in R.S. 12:417.1?

Louisiana Revised Statute 44:1A(1) provides, “ As used in this Chapter, the phrase “public body” means any branch, department, office, agency, board, commission, district, governing authority, political subdivision, or any committee, subcommittee, advisory board, or task force thereof, or any other instrumentality of state, parish, or municipal government, including a public or quasi-public nonprofit corporation designated as an entity to perform a governmental or proprietary function.” Therefore, unless this cooperative is a public entity, we are of the opinion that an electric cooperative does not fall within the scope of the above statute.

As to your second question, LSA-R.S. 12:417.1 is clear in that a contract in excess of fifteen thousand shall be available for inspection by a member of a cooperative or his attorney during regular office hours. In reading the statute, there appears to be no “additional” record keeping responsibilities other than the ones provided by LSA-R.S. 12:417.1.

Page 2

Opinion No. 05-0204
Hon. Robert Adley
Senator, District 36
Page: -2-

Your third question asks, “Whether an employment contract is contemplated as “every contract” in R.S. 12:417.1. The statute limits this inspection to contracts with a value greater than fifteen thousand dollars. Therefore, if an employment contract with the cooperative is in excess of fifteen thousand dollars, we are of the opinion that such a contract falls within the scope of “every contract” as used in R.S. 12:417.1.

We hope that this opinion answers all of your questions. If we can be further assistance in this matter, please contact our office.

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: _________
CHARLES H. BRAUD, JR.
Assistant Attorney General

CCF, Jr./CHB, Jr./jm

Page 3

SYLLABUS
OPINION NUMBER 05-0204

90-C Public Records

R.S. 44:1A(1); R.S. 12:417.1

Records of an electric cooperative are generally not subjected to the Public Records Law. R.S. 12:417.1 provides for inspection by a member or his attorney of any contract in excess of fifteen thousand dollars, including employment contracts.

Robert Adley
Senator, District 36
716 Main Street
Minden, LA 71055

DATE RECEIVED:

DATE RELEASED: June 14, 2005

Charles H. Braud, Jr.
Assistant Attorney General