Could Grambling require a local building permit for construction or renovation of a Louisiana state-owned building?

Plain-English summary

Grambling's mayor asked whether the city could require building permits for work on state-owned buildings and whether the statute applied only to certain construction contracts. In 2005, the Attorney General answered no local permit was required for any construction, alteration, addition, or renovation of a state-owned building under LSA-R.S. 40:1724. Its reading covered all state-owned buildings, without the contract-type limit suggested in the question.

The opinion distinguished local permits from the state approval process. The quoted statute required plans and specifications to be approved by the state fire marshal, health secretary, and facilities planning and control department before work began. It provided for an occupancy permit after those state approvals. The AG also quoted the statute's statement that a parish or municipality had no duty to inspect the state-owned building for local-code compliance.

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 Grambling demand a building permit for a state-owned renovation?

The AG said no. It applied LSA-R.S. 40:1724 to renovations, additions, alterations, and construction of any state-owned building.

Did the rule depend on what kind of construction contract the state used?

The opinion read the statute by the type of work and state ownership of the building. It found no narrower contract category for Grambling to use when requiring a local permit.

Who reviewed plans and issued the occupancy permit under the cited statute?

The opinion quoted required preconstruction approval by the state fire marshal, the secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals, and the facilities planning and control department. The occupancy permit went to the using agency after those approvals.

Background and statutory framework

Mayor Martha Andrus asked about local permit authority for state-owned buildings. The AG quoted both parts of R.S. 40:1724: subsection A for state review of plans before construction and subsection B for the occupancy permit. It concluded that the state-building process covered any listed work on state-owned buildings and displaced Grambling's local building-permit requirement in that setting.

Citations

• LSA-R.S. 40:1724 (state-owned building approvals and local permit issue).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0290

Original opinion text

November 7, 2005
OPINION NUMBER 05-0290

90 - A 1 PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
R.S. 40:1724.
Honorable Martha A. Andrus
Municipality may not require a building permit for the
Mayor, City of Grambling
construction, alteration, addition, or renovation of a state-
2045 East Martin Luther King Avenue owned building. Grambling, LA

Dear Mayor Andrus:

You have requested the opinion of this office on whether LSA-R.S. 40:1724(A), as amended, eliminates any requirement for the issuance of a local building permit for certain construction contracts on state owned buildings. Specifically you inquire as to what is meant by the term certain building contracts, to whom does the term certain contracts apply, and when may the City of Grambling require a permit for state owned buildings.

R.S. 40:1724 relates to the Louisiana Building Code for State Owned Buildings and provides as follows:

A. Plans and specifications for construction, alteration, addition, or renovation of all sate-owned building shall be approved by the state fire marshal, the secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals, and the facilities planning and control department prior to commencement of work.
Nothing herein shall be construed to impose a duty upon the parish or municipality in which the building is located to inspect a state-owned building for compliance with the local building code.

B. The occupancy permit will be issued to the using agency when the building construction has been approved by the state fire marshal, secretary of the Department of Health and Hospitals and the facilities planning and control department.

The provisions of R.S. 40:1724 relates to the construction, alteration, addition, or renovation of all state owned buildings and specifically provides that a local building permit is not required for any such construction, alteration, addition or renovation. This would include a municipality such as the City of Grambling.

Page 2

Opinion Number 05-0290
Honorable Martha A. Andrus, Mayor
City of Grambling
Page -2-

It is therefore the opinion of this office that LSA-R.S. 40:1724 applies to any construction, alteration, addition, or renovation of a state-owned building and that a municipality, such as the City of Grambling, may not require a building permit for any such construction, alteration, addition, or renovation.

I trust that this answers your inquiry. Please let me know if we may be of further assistance in this matter.

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
Attorney General

BY: _______
RICHARD L. MCGIMSEY
Assistant Attorney General

CCF/RLM/dam

Page 3

Opinion Number 05-0290
Syllabus

90 - A 1 PUBLIC HEALTH AND SAFETY
R.S. 40:1724

Pursuant to LSA-R.S. 40:1724, the City of Grambling may not require a local building permit for the construction, alteration, addition, or renovation of any state-owned building.

Honorable Martha A. Andrus, Mayor
City of Grambling
2045 East Martin Luther King Avenue
Grambling, LA

Date Received:

Date Released: November 7, 2005

Richard L. McGimsey
Assistant Attorney General