Did advisory groups formed by a Louisiana development district board have to hold open meetings?

Plain-English summary

The England Economic and Industrial Development District's board proposed two ways to form advisory groups and asked whether their meetings would be covered by Louisiana's Open Meetings Law. In 2005, the Attorney General said both proposals were covered. Each group would include board members and make recommendations to the district's executive director. The AG treated each as a committee or subcommittee of an existing public body performing an advisory or administrative function.

The opinion relied on La. R.S. 42:4.2's definition of a public body, which included committees and subcommittees with policy-making, advisory, or administrative functions. It quoted an earlier AG opinion for the point that a committee's inability to make final decisions did not remove its business meetings from the open-meeting rules. The result was tied to the particular board-created groups described in the request.

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 an advisory group need final decision-making power to be covered?

No. The AG said a board committee's advisory or administrative function could make it a public body even if the group only made recommendations.

Were both proposed England District groups subject to the law?

Yes. The opinion found that both proposals formed committees or subcommittees of the district board, included board members, and involved recommendations to the executive director.

Did the law apply just because the district board was public?

The AG examined the groups themselves as committees of that public board. Their board membership and advisory function brought the two described proposals within the statutory public-body definition.

Background and statutory framework

Counsel for the district asked about advisory groups formed under proposals A and B. The AG accepted that the district and its Board of Commissioners were public bodies, then applied La. R.S. 42:4.2 to the new groups. It cited earlier Attorney General Opinion 84-395 to explain why an advisory committee's lack of final decision-making power did not exempt its meetings.

Citations

• La. R.S. 42:4.2 (public-body definition quoted in the opinion's analysis).
• La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 84-395 (earlier opinion quoted on advisory committee meetings).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0317

Original opinion text

November 14, 2005
Opinion Number 05-0317

90-B-4 Public Meetings- State & Local
Albin A. Provosty
Governing Bodies
John P. Doggett
La. R.S. 44:4.2
General Counsel, England Economic
And Industrial Development District
Advisory groups created by a political subdivision’s board
934 Third St. Suite 800
do qualify as "public bodies" within the meaning of the
P. O. Box 1791
“Open Meetings Law.”
Alexandria, LA 71309-1791

Dear Gentlemen:

This office is in receipt of your opinion request in which you ask if the advisory groups formed by the Board of the England Economic & Industrial Development District under various proposals are subject to the Louisiana Open Meetings Law.

As you stated in your request, you are aware of the definition of both a public body and meetings as defined by La. R.S. 42:4.2. Therefore you should be aware that England Economic & Industrial Development District (the “District”) and its Board of Commissioners (the “Board”) fall under the definition of a public body. However, using the guidelines set forth in § 4.2, the inquiry now is whether the advisory groups created by either board proposal A or B qualifies as a "public body" within the meaning of the “Open Meetings Law.”

The main criteria of what constitutes a public body is stated at the end La. R.S. 42:4.2, “[W]here such body possesses policy making, advisory, or administrative functions, including any committee or subcommittee of any of these bodies enumerated in this paragraph.” [Emphasis added.]

It is clear to this office from the materials you sent us that the advisory groups to be created by the board proposals will be a committee or subcommittee of the Board, and as such will “possess advisory or administrative functions.” Both proposals state that the advisory group will be made up of members of the Board and the group will make recommendations to the Executive Director thereby subjecting its meetings to the Open Meetings Law.

Page 2

Opinion No. 05-0317
Mr. Albin A. Provosty,
Provosty, Sadler, DeLaunay,
Fiorenza & Sobel
Page: -2-

For further guidance as to whether the proposed advisory group qualifies as a “public body” we turn to La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 84-395, which opined:

“The fact that a committee cannot make a final decision of a matter does not remove meetings of that committee from the ambit of the Open Meeting Laws. In summary, any meeting of a public body, or committee thereof, for business purposes would be officially convened, and hence subject to the open meeting requirements of La. R.S. 42:4.1-10, if notice of the meeting is given to its members.”

Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that both proposals A and B of the Board would be subject to the “Open Meetings Laws” for the reasons stated above. If we can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate contact this office.

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

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

CCF, Jr./CHB, Jr./jd

Page 3

SYLLABUS
OPINION NUMBER 05-0317

90-B-4 Public Meetings- State & Local
Governing Bodies

La. R.S. 44:4.2

Advisory groups created by a political subdivision’s board do qualify as "public bodies" within the meaning of the “Open Meetings Law.”

Albin A. Provosty
John P. Doggett
General Counsel, England Economic
And Industrial Development District
934 Third St. Suite 800
P. O. Box 1791
Alexandria, LA 71309-1791

DATE RECEIVED:

DATE RELEASED: November 14, 2005

Charles H. Braud, Jr.
Assistant Attorney General