Did Louisiana's property-control agency oversee statewide firefighter and municipal-police retirement systems?

Plain-English summary

Louisiana's Division of Administration asked whether its Property Assistance Agency had property-control jurisdiction over the Firefighters' Retirement System and Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System. In this 2006 opinion, the Attorney General said no. Although both were statewide systems, they existed for local firefighters, police officers and their local-government employers. The property-control statute's agency definition excluded local governments and subdivisions.

The AG contrasted these statewide systems with retirement systems for state employees, including LASERS, which the opinion described as statutorily designated a state agency. It also distinguished an earlier opinion that considered the statewide systems under other laws. Those laws used their own definitions of “agency”; whether a system counted under them did not control the Property Assistance Agency's separate statute. The result was specific to this agency's jurisdiction, not a blanket classification of the systems for every Louisiana law.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. 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 the property agency oversee the statewide firefighters' pension system?

No. The AG said it served local firefighters and employers and fell outside the property-control definition of an agency.

Did the same answer apply to the municipal-police retirement system?

Yes. The opinion described that system as serving municipal officers and municipal employers and likewise outside this agency's jurisdiction.

Were the systems outside every state law that regulates agencies?

The AG did not say that. It distinguished another opinion addressing the Administrative Procedure Act, Legislative Auditor and ethics law, each with its own agency definition.

Why did the AG compare these systems with LASERS?

It used LASERS as an example of a retirement system for state employees that the Legislature had expressly designated a state agency, unlike the two systems serving local employees.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 39:326 charged the Division with state-property management. La. R.S. 39:321 supplied the agency definition for that property-control regime, excluding local governments and subdivisions. The AG examined the employers and members served by the two statewide retirement systems, considered the constitutional distinction between state and subdivision retirement systems, and concluded the property agency's definition did not reach them.

Citations

• La. R.S. 39:321 (property-control agency definition).
• La. R.S. 39:326 (Division property-management responsibility).
• La. R.S. 11:2252 (Firefighters' Retirement System corporate status).
• Attorney General Opinion Number 93-676 (other agency definitions distinguished).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/05-0456

Original opinion text

April 25, 2006
Opinion Number 05-0456

92-A-2 (g) Retirement – State Employees 92-A-2 (j) Retirement - Judges
92-A-2 (l) Retirement - Teachers
Mr. Edgar C. Jordan 92-A-2 (m) Retirement - Firefighters
Assistant Commissioner
Article 10, Section 29 of Louisiana Constitution
La. R.S. 39:326, 39:321, 11:401, 11:402, 11:403, 11:2252, 11:1001 Office of the Commissioner
Division of Administration
Firefighters’ Retirement System and Municipal Police Employees’
P.O. Box 94095
Retirement System do not fall under jurisdiction of Louisiana
Property Assistance Agency.
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095

Dear Mr. Jordan:

The Division of Administration through the Louisiana Property Assistance Agency (“LPAA”), an office within the Division, questions whether or not the Firefighters’ Retirement System and the Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System fall under its jurisdiction. LPAA believes they do fall under its jurisdiction. In short, it is our opinion that these statewide retirement systems do not fall under the jurisdiction of the LPAA.

As noted in your request, the Division of Administration is statutorily charged with the management of state property.1 This responsibility is carried out by the LPAA. The statutes pertaining to property control specifically define agency as follows:

(1) “Agency” means any state office, department, board, commission, institution, division, officer or other person, or functional group, heretofore existing or hereafter created, that is authorized to exercise, or that does exercise, any functions of the government of the state, but not any governing body or officer of any local government or subdivision of the state, district attorney, sheriff, or any parochial officer who exercises functions coterminous with the municipality in which he performs those functions.2 (Emphasis added).

Thus, the law exempts local governments, governing bodies, officers or subdivisions of the state.

It is first important to note that there are different types of retirement systems in the state of Louisiana. There are state systems and statewide systems. State systems are under the management of a board of trustees for the purpose of providing retirement

1
La. R.S. 39:326
2
La. R.S. 39:321

Page 2

Opinion Number 05-0456
Mr. Edgar C. Jordan
Assistant Commissioner
Office of the Commissioner
Division of Administration
Page -2-

allowances and other benefits for state officers, their employees and beneficiaries.3 The Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (LASERS), for example, is statutorily designated as a state agency.4 For LASERS, employee is defined as any person legally occupying a position in state service and employer is defined as the state of Louisiana or any of its boards, commissions, departments, agencies and courts.5 There are four state systems and although each of them have their own enabling legislation, they are all created for the benefit of state officers and employees.

On the contrary, the statewide systems were created for the benefit of local employees and their beneficiaries. For example, the Firefighters’ Retirement System is not statutorily designated as a state agency. The statute states that the System has the power and privileges of a corporation.6 An employee is defined as any full-time firefighter or any person in a position who is employed by a fire department of any municipality, parish or fire protection district of the state of Louisiana. An employer is defined as any municipality, parish, or fire protection district in the state of Louisiana.7 This system, therefore, is for the benefit of local employees and employers.

Likewise the Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System is not statutorily designated as a state agency. It has the power and privileges of a corporation and was created for the benefit of municipal policemen in the state. Employee is defined as an officer employed by a municipality and employer is defined as any municipality in the state who employs a full-time police officer. Again, this system is for the benefit of local employees and employers.

Our opinion is further supported by the language in Article 10, Section 29 of the Louisiana Constitution that provides in pertinent part as follows:

(B) Other officials and employees. The legislature shall enact laws providing for retirement of officials and employees of the state, its agencies, and its political subdivisions, including persons employed jointly by state and federal agencies other than those in military service, through the establishment of one or more retirement systems. Membership in any retirement system of the state or of a political subdivision thereof shall be a contractual relationship between employee and employer, and the state shall guarantee benefits payable to a member of a state retirement system or retiree or to his lawful beneficiary upon his death.

Thus, the constitution recognizes a system for political subdivisions.

3
La. R.S. 11:401
4
La. R.S. 11:402
5
La. R.S. 11:403
6
La. R.S. 11:2252
7
Id.

Page 3

Opinion Number 05-0456
Mr. Edgar C. Jordan
Assistant Commissioner
Office of the Commissioner
Division of Administration
Page -3-

You cited Attorney General Opinion Number 93-676 in your request to support your opinion that the statewide retirement systems, specifically, the Firefighters’ Retirement System and the Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System, fall under your jurisdiction. We do not disagree with the findings in this opinion. We can, however, distinguish it from your request. It specifically addressed the applications of different state laws to statewide retirement systems. The opinion concluded that although the Louisiana Constitution does not specifically classify any of the public retirement systems as state agencies or as any particular type of entity it does make it clear that the legislature is left to determine the particulars of each system. We believe the legislature has done so and specifically designates a number of the state systems as state agencies.8 The opinion concluded that the statewide retirement systems could be considered state agencies or at a minimum entities or instrumentalities of the state. Again, we do not necessarily disagree with that conclusion but we do note that the opinion did not consider whether or not the systems fell under the jurisdiction of the LPAA. The opinion specifically considered whether or not the statewide systems fell under the jurisdiction of the Administrative Procedure Act, the Legislative Auditor and the Code of Governmental Ethics. It should be noted that each of these bodies of law have their own definition of agency. Likewise, the LPAA has a specific definition of agency to determine what agencies fall under its jurisdiction. This language is clear; an agency does not include any governing body or officer of any local government or subdivision of the state. The Firefighters’ Retirement System and the Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System consist of local employees and employers and therefore are not agencies as defined under the LPAA.

With Kindest Regards,

Yours very truly,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
Attorney General

BY: _________
TINA VICARI GRANT
Assistant Attorney General

CCF, jr./TVG/dam

8
Louisiana State Employees Retirement System (LASERS) (La. R. S. 11:402); Louisiana School Employees Retirement System (LSERS) (La. R. S. 11:1001).

Page 4

Opinion Number 05-0456
Syllabus

92-A-2 (g) Retirement – State Employees
92-A-2 (j) Retirement - Judges
92-A-2 (l) Retirement - Teachers
92-A-2 (m) Retirement - Firefighters
Article 10, Section 29 of Louisiana Constitution
La. R.S. 39:326, 39:321, 11:401, 11:402, 11:403, 11:2252, 11:1001

Firefighters’ Retirement System and Municipal Police Employees’ Retirement System do not fall under jurisdiction of Louisiana Property Assistance Agency.

Mr. Edgar C. Jordan
Assistant Commissioner
Office of the Commissioner
Division of Administration
P.O. Box 94095
Baton Rouge, LA 70804-9095

Date Received:

Date Released: April 25, 2006

Tina Vicari Grant
Assistant Attorney General