Could a Calcasieu Parish drug task force reimburse the district attorney for an assigned prosecutor?

Plain-English summary

Lake Charles's police chief asked whether the Calcasieu Parish district attorney could assign an assistant district attorney to a combined anti-drug task force and receive reimbursement for the legal services. The proposed assignment included advice, prosecution of criminal cases arising from task-force work, and civil asset-forfeiture filings. The AG concluded that an intergovernmental agreement covering those services and their cost was permitted under the cited Louisiana cooperation law.

The AG reasoned that the district attorney and the task force's state and local law-enforcement participants qualified as public entities or parts of them. Joint police, health, and safety activities were among the undertakings authorized by R.S. 33:1324. It specifically excepted the FBI from its statement that the task-force participants qualified under that Louisiana statute; the opinion did not resolve any separate federal-agency authority.

The opinion also described formal steps. R.S. 33:1325 required each party to accept the agreement by ordinance or resolution setting out its terms and to publish it in that party's official journal. The AG called for review of the agreement against the full statutory range. It addressed the proposed arrangement, rather than certifying that a final agreement had satisfied those steps.

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

Could the task force pay the district attorney for an assigned assistant prosecutor?

The AG said the proposed reimbursement arrangement was permissible under the intergovernmental-cooperation statute when documented and accepted as the statute required.

What work could the assistant district attorney perform under the proposal?

The request covered legal advice and assistance, prosecution of criminal cases generated by the task force, and civil asset-forfeiture filings from its cases. The AG treated those activities as related to the participants' authorized police and safety functions.

Did a police chief's approval alone complete the agreement?

No. The opinion quoted R.S. 33:1325 as requiring each party to accept the agreement by ordinance or resolution, state its terms, and publish it in its official journal.

Did the opinion say the FBI qualified as a Louisiana political subdivision?

No. It expressly excluded the FBI when describing which task-force participants qualified as Louisiana political subdivisions or parts of them. It gave no separate ruling on federal participation.

Background and statutory framework

The Calcasieu Parish Combined Anti-Drug Team included multiple local police agencies, the parish sheriff, and the FBI. The AG applied R.S. 33:1324, which allowed eligible public bodies to undertake joint functions and use shared funds, personnel, facilities, or property when at least one participant had authority to perform the work. It then identified the acceptance and publication requirements of R.S. 33:1325 within the broader R.S. 33:1321-1332 scheme.

Citations

• R.S. 33:1324 (joint undertakings and use of public personnel and funds).
• R.S. 33:1325 (ordinance or resolution and official-journal publication).
• R.S. 33:1321-1332 (statutory agreement framework).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/06-0015

Original opinion text

April 20, 2006
OPINION NUMBER 06-0015

90 POLICE JURIES - Powers & Functions 90-A-1 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS - Property,
Donald D. Dixon
Contracts
Chief of Police
R.S. 33:1321-1332
City of Lake Charles
District Attorney and Parish Combined Anti-Drug Task Force
830 Enterprise Blvd.
may enter into an intergovernmental agreement, wherein the
P.O. Box 1564
District Attorney would assign an assistant district attorney to
provide legal advice and assistance to the task force, and in
Lake Charles, LA 70602-1564
return, the task force would reimburse the District Attorney the
cost of providing such advice and assistance.
Dear Chief Dixon:

You have requested the opinion of this office on the legality of a proposed intergovernmental agreement between the Calcasieu Parish District Attorney (DA) and the Calcasieu Parish Combined Anti-Drug Team (CAT). CAT consists of several participating law enforcement agencies including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Lake Charles Police Department, Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Office, DeQuincy Police Department, Vinton Police Department, Sulphur Police Department, Westlake Police Department and Iowa Police Department.

Under the proposed agreement described in your opinion request, the District Attorney would assign an assistant district attorney to CAT for the purpose of providing legal advice and assistance, including the prosecution of criminal cases generated by the task force and the filing of civil asset forfeiture cases generated by the task force. In return, CAT would reimburse the DA the cost for providing such legal advice, assistance and services. Such an agreement would be between at least two public entities, and therefore, the provisions of R.S. 33:1321, et seq., would be applicable.

R.S. 33:1324 grants to parishes and other political subdivisions of the state authority to enter agreements to engage jointly in the construction, acquisition, improvement, promotion and maintenance of any undertaking so long as at least one of the parties to the agreement is authorized by law to perform such activity or exercise such power as is necessary for completion of the undertaking. Such arrangements may provide for the joint use of funds, facilities, personnel or property or any combination thereof necessary to accomplish the purposes of the agreement. The Calcasieu Parish District Attorney and, with the exception of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, all of the parties that make up CAT qualify as either a political subdivision of the state or part thereof and therefore the parties may enter into agreements pursuant to this provision.

Page 2

Opinion Number 06-0015
Donald D. Dixon
Chief of Police
City of Lake Charles
Page -2-

Among the purposes for which such joint undertakings are designated as appropriate in R.S. 33:1324 are police, fire and health protection activities. The proposed use of District Attorney personnel for criminal and civil prosecutions relating to cases generated by CAT and the actions of the CAT participants relate to police, health and safety activities within the parish for which the DA and CAT participants are authorized to perform and therefore such an agreement clearly qualifies under the provisions of this statute.

Please note that R.S. 33:1325 requires each party to the agreement accept the agreement by ordinance or resolution which sets forth the terms of the agreement and that the agreement be published in the official journal of the public entity. The agreement should be scrutinized carefully for compliance with all of the requirements of R.S. 33:1321-1332.

I trust that this answers your inquiry. Please advise if we may be of further assistance.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
Attorney General

By: _______
RICHARD L. MCGIMSEY
Assistant Attorney General

CCF, Jr/RLM/dam

Page 3

OPINION NUMBER 06-0015
SYLLABUS

90
POLICE JURIES - Powers & Functions
90-A-1 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS - Property, Contracts

R.S. 33:1321-1332

District Attorney and Parish Combined Anti-Drug Task Force may enter into an intergovernmental agreement, wherein the District Attorney would assign an assistant district attorney to provide legal advice and assistance to the task force, and in return, the task force would reimburse the District Attorney the cost of providing such advice and assistance.

Donald D. Dixon
Chief of Police
City of Lake Charles
830 Enterprise Blvd.
P.O. Box 1564
Lake Charles, LA 70602-1564

Date Received:

Date Released: April 20, 2006

Richard L. McGimsey
Assistant Attorney General