Did St. Landry Parish have to bid out a bond counsel contract?

Plain-English summary

St. Landry Parish asked whether it had to bid out a bond attorney's services, who could retain that attorney, and who could draft a resolution for a parishwide tax proposition. The Attorney General said legal services were outside the Louisiana Public Bid Law, even though the parish had to follow that law for covered public works and purchases. The parish government could retain bond counsel through a written special-counsel contract.

The opinion also said it did not matter who drafted the tax-proposition resolution; the parish government could prepare and adopt it. Although bidding was not required for the legal-services contract, the AG recommended that the parish establish procedures for service contracts over $20,000 and said a request for proposals was a valid selection method. That was a prudential recommendation, not a statutory bidding requirement in the opinion.

The official extract identifies the opinion as 06-0183 but does not print a release date. This page leaves the date blank. Its text is a best-effort transcription from an OCR-damaged PDF.

Currency note

The official extract does not state a release date. 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 St. Landry Parish need competitive bids for bond counsel?

No. The AG treated bond counsel as a legal-services contract, which it said the Public Bid Law did not cover.

Who could retain the bond attorney?

The parish government. The opinion quoted its home rule charter as allowing special legal counsel under a written contract stating the services and any compensation.

Did the AG require an RFP even though bidding did not apply?

No. It suggested procedures for service contracts over $20,000 and described an RFP as a valid option, not as a legal condition it found mandatory.

Who had to draft the tax-proposition resolution?

The AG said the drafter's identity was not relevant. It said the parish government could prepare and adopt a resolution for that proposition.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion distinguished service contracts from the public works and purchases governed by LSA-R.S. 38:2211-2296. It quoted St. Landry's Home Rule Charter Section 4-04(C) on written special-counsel contracts and Section 2-10(C) on parish resolutions. The AG applied those provisions after the parish's change to home rule government.

Citations

• LSA-R.S. 38:2211-2296 (Louisiana Public Bid Law discussed by the AG).
• St. Landry Home Rule Charter Sections 4-04(C) and 2-10(C) (special counsel and resolutions).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/06-0183

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE

70804-9005
CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

90-A-1 Public Funds & Public Contracts
R.S. 38:2211-2296

Ms. Andrea L. West
Legal services constitute a contract for professional
Assistant District Attorney
services which are not subject to the Louisiana Public Bid
Law. Public Bid Law is not applicable when contracting for
St. Landry Parish Government
services, whether of a professional or other nature. Parish
P.O. Drawer 921
Government is authorized to retain such services and is
Eunice, LA 70535
also authorized to prepare Resolution calling for a parish
wide tax proposition.

Dear Ms. West:

On behalf of the St. Landry Parish Government (Parish Government) you have requested the opinion of this office on whether or not services for a bonding attorney must be bid out pursuant to the Louisiana Public Bid Law or, if not, who would appoint the bonding attorney to represent the parish government. You also ask our opinion as to who would draft the Resolution calling for a parish wide tax proposition. According to your request, in 2004, St. Landry Parish changed from a Police Jury form of government to a Home Rule Charter form of government.

While the Parish Government is subject to the Louisiana Public Bid Law, LSA-R.S.
38:2211-2296, when contracting for public works or the purchase of materials and supplies, our courts have held that contracts for services, professional or otherwise, are not subject to the requirements of that statute. Lafourche Parish Water District No. 1 v.
Carl Heck Engineers, Inc. (La.App. 1st Cir. 1977) 346 So.2d 769; BFI, Inc. v. City of Monroe (La.App. 2d Cir. 1985) 465 So.2d 882. Prior opinions of our office have stated that contracts for engineering services, landscaping services, management, professional and consulting services constitute service contracts and not a public work.
See Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 87-31, 88-40, 88-392, 90-48, 90-37, 90-341, 92-708, 96-60 and 99-380. Accordingly, a contract for legal services, including that of bond counsel, as described herein would constitute a service contract and would not be subject to the requirements of the Public Bid Law.

While we are not aware of any other statute which would prescribe a method for award of such contracts for services, regardless of contract price, it is prudent that the Parish establish procedures for award of contracts over $20,000. The same bid procedure used for public projects or purchases can be used. A request for proposals process would also be a valid means of selecting a contractor, giving weight to relevant factors in addition to price.

Page 2

Opinion Number 06-0183
Andrea L. West
Assistant District Attorney
St. Landry Parish Government
Page -2-

The St. Landry Home Rule Charter, Section 4-04(C), provides that the parish government "may retain special legal counsel pursuant to a written contract which outlines the specific purpose and nature of the legal services to be performed and the compensation, if any, to be paid for the services." A bond attorney would constitute special council and therefore, the parish government would be the appropriate party to appoint and retain such legal services pursuant to a written contract that outlines the specific purpose and nature of the legal services to be rendered.

As to who is the appropriate and authorized party to draft the Resolution calling for a parish wide tax proposition, it is the opinion of this office that it is not relevant as to who drafts the resolution. However, pursuant Section 2-10(C) of the Home Rule Charter, a resolution may be adopted by the Parish Government and "used for the purpose of expressing the council’s opinion as to some given matter or thing."

This office is therefore of the opinion that a contract for legal services, including that of bond counsel, is for services and is not subject to the Public Bid Law and that the Parish Government is the appropriate and legally authorized party to retain bond counsel. It is the further opinion of this office that the Parish Government is authorized and may prepare the Resolution that would call for a parish wide tax proposition.

We trust that this answers your inquiry.

Very Truly Yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
Attorney General

By: ~
RICHARD L. MC GIMSEY
Assistant Attorney General
Public Finance & Contracts Section

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