Can Ascension Parish's president veto an informal access-channel advisory board or its guidelines?

Plain-English summary

Ascension Parish's council had appointed a citizen advisory board for its access channel without passing an ordinance. The Attorney General said the parish president could not veto that board or the guidelines it followed. Charter Section 3-04 gave the president a veto over specified legislative acts, while the request described an appointed board and guidelines outside those acts.

The AG also said the president retained a monitoring role and could report operational concerns to the council. This answer differs from Opinion 06-0233, which treated formal ordinances creating a board and setting channel rules as vetoable. The difference is the legal form of what the council did, not a change in who managed the channel.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. Ascension's charter, appointment practice, or later opinions may have changed the procedure. Check the current charter and the actual council action before asserting a veto.

What this means for you

Parish council members and advisory boards

Keep the appointment record and any separate ordinance or resolution clear. The AG's no-veto answer depended on a board appointed without an ordinance and guidelines the board followed, rather than a legislative measure presented for veto.

Parish presidents

A veto under the cited charter section attaches to specified council acts. For the informal board and guidelines described here, the AG pointed instead to monitoring and reporting operational concerns under the charter.

Common questions

Why did the AG say no veto was available?

The council had not created the board by ordinance, and the request described guidelines followed by the board rather than a legislative act presented for veto. The AG read the veto power as limited to the forms named in the charter.

Did the AG validate the board's creation without an ordinance?

No. It noted that the charter authorizes creating advisory boards by ordinance, but answered the narrower question whether the president could veto this appointed board and its guidelines.

Did this opinion contradict the earlier Channel 21 veto opinion?

The two letters addressed different facts. Opinion 06-0233 involved ordinances creating a board and adopting policies; this opinion involved a board appointed without an ordinance and guidelines it followed.

Could the president still object to the board's work?

Yes. The AG said the charter gave the president authority to monitor special boards and report operational matters to the governing authority, including objections to guidelines.

Background and statutory framework

Ascension charter Section 4-12(e) described creating advisory boards by ordinance and council appointment of their members. Section 3-04 gave the president veto power over ordinances, codes, resolutions, and certain budget items. The AG applied those provisions to the council's non-ordinance appointment and concluded that the described board and guidelines were outside the veto power.

Citations

• Ascension Parish Home Rule Charter Section 4-12(e) (advisory boards).
• Ascension Parish Home Rule Charter Section 3-04 (presidential veto).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/06-0241
• Related ordinance opinion: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/06-0233

Original opinion text

November 9, 2006
OPINION 06-0241

Suzanne B. Patterson
71-1-B MUNICIPALITIES – Home Rule Charter
Parish of Ascension
Office of the Parish Council 84 PARISHES
P. O. Box 1659
The Ascension Parish Home Rule Charter does not extend the
208 E. Railroad Street veto power of the parish president to advisory boards that have Gonzales, LA 70707-1659 not been created by ordinance nor to the guidelines that are
followed.

Dear Ms. Patterson:

Your request for an Attorney General’s opinion was forwarded to me for research and reply. You specifically asked whether the parish president has the authority to veto a citizen’s advisory board and guidelines for the Ascension Parish access channel pursuant to his authority under the parish charter. As per our conversation you have advised that a citizen’s advisory board has been appointed by the parish council, but not pursuant to any ordinance.

Article IV Section 4-12 Subsection (e) of the Ascension Parish Home Rule Charter authorizes the creation of advisory boards by ordinance approved by a majority vote of the entire governing authority. The governing authority has been granted the power to appoint and remove members, whereas, the members are required to report to the parish president.

Pursuant to the presidential veto powers set forth in Article, III, Section 3-04:

The president may veto any ordinance, code, resolution, or line item in the budget ordinance within ten (10) days after enactment….Whenever the president exercises the veto, he shall immediately notify all governing authority members of the action by the same methods of notification a special meeting….At such meeting the governing authority may override the veto and adopt the ordinance by a favorable vote of at least two-thirds of its members.

It appears from a reading of the Home Rule Charter that the parish president’s veto power does not extend to advisory boards which have not been created by virtue of an ordinance, nor does his veto power extend to vetoing guidelines followed by the advisory board. However, the president has been granted authority to monitor all special boards and report to the governing authority any

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SUZANNE B. PATTERSON
OPINION 06-0241
Page - 3 –

operational matters as deemed necessary, which may include objections to the guidelines. (See, Section 3-03(I)).

Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that the parish president does not have authority to veto the citizen’s advisory board nor guidelines followed by the advisory board.

We hope this opinion has sufficiently addressed your concerns. If our office may be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Sincerely,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By: ___
CHARLENE PATTERSON
Assistant Attorney General

CCF, Jr./CP
Enclosure

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SUZANNE B. PATTERSON
OPINION 06-0241
Page - 3 –

SYLLABUS

OPINION 06-0241

71-1-B MUNICIPALITIES – Home Rule Charter

84 PARISHES

The Ascension Parish Home Rule Charter does not extend the veto power of the parish president to advisory boards that have not been created by ordinance nor to the guidelines that are followed.

Suzanne B. Patterson
Parish of Ascension
Office of the Parish Council
P. O. Box 1659
208 E. Railroad Street
Gonzales, LA 70707-1659

DATE RECEIVED:

DATE RELEASED: November 9, 2006

Charlene Patterson
Assistant Attorney General