Could Louisiana’s wholesale drug distributor board buy the office building it occupied?

Plain-English summary

The Louisiana Board of Wholesale Drug Distributors considered buying the building it occupied. The AG opinion concluded that the board had no statutory authority to purchase immovable property. The AG said a state board needed express authority in its enabling legislation to buy or sell real property, and found no such grant in this board's statutes.

The AG observed that the Legislature could later add the authority. It also said that if the board ever gained it, paying more than appraised value would raise the constitutional ban on donations of public funds. The scanned letterhead does not resolve the full issue date, so the date field is blank.

Currency note

The issue date is unreadable in the available scan extract. 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.

Historical summary

Board members

The AG found that the board's listed powers covered tasks such as conducting hearings and employing staff, but did not authorize purchasing an office building.

Public property officials

The opinion used an express-authority rule for state agencies buying immovable property. It treated a future legislative amendment as the path by which this board could acquire that power.

Common questions

Could the board buy the building it occupied?

The AG said no under the enabling statutes it reviewed.

Did general power to run the board include buying real estate?

No. The AG said purchasing immovable property required a specific statutory grant.

Could the Legislature change the result?

The opinion said the Legislature could amend the statutes to grant the board express purchase authority.

Background and statutory framework

The AG reviewed the board's enabling provisions and focused on La. R.S. 37:3467, which listed its powers and duties. It found no purchase authority there. The opinion also discussed the constitutional public-funds limit that would apply if the board later gained authority to buy property.

Citations

• La. R.S. 37:3467: board powers and duties reviewed by the AG.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0071

Original opinion text

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

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWEll
70804-9005
ATIORNEY GENERAL

JU 1 2 201
OPINION 13-0071

90-A-1 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS
La. Const. art. VII. Sec. 14
Mr. Michael Davis, Vice Chairman
La. R.S. 37:3467
Louisiana Board of Wholesale Drug Distributors The Louisiana Board of Wholesale Drug
12091 Bricksome Avenue, Suite B
Distributors does not have the statutory authority
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70816
to purchase immovable property.

Dear Mr. Davis:

The Louisiana Board of Wholesale Drug Distributors ("Board") has requested an opinion of this office regarding whether it has the authority to purchase and own immovable property. Your request states that the Board is considering purchasing the office building it currently occupies for its administrative office.

Our office has consistently opined that in order for a state department, agency, board or district to buy or sell immoveable property, it must be specifically authorized to do so by the legislative act by which it was created. See La. Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 09-0220, 03­ 0100, 01-46 and 95-342.

Our review of the statutes creating and setting forth the powers and duties of the Board, La. R.S. 37:3461-3482, did not reveal any provision which authorizes the purchase of immovable property. La. R.S. 37:3467, which sets forth the powers and duties of the Board, provides as follows:

A. The Board shall:

(1) Approve, deny, revoke, or suspend licenses of qualified applicants for licensure as wholesale drug distributors and renew licenses.

(2) Regulate the distribution of legend drugs or legend devices by wholesale drug distributors.

(3) Monitor compliance with all federal and state laws and regulations regarding the distribution of wholesale legend drugs or legend devices by wholesale drug distributors and promulgate rules and regulations relative thereto.

Page 2

Mr. Michael Davis
Opinion 13-0071
Page -2­

(4) Conduct inspections of wholesale drug facilities.

(5) Conduct hearings on charges relative to the violation of any provision of this Chapter.

(6) Exercise all other powers necessary and proper to perform its duties within the scope of this Chapter.

B. The board may:

(1) Issue subpoenas and administer oaths to persons giving testimony at hearings.

(2) Employ and fix compensation of persons necessary to carry on the work of the board.

(3) Appoint an attorney to represent the board in all matters pertaining to the administration of this Chapter, define his duties, and fix his compensation.

Although it is our opinion that the statute cited above does not give the Board the authority to purchase immovable property, we note that the legislature may always amend these statutes to expressly give the Board the authority to do so.

If, in the future, the Board's enabling statutes allows for the purchase of immovable property, we remind you that the purchase of immovable property for a price that exceeds the appraised value is tantamount to a donation of funds prohibited by Article VII, Section 14 of the Louisiana Constitution. La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 99-251.

In conclusion, it is the opinion of this office that the Louisiana Board of Wholesale Drug Distributors does not have the statutory authority to purchase immovable property.

We trust this adequately responds to your request. However, if our office can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

Yours very truly,

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
Attorn~
By: tL1----­
lindsey K. H~nter
Assistant Attorney General
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