Did extending and partly rededicating Lafourche Parish's library tax require a two-thirds council vote?

Plain-English summary

In November 2013, the Louisiana Attorney General said Lafourche Parish's proposal to extend a 3.80-mill library property tax and rededicate part of it to a new jail did not require the parish council's two-thirds vote for a tax increase. The charter used that vote requirement for an ordinance increasing a tax. The AG read La. R.S. 18:1284(C) as treating a rate increase differently from an extension of the tax's duration; the proposal extended duration without raising the rate.

The proposition put one mill toward a new parish jail and kept 2.80 mills for library purposes starting January 1, 2014. The AG said that rededication would affect taxes levied in 2014, not taxes levied in 2013 and collected the next year. It also found no legal bar to the council's earlier 2013 library levy ordinance followed by the ordinance calling the rededication and extension election.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. 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 council need six favorable votes to put the proposal before voters?

The AG said no under the charter provision requiring two-thirds approval for a tax increase. It found the proposal extended the tax's duration without increasing its rate.

Would money from the 2013 levy be redirected to a jail?

No. The AG read the proposition as starting the rededication January 1, 2014, affecting taxes levied in 2014.

Could the council levy the existing library tax in 2013 and then call a later election?

Yes. The opinion said the two ordinances concerned different levy years and identified no law prohibiting that sequence.

Background and statutory framework

Lafourche's library board asked about a council ordinance adopted by less than a two-thirds vote to call a November 2013 election. The AG compared Article V, Section 2(G) of the parish charter with La. R.S. 18:1284(C)'s distinction between a special tax's rate and duration, then answered questions about the proposed effective date and ordinance sequence.

Citations

• La. R.S. 18:1284(C) (special-tax election proposition requirements quoted in the opinion).
• Lafourche Parish Home Rule Charter, Article V, Section 2(G) (two-thirds rule quoted in the opinion).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0178

Original opinion text

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

November 20, 2013
OPINION 13-0178
150 - TAXATION
La. Const. art. VI, § 26; La. Const. art. VI, §22; La. R.S. 18:1284

Ms. Lynette Fossum
An extension of the duration for which the tax is authorized to be levied
does not constitute a tax increase. As such, the Lafourche Parish
Lafourche Parish Library
Charter does not require that an ordinance that rededicates and
Board of Control
extends the duration of a certain ad valorem tax be enacted only when
voted upon favorably by at least a two-thirds (213) majority (6) of the
314 Saint Mary Street
voting members of the Council. Also, under the proposition in question,
Thibodaux, Louisiana 70301
the rededication would only affect ad valorem taxes levied in 2014.
Finally, it was permissible for the Lafourche Parish Council to approve an ordinance to levy the library millage at 3.80 mills in 2013 and then
Dear Ms. Fossum: subsequently approve the ordinance mentioned above to hold extension
and partial rededication election.

Your request for an Attorney General's Opinion regarding a certain ad valorem tax has been assigned to me for research and reply.

You indicate that, on August 27, 2013, by a vote of less than two-thirds majority of the voting members of the Lafourche Parish Council (the "Council"), the Council passed an ordinance providing that the following proposition be placed before voters at a November 16, 2013 election:

Shall the Parish of Lafourche, State of Louisiana (the "Parish") partially rededicate and extend the special tax of 3.80 mills (the "Tax") on all property subject to taxation within the Parish (an estimated $3,451,000.00 reasonably estimated at this time to be collected from the levy of the Tax for an entire year) for acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining and/or operating the Lafourche Parish Public Library and its branches, including automation and other equipment, library books and materials and furnishings therefor, as previously authorized by voters on October 15, 2005, for an additional period of 30 years, commencing on January 1, 2014, with 1.0 mills of such Tax to be rededicated to the acquisition, construction, operation and maintenance of a new Parish jail; with the proceeds thereof subject to being funded· into bonds and with the remaining 2.80 mills to continue to be dedicated to the library (which will also continue to benefit from an additional 2.50 mills currently dedicated thereto) as previously authorized?

First, you ask whether the ordinance needed to be approved by a vote of not less than two-thirds majority of the voting members of the Council. Article V, Section 2(G) of the

Page 2

Ms. Lynette Fossum
Opinion 13-0178
Page -2­

Lafourche Parish Home Rule Charter (the "Charter"), in pertinent part, provides that "[a]n ordinance to increase a tax, service charge, occupational license fee, or special fee shall only be enacted only when voted upon favorably by at least a two-thirds (2/3) majority (6) of the voting members of the Council." Thus, the ultimate question is whether an extension of the duration for which the tax is authorized to be levied constitutes a tax increase. Significantly, we note that the Charter is silent on the matter.

Under La. Const. art. VI, §26(B), the governing authority of a parish may levy annually an ad valorem tax beyond the four mills generally allowed for general purposes. Further, La. Const. art. VI, §32 provides that "[f]or the purpose of acquiring, constructing, improving, maintaining, or operating any work of public improvement, a political subdivision may levy special taxes when authorized by a majority of the electors in the political subdivision who vote thereon in an election held for that purpose."

Moreover, La. Const. art. VI, §22 provides the following:

When an election is required in a political subdivision under the provisions of this constitution which require submission to the electors of a proposition or question, the election shall be called, conducted, and the returns thereof canvassed, in accordance with the procedures established by the law then in effect pertaining to elections for incurring bonded indebtedness and special taxes relative to local finance, or as may be otherwise provided by law.

The purpose of La. R.S. 18:1281 et seq. is to implement La. Const. art. VI, §22 by establishing a uniform procedure for the conduct of elections to authorize the issuance of bonds, the assumption of indebtedness, and the imposition or increase of taxes by political subdivisions. Pertinently, La. R.S. 18:1284(C) provides as follows:

If the purpose of the election is to authorize the levy or increase of a special tax, the resolution and the proposition submitted to the voters shall state the rate, object, and purpose for which the tax is to be levied or increased; the estimated amount reasonably expected to be collected from the levy or increase of the tax for one entire year at the time it is proposed; and, if it is to be limited as to duration, the number of years it is to run. If the purpose of the election is to authorize an increase of a tax, the resolution and the proposition shall also state the rate increase. The contents of any proposition or resolution relative to the issuance of general obligation bonds shall be as provided in Subsection B of this Section.

[Emphasis added].

As you can see, under La. R.S. 18:1284(C), a tax increase contemplates a rate increase but not an extension of the duration of the tax. Therefore, considering the forgoing statutory authority, it is the opinion of this office that an extension of the

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Ms. Lynette Fossum
Opinion 13-0178
Page -3­

duration for which the tax is authorized to be levied does not constitute a tax increase. As such, the Charter does not require that the ordinance in question be enacted only when voted upon favorably by at least a two-thirds (2/3) majority (6) of the voting members of the Council.

Next, you also ask whether the potential rededication would affect ad valorem taxes levied in 2013 and collected in 2014.

The short answer to that question is no. The proposition clearly provides that the rededication and extension is to commence on January 1, 2014. Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that, under the proposition in question, the rededication would only affect ad valorem taxes levied in 2014.

Finally, you ask whether it was legal for the Council to approve an ordinance to levy the library millage at 3.80 mills in 2013 and then subsequently approve the ordinance mentioned above to hold extension and partial rededication election.

You did not cite, nor could we find any legal authority prohibiting the Council from doing so. In fact, the two ordinances do not even relate to taxes to be levied in the same year. Thus, it is the opinion of this office that it was permissible for the Council to approve an ordinance to levy the library millage at 3.80 mills in 2013 and then subsequently approve the ordinance mentioned above to hold extension and partial rededication
election.
.

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
Attorney General

BY:~*' ~
BENJAMIN A. HUXEN II
Assistant Attorney General
JDC/BAH II