Could a Louisiana parish use a road-lighting tax to move utility poles for a public trail?

Plain-English summary

In 2015, the Louisiana Attorney General concluded that St. James Parish could use voter-approved Road Lighting Millage Tax proceeds to relocate poles that provided lighting or supported other lighting poles. The relocation was needed for a bicycle and pedestrian trail, but the AG found that moving the poles also served the ballot proposition's purpose of providing and maintaining lights in public places.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. 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

Q: Could the parish use lighting-tax money to move the poles? A: The AG said yes for poles that provided lighting or supported other light poles.

Q: Did the trail's purpose alone control the tax question? A: No. The AG tied its answer to the relocation also maintaining public street lighting, a purpose the voters had approved.

Q: What limited use of the special tax?
A: The opinion said La. R.S. 39:704 restricted proceeds to the objects and purposes for which the tax was levied.

Background and statutory framework

The parish had received a federal grant for a multi-use trail and was responsible for utility relocation costs. The AG applied La. R.S. 39:704, which limited special-tax proceeds to the purposes for which voters approved the tax. It concluded that relocating the specified lighting poles fit the road-lighting purpose.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 39:704.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/15-0059

Original opinion text

J5itate cf JIlauisiana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70B04-9005
JAMES O. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
AITORNEYGENERAL

AUG 14 2015
OPINION 15-0059
90-A-1 PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS
La. R.S. 39:704
Bruce G. Mohon
The 81. James Parish Police Jury may use the Road Lighting
Assistant District Attorney
Millage Tax proceeds contained in the Parish Road Lighting
Parish of St. James
Fund for the purpose of relocating utility poles that provide
lighting and support for other light poles.
P.O. Box 66
Convent, LA 70723

Dear Mr. Mohon:

On behalf of the St. James Parish Council (the "Parish"), you have requested an opinion from this office related to the Parish's use of funds for the purpose of relocating certain utility poles. Specifically, you have indicated that the Parish was awarded a grant from the Federal Highway Administration for the purpose of constructing a multi-use bicycle/pedestrian trail in St. James Parish along La. Hwy. 44 ("River Road"). As part of an agreement with the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development ("DOTD"), the administrator of the grant, the Parish is responsible for paying all costs associated with the relocation of any utilities that interfere with the construction of the trail. According to your request, approximately twenty-one (21) utility poles will require relocation at a cost of approxlmately $70,000. According to the information you provided, all but one of these utility poles either have lights attached to them or provide direct support for other poles that provide light. Once relocated, these utility poles will continue to provide light as well as support for light poles.

According to your request, the Parish intends to pay for the relocation of the utility poles with funds contained in the Parish Road Lighting Fund. The monies in this fund are obtained from a Road Lighting Millage Tax. You have asked this office whether the Parish may use the funds contained in the Parish Road Lighting Fund for the purpose of relocating the utility poles. Additionally, you have asked what other funds might be used in the event this office determines that the Parish Road Lighting Fund may not be used.

In order to determine whether monies in the Parish Road Lighting Fund may be used to relocate the utility poles, the Road Lighting Millage Tax, the source of the monies, must be analyzed to determine whether the tax proceeds derived from the tax may be used for such purposes. Louisiana law provides that the proceeds of any special tax shall

Page 2

Bruce Mohon
Opinion 15-0059
Page -2­

constitute a trust fund to be used exclusively for the objects and purposes for which the tax was levied. La. R.S. 39:704. Additionally, Louisiana jurisprudence provides that special tax authorizations must be strictly construed. Police Jury of the Parish of Acadia v. All Taxpayers, et a/., 95-145 (La.App. 3 Cir. 3/29/95); 653 So.2d 94, rehearing denied, 657 SO.2d 1032 (La. 6/30/95); Hemler v. Richland Parish Schoo/ Board, 76 So. 585 (La. 1917); Watkins v. Ouachita Parish School Board, 136 So. 591 (La. 1931); Hodnett v. Monroe City School Board, 277 So.2d 598 (La. App. 2 Cir. 1972) and Brock v. St. James Parish Council, 407 SO.2d 1265 (La. App. 4 Cir. 1981), writ denied 412 So.2d 1094 (La. 1982). Moreover, it has consistently been the opinion of this office that sale and use tax proceeds must be used solely for the purposes approved by the voters. See, e.g. La. Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 13-0159, 12-0089, 09-0150, 02-0060.

According to the information you provided our office, the Road Lighting Millage Tax proposition states that the tax is levied for "the purpose of providing, maintaining and operating electric lights on the streets, roads, highways, alleys and public places... " It would appear that the relocation of the utility poles would satisfy this purpose. In relocating the poles, the Parish is not only removing obstacles impeding the construction of the bicycle/pedestrian trail, but the relocation also serves the purpose of continuing to provide and maintain street lighting in public places of the Parish.

Accordingly, it is the opinion of this office that the Parish may use the Road Lighting Millage Tax proceeds contained in the Parish Road Lighting Fund for the purpose of relocating utility poles that provide lighting or support for other light poles. That purpose is authorized by the proposition approved by the voters of the Parish.

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,

By: hn C. Morris IV ssistant Attorney General
JDC/JCMIV