Could Avoyelles Parish's sheriff pay for hurricane-damaged jail repairs near the 2023 governor election despite the spending cap?

Plain-English summary

Avoyelles Parish Sheriff David Dauzat asked whether paying to repair storm-damaged jail roofing and interior space near the 2023 gubernatorial election would violate La. R.S. 14:139.1's restriction on large increases in sheriff-office payroll and operating expenses. The official opinion concluded that those repairs "do not fall under the payroll padding prohibition" on the facts supplied.

The sheriff described damage from hurricanes and a winter storm with state or federal emergency declarations. The AG pointed to the statute's exception for increases "necessitated by flood, invasion by common enemy, or other public emergency" and concluded that it applied to the described emergency repairs.

The AG gave a second reason: these roof and interior repairs were extraordinary work, not ordinary day-to-day operating expenses covered by the spending restriction. The opinion says that a violation of the statute is a felony, so its prohibitions must be strictly construed. Its conclusion addresses the repair project described, not a general waiver for all spending near an election.

What this means for you

Avoyelles Parish Sheriff's Office. The AG said the jail repairs described could proceed without violating the identified election-period spending provision.

Sheriff and jail finance staff. The opinion draws on both the declared-emergency facts and the character of the work as extraordinary repairs. It does not decide unrelated payroll or operating increases.

Common questions

Did the 2023 election-period cap stop the sheriff from repairing the damaged jail?
The AG said no for the proposed roof and interior repairs on the facts given in the request.

Why did the public-emergency exception matter?
The opinion says the damage arose from disasters declared public emergencies and the repair spending was necessitated by those events.

Would any increase in sheriff spending qualify as an emergency repair?
The opinion does not say that. It addresses this disaster-damage project and separately classifies the extraordinary repair cost as outside ordinary operating expenses.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 14:139.1(A)(2) restricts specified large increases in a sheriff's payroll or operating expenses during the periods surrounding a gubernatorial election. The opinion applies its public-emergency exception and the distinction between ordinary operating expenses and extraordinary physical repairs to the jail project described.

Citations and references

Statutes: La. R.S. 14:139.1, including subsection (A)(2), and La. R.S. 14:139, as cited in the opinion.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/23-0097

Original opinion text

State of Louisiana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
CIVIL DIVISION
RO. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
Jeff Landry
Attorney General
September 6, 2023
OPINION 23-0097
16CRIMINALLAW-Crimes&Offenses
The Honorable David L. Dauzat
Sheriff, Avoyelles Parish
La. R.S. 14:139.1
675 Government Street
An increase in expenses necessitated by a public emergency does not
. . .

.

M arksvi I le LA 7 1 35 1
,
violate La. AS. 1 4: 1 39. 1 (A)(2).

Dear Sheriff Dauzat:

You requested an opinion from our office regarding the application of La. R.S. 14:139.1 with respect to the repair of the roof and interior of a jail facility by the Avoyelles Parish Sheriff’s Office (“APSO”). According to your request, the damages are a result of wind damage from Hurricanes Laura, Ida, and Delta, and the 2021 ice storm which resulted in a major disaster declaration by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The APSO is currently in litigation with its insurer regarding these damages, but you would like to move forward with the repairs to prevent more damage to the facility and offices from water leaks and mold resulting from the previous damage. You also note that Louisiana is experiencing record-high temperatures which exacerbate these problems and lead to unsafe health conditions.1

Louisiana Revised Statute 14:139.1(A)(2) generally prohibits a sherifffrom substantially increasing the payroll or other operating expenses of his office more than fifteen percent over its average amount of such expenditures during the six months preceding a gubernatorial election and during the time interval between the gubernatorial election and the first day of July following the election.2 According to your request, should APSO move forward with the roof and interior repair of the jail facility, the repair will represent an increase of more than fifteen percent of APSO’s average expenditures in the month in which the contract is executed compared to the average of APSO’s monthly expenditures for the first six months of the twelve months preceding the gubernatorial election this year.
You would like to know if your office would be in violation of La. R.S. 14:139.19(A)(2) by funding the project within six months of the 2023 gubernatorial election.

First, we note that La. R.S. 14:139.1(0) states, “The provisions ofthis Section shall not apply when the increases or decreases are necessitated by flood, invasion by common enemy, or other public emergency.” Our office previously opined that a national emergency declared by the President of the United States constitutes a public emergency

1 See Proclamation Number 141 JBE 2023 declaring a state of emergency due to excessive heat.
2 The average is the “average amount of such expenditures for each of the months of the first six months of the twelve months preceding the election.” La. R.S. 14:139.1(A)(2).

Page 2

OPINION NO. 23-0097
Sheriff David L. Dauzat
Page 2

for the purposes of La. R.S. 14:139.1. Here, each of the natural disasters that caused the damage to be repaired was declared a public emergency by the State and/or Federal Government.4 Thus, based on the facts above, it is the opinion of this office that the exception in La. R.S. 1 4: 1 39. 1 (C) applies where the increase in expenses are necessitated by a public emergency.

Additionally, even if the exception in La. R.S. 14:139.1(0) did not apply here, the expenditures at issue here are extraordinary repairs that fall outside of the purview of day- to-day operating expenses and therefore do not fall within the reach of the statute’s prohibitions. The prohibitions in La. R.S. 14:139.1 must be strictly construed since the violation of La. R.S. 1 4: 1 39. 1 (A) constitutes a felony.5 This office has previously found that, in the context of a similar prohibition for other elected officials, La. R.S. 14:139, remodeling or physical improvements to an office are not operating expenses.6

It is the opinion of this office that the repairs to the roof and interior of the jail facility do not fall under the payroll padding prohibition of La. R.S. 14:139.1.

We trust that this adequately responds to your request and the issue that you have raised. If our office can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,
JEFF LAN DRY
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: 131Lz(
Brett A. Robinson
Assistant Attorney General

La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 19-0064.
See Proclamation Number 136 JBE 2023 (renewing the State of Emergency for Hurricane Ida);
Proclamation Number 135 JBE 2023 (renewing that State of Emergency for Hurricane Delta); FED. EMERGENCY MGMT. AGENCY, DHS, FEMA-4590-DR (March 9, 2021) (Declaration of Major Disaster due to Severe Winter Storms); Proclamation Number 141 JBE 2023 (declaring a state of emergency due to excessive heat).
La. R.S. 14:139.1(D).
6 La. Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 03-0227 and 99-62.