Can a Louisiana parish police jury legally own and operate a pug mill to produce road-paving material for its own roads?

Plain-English summary

The Sabine Parish Police Jury asked whether it could own and operate a pug mill to make oil sand for parish road overlays. Louisiana law prohibits public entities from owning or operating manufacturing facilities or plants that produce construction materials. The Attorney General concluded that a pug mill is one piece of equipment, not a manufacturing facility or plant, so the police jury may purchase and operate it for this road work.

The opinion reads La. R.S. 38:2212(R) as a limit on owning facilities or plants, rather than a ban on making construction material with equipment. It points to La. R.S. 33:1236 as authority for a police jury to purchase equipment used to repair or improve roads, including cement mixers and pug mills.

What this means for you

Parish police juries

For the proposed oil-sand road overlays, the opinion permits Sabine Parish to buy and operate a pug mill. Its reason is the distinction between a single piece of road equipment and a manufacturing facility or plant.

Construction-material vendors and parish staff

The opinion leaves the statutory prohibition on public manufacturing facilities and plants in place. It addresses the described pug mill, not a proposed facility or a different production arrangement.

Common questions

Can Sabine Parish use a pug mill to make material for its roads?
Yes. The AG concluded that the parish may purchase and operate one to produce oil sand for its road overlays.

Does La. R.S. 38:2212(R) forbid a public entity from producing any construction material?
No. The opinion reads the provision as prohibiting ownership or operation of manufacturing facilities or plants, not the use of a single piece of equipment that produces material.

Did the AG approve a parish-owned manufacturing plant?
No. The opinion says a police jury cannot own a manufacturing facility that produces construction material. Its approval concerns the pug mill described in the request.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 38:2212(R) prohibits public entities from owning or operating manufacturing facilities or plants that produce construction materials. La. R.S. 33:1236 authorizes police juries to purchase equipment to repair or improve roads. The opinion applies both provisions to Sabine Parish's proposed pug mill and cites Louisiana decisions on statutory interpretation in a footnote.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 38:2212(R): manufacturing-facility prohibition discussed in the opinion.
• La. R.S. 33:1236: police jury equipment authority applied by the AG.
• Red Stick Studio Dev., L.L.C. v. State ex rel. Dep't of Econ. Dev. and M.J. Farms, Ltd. v. Exxon Mobil Corp.: statutory-interpretation cases cited in the footnote.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0040

Original opinion text

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

STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE, LA 70804-9005

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

May 30, 2024

OPINION 24-0040

80 - Police Juries — Powers & Functions
Mr. William E. Weatherford
Secretary Treasurer
La. R.S. 33:1236
La. R.S. 33:3681
Sabine Parish Police Jury
La. R.S. 38:2212
La. R.S. 38:2212.1
400 Capitol St., Room 101
Many, LA 71449

Sabine Parish Police Jury may legally purchase and operate a pug mill.

Dear Mr. Weatherford:

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether the Sabine Parish Police Jury can legally own and operate a pug mill to produce oil sand that would be used to overlay parish roads. You note in your request that La. R.S. 38:2212(R) prohibits public entities from owning or operating manufacturing facilities or plants that produce or manufacture construction materials.

It is the opinion of this office that the Sabine Parish Police Jury may legally purchase and operate a pug mill. While a pug mill may produce road construction materials, it is a single piece of equipment as opposed to a manufacturing facility or plant.

Determining whether La. R.S. 38:2212(R) prevents a public entity from owning and operating a pug mill requires statutory interpretation.1 The subject statute provides in Subpart R, "[p]ublic entities are herein prohibited from owning or operating manufacturing facilities or plants that produce or manufacture construction materials." Rather than a prohibition on the making of material for use, it is a prohibition against a public entity owning or operating manufacturing facilities or plants.

Thus, while a police jury cannot own a manufacturing facility that produces construction material, it is authorized to purchase equipment, such as cement mixers or pug mills, that used to repair or improve roads as it is granted authority to do in La. R.S. 33:1236. Accordingly, we conclude that Sabine Parish Police Jury may legally purchase and operate a pug mill to produce oil sand for use to overlay parish roads.

1 The rules of statutory interpretation are well known. See, e.g., Red Stick Studio Dev., L.L.C. v. State ex rel. Dep't of Econ. Dev., 2010-0193 (La. 1/19/11), 56 So.3d 181, 187-88 (quoting M.J. Farms, Ltd. v. Exxon Mobil Corp., 2007-2371 (La. 7/1/08), 998 So.2d 16, 27 (internal citations omitted)).

OPINION 24-0040
Mr. William E. Weatherford
Page 2

We trust that this opinion of the Attorney General adequately responds to your inquiry. However, if our office can be of further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:
Olivia G. Boudreaux
Assistant Attorney General

LM:OGB