Must a Louisiana village animal shelter follow state shelter standards, and can the village move it without police approval?

Plain-English summary

The Village of Elizabeth needed space at its village-owned sewage plant for sewer expansion or refurbishment and asked about moving or closing an animal shelter on that property. The police department had originally operated the facility, but the village had since taken over its operation and expenses. The attorney general answered two questions about shelter standards and control of the facility.

The office said the cited minimum-standards statute authorized parish governments to adopt shelter standards; it did not itself require this municipal shelter to meet them. If Allen Parish had adopted a standards ordinance, that could change the answer. Louisiana's animal-cruelty protections still applied. On the control question, the opinion said Elizabeth could relocate or close its publicly owned shelter for the sewer work without police-department consent, provided its Board of Aldermen authorized the action.

What this means for you

Village of Elizabeth officials

The opinion treated the shelter as village-owned property managed by the village. With Board of Aldermen authorization, the village could move or close it for the sewer expansion or refurbishment described. Its police department's earlier operation did not give the department approval authority over that decision.

Animal shelter operators

The office said La. R.S. 3:2461 addressed parish adoption of minimum-standards ordinances. It did not find a direct statutory standards mandate for the municipal facility absent an Allen Parish ordinance, while recognizing the continuing animal-cruelty requirements.

Boards of aldermen

The opinion conditioned the village's property-management action on board authorization and noted that existing servitudes, encumbrances, or ordinances could still limit use of the property.

Common questions

Q: Must Elizabeth's public animal shelter meet the minimum standards in the cited state statute?
A: The attorney general said the statute empowered parish governments to adopt standards, rather than directly imposing them on the village shelter. An Allen Parish ordinance could impose requirements, and animal-cruelty law still applied.

Q: Can the village close or relocate the shelter without the police department's consent?
A: Yes on the facts described, with authorization from the Board of Aldermen. The village owned and operated the property and needed it for sewer work.

Q: Did the police department's role in establishing the shelter give it control over relocation?
A: The opinion said no. It relied on village ownership and current village operation, together with the board-authorized municipal property power.

Background and statutory framework

Elizabeth's facility stood on village-owned land at the sewage plant. The village said the site was needed for sewer system work. La. R.S. 3:2461 addressed parish ordinances setting animal shelter standards; the office distinguished that from a direct duty for a municipality. La. R.S. 33:361 supported village management of its affairs and public property, while La. R.S. 33:4001 recognized municipal sewer-system authority. Those provisions supported village relocation or closure with Board of Aldermen authorization on the facts presented.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 3:2461 (parish animal shelter standards authority)
• La. R.S. 33:361 (municipal management power)
• La. R.S. 33:4001 (municipal sewer-system authority)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0056

Original opinion text

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

STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARTMENT OF JTSTICE
OFFICE OF THE ArI-ORNEY GENERAL
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE, LA
70804-9005

Liz MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL
September 18, 2024
OPINION 24-0056

71 MuncipaIities
Honorable Mandy Green
La. R.S. 2461 et seq
Mayor of Village of Elizabeth
La. R.S. 33.361
210 E. Main St.
P.O. Box 457
R.S. 33:4001

Elizabeth LA 70638
,
Public animal shelters owned and operated by municipality do
not have to comply with the minimum standards set forth in La. R.S. 3:2461, etseq.

Dear Mayor Green:

We received your request regarding the relocation of the Village of Elizabeth’s (the “Village”) animal shelter/holding facility. In a phone call with this office you stated that the facility is located at the Village-owned sewage plant. You further state in your request that the facility was originally established by the Village’s police department but is now run and maintained by the Village, including its labor and expenses.1 According to your request, the space occupied by the current facility is required for an expansion or refurbishment of the Village’s sewer system, which has prompted the consideration for relocation. You have asked two questions with regard to this facility, which we will answer in turn.
1.) Does a public animal shelter/holding facility operated by a municipality have to comply with the minimum standards for animal shelters provided for in state law?
Louisiana Revised Statute 3:2461 is entitled, “Part V. Minimum Standards for Animal Shelters,” and provides, “In addition to and supplemental with any other authority granted to parish governing authorities by law, a parish governing authority may adopt an ordinance establishing minimum standards for animal shelters within the parish consistent with the provisions of this Part.” As a preliminary matter, we note that the statute is directed to the parish governing authority, notthe municipality. Thus, unless the governing authority of Allen Parish has passed an ordinance mandating certain standards for animal shelters within the parish, the Village is not required to comply with any minimum standards, except those established to prevent cruelty to animals found in the Louisiana

1 According to your request, the police department established the facility in 1987, and the Village took over the facility in 2017.

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OPINION 24-0056
Honorable Mandy Green
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CrminaI Code.2 This is in line with our previous opinion on this issue, which addressed the issue of whether the parish governing authority was required to follow the minimum standards set forth in La. R.S. 3:2461 et seq.3,

2.) In the event the Village elects to close its public animal shelterlholding facility, would the police department have to agree with its closure or does the Village have the unilateral authority to close the public animal shelter/holding facility?
In response to your second question as to whether it is necessary for the Village’s police department to agree to the closure or relocation of the animal shelter, we must examine the municipality’s authority as provided by law in light of the facts we have been presented. According to the information you have provided this office, the shelter is located on Village-owned property. It has always been on property owned by the Village, even when it was run by the police; however, since 201 7, the shelter has been run and maintained directly by the Village. The Village is a Lawrason Act municipality.4 Pursuant to La. R.S. 33:361 a municipality ,

has the power to perform any function necessary, requisite, or proper for the management of its affairs not denied by law. This office has previously held that towns and villages have full power and authority with respect to the care, management, and control of publicly-owned property, and any action taken with respect thereto must be after authorization by the Board of Alderman.5 Additionally, La. R.S. 33:4001 provides that any municipal corporation may maintain within and without its corporate limits, a sewerage system, sewerage collection system, sewage treatment plant, intercepting sewers, outfall sewers, force mains, pumping stations, ejector stations and all other appurtenances necessary for the collection, treatment, purification and disposal in a sanitary manner of the liquid and solid waste and sewage of the municipal corporation.6 Under the facts presented in your request, it is the opinion of this office that the Village, acting upon the authorization of the Board of Alderman, has the authority with respect to the care, management, and control of the animal shelter/holding facility as it is publicly- owned property.7 The Village also has the responsibility and authority to manage and maintain the sewer system within its municipal limits. We conclude that the sewer system is required to be maintained and, according to your request, expanded as a necessary function for the municipality. As such, it is the opinion of this office that the Village is

2 Louisiana Revised Statute 14:102.1 prohibits cruelty to animals, which includes the failure to provide an animal in your care, custody, or possession with proper food, proper drink, proper shelter, or proper veterinary care. “Proper shelter” is defined as “providing each animal with adequate shelter from the elements as required to prevent unnecessary or unjustifiable suffering by the animal.” La. R.S. 14:102(5). See La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 00-261; see also Legis. in Support of Animals v. Vermilion Par. Police Jury, 617 So. 2d 1243, 1246 (La. App. 3 Cir. 1993). La. R.S. 33:321 463.
—

La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 98-300.
6 La R.S. 33:4001.

The use of the property is, of course, subject to any existing servitudes, encumbrances, or ordinances.

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OPINION 24-0056
Honorable Mandy Green
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authorized to relocate or close the animal shelter/holding facility without the authorization of the Village’s police department due to the need to expand or refurbish the Village’s sewer system. We hope that this opinion has adequately addressed the legal issues you have raised. If our office can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards,

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:jJ nika L. Starks
Assistant Attorney General

LM: TLS