Must a Louisiana port follow public bid law when buying a custom-built fueling barge?

Plain-English summary

The Port of South Louisiana planned to have a custom E-Methanol Hydrogen Fueling Barge built to its designer's specifications. It asked whether the construction contract fell under Louisiana's Public Bid Law. The Attorney General concluded that the law applied to the acquisition, but classified the completed barge as a movable item purchased as materials or supplies rather than as a public work.

The statutory public work definition concerns facilities or immovable property. A barge floats and remains movable, even when built from the ground up for one buyer. The opinion rejected the suggestion that a highly customized vessel escapes the bid law as a contract to build. It said the contract-versus-sale factors the port raised came from redhibition law, not this public procurement question. The tangible completed barge remains the object of the public purchase.

What this means for you

Port procurement officials

For the proposed custom fueling barge, the opinion says the bid law governs the acquisition under its materials and supplies provisions. Its conclusion does not depend on treating the barge as an immovable public work.

Vessel builders bidding to supply a port

The opinion treats a one-of-a-kind vessel as a tangible good purchased by the port. Custom specifications alone did not remove this contract from the public bidding framework the AG applied.

Common questions

Q: Does Louisiana public bid law cover a custom-built port barge?
A: Yes. The AG concluded that buying the completed barge is a materials or supplies acquisition governed by the law.

Q: Is building the barge a public work under the bid statute?
A: The opinion said no because a barge is a movable vessel, while the cited public work definition covers a public facility or immovable property.

Q: Does designing the barge to the port's specifications avoid bidding?
A: No. The opinion said customization does not change the end result: the port acquires a tangible barge.

Background and statutory framework

The Port is a public entity subject to La. R.S. 38:2211. The opinion distinguished procurement of materials and supplies from construction of a public work, then placed the custom barge in the former category because it remains movable. It relied on prior AG opinions treating vehicle and vessel purchases as covered acquisitions.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 38:2211, the Public Bid Law provision discussed.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0151

Original opinion text

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 9, 2025
OPINION 24-0151

90-A-i PUBLIC FUNDS & CONTRACTS
Mr. Jacob Roussel
Attorney
La. Const. art. VII, § i4
Port of South Louisiana
301 Main Street
. .
The Public Bid Law applies to the acquisition of a movable, such as
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70821
a custom fueling barge.

Dear Mr. Roussel:

On behalf of the Port of South Louisiana, you have requested an opinion of the Attorney General regarding the applicability of the Public Bid Law to the construction or fabrication of a custom fueling barge. Your request has been assigned to me for research and reply.

Question: Does the Public Bid Law apply to the construction or fabrication of a custom fueling barge?

Conclusion: It is the opinion of this office that the contract for the acquisition of a custom fueling barge falls under the provisions of the Louisiana Public Bid Law.

According to your request, the Port of South Louisiana (“Port”) intends to contract for the construction of an E-Methanol Hydrogen Fueling Barge (“Barge”). This project will involve building and assembling the Barge in accordance with the plans and specifications issued by your designer, Elliot Bay Design Group (“EBDG”). The Port seeks to know if this project falls within the definition of a “public work” under the Public Bid Law.

The Port is a political subdivision of the state. La. R.S. 34:2471 As a political subdivision .

of the state, the Port is a public entity subject to the provisions of the Public Bid Law. La.
R.S. 38:2211. The Louisiana Public Bid Law, as outlined in La. R.S. 38:2211 et seq., governs contracts which relate to public works by public entities. Id. It mandates that public works and procurement of certain materials and supplies for public entities be subject to bidding procedures to ensure fair and transparent use of public funds.
Broadmoor, L.L. C. v. Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Exhibition Hall Auth., 2004-0211 (La.
3/18/04), 867 So. 2d 651, 656. The purpose of the law is to prevent public officials from awarding contracts on the basis of favoritism or at possibly exorbitant and extortionate prices. Airline Const. Co. v. Ascension Par. Sch. Bd., 568 So. 2d 1029 (La. 1990). “Public

Page 2

OPINION 24-0151
Mr. Jacob Roussel
Page 2

work” means the erection, construction, alteration, improvement, or repair of any public facility or immovable property owned, used, or leased by a public entity. La. R.S. 38:221 1(A)(1 3).

A barge is a vessel that floats on water and by its design is considered a movable. Mallard Bay Drilling, Inc. v. Kennedy, 2004-1089 (La. 6/29/05), 914 So.2d 533, 549 (A barge is generally defined as a long, large, usually flatbottom boat for transporting freight that is generally unpowered and towed or pushed by other craft.); see also Orgeron v. Avondale Shipyards, Inc., 561 So.2d 38 (La. 1990). As such, it appears the Barge would not meet the statutory definition of a public work, as it is a movable. La. R.S. 38:2211(A)(13).

Because the proposed Barge will not be considered a public work, the Public Bid Law would only apply if this particular project would be considered a “purchase of materials or supplies.” Our office has opined several times that the purchase of a vehicle, including a vessel, falls under the provisions of the Public Bid Law governing the purchase of materials and supplies. La. Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 03-0357, 98-223, 92-725, and 86-173.

You mentioned in your request that the level of customization involved in the construction of the Barge may qualify this project as a contract to build rather than a “purchase of materials and supplies.” You specifically note that Louisiana law has set forth three major factors to determine whether a contract is a contract of sale or a contract to build or to work by the job. See Law Enforcement District ofJefferson Parish v. Mapp Construction, LLC, 2019-543 (La. App. 5 Cir. 5/29/20), 296 So.3d 1260, 1267-68. While such a determination could potentially remove this project from the governance of the Public Bid Law, we note that these three factors are used in claims for redhibition, not for Public Bid Law. See First Am. Bankcard, Inc. v. Smart Bus. Tech., Inc., 178 F.Supp.3d 390 (ED. La.2016).

Additionally, even though materials and supplies are not explicitly defined under the Public Bid Law, the law has been interpreted broadly to include standard items and specialized or custom-fabricated items when the end result is a tangible good owned by the public entity. Examples of such items are law enforcement vehicles and fire service vehicles that are customized on the specific needs and use of the public entity.

Even though the barge is built from the ground up to unique specifications, it remains a purchase of a tangible item — the completed barge for the Port. The fact that it is —

customized and built-to-order does not negate its status as a “material or supply” for Public Bid Law purposes.

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________

OPINION 24-0151
Mr. Jacob Roussel
Page 3

Considering the foregoing, it is the opinion of this office that the acquisition of a custom fueling barge by the Port of South Louisiana would be governed by the provisions of the Public Bid Law. 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.

Yours very truly,

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:

Chelsea Zach’ry
Assistant Attorney General
LM/CZ