Louisiana Attorney General Opinions
Free plain-English summaries of attorney general opinions issued in Louisiana, with full citations and the original source on every page.
Do Louisiana Local Emergency Planning Committees have to hold their meetings in public under the Open Meetings Law?
Yes. Local Emergency Planning Committees (LEPCs), the federal-statute-created bodies that develop community emergency response plans for hazardous-material releases, qualify as 'public bodies' under L…
Can a Louisiana parish administrator represent the parish or speak publicly on its behalf without the parish commission's approval?
No. Under the Caddo Parish Home Rule Charter, the parish administrator does not have authority to represent the parish's interests without commission approval or to send letters or make statements on …
When a Louisiana Lawrason Act mayor pro tempore runs a meeting, can he still vote as an alderman, and does he count for a quorum?
Yes to both. A Lawrason Act mayor pro tempore who is presiding because the mayor is absent still has his right to vote as an alderman. He can choose to vote as an alderman OR vote later to break a tie…
Can a Louisiana city open a public license tag agency inside the city court building?
Yes. The governing authority of the City of Shreveport may apply to serve as a public tag agent and operate the agency inside the Shreveport City Court building, subject to approval by the Louisiana O…
Can a Louisiana neighborhood improvement and security district use public funds to send its members to social functions like sporting events or theater productions?
No. Sending district members to social functions that do not directly serve the district's legislatively-created purpose (beautification, security, overall betterment) is a prohibited donation of publ…
Can a Louisiana justice of the peace also serve as the full-time town clerk for a Lawrason Act municipality?
No. Louisiana's Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law prohibits a justice of the peace (an elective office) from holding a full-time appointive office in any political subdivision of the state. T…
In a Louisiana town with a special legislative charter, does the mayor have the authority to hire and fire municipal employees?
Yes, with limits. Under La. R.S. 33:481, when a special legislative charter is silent on a matter, the Lawrason Act fills the gap. La. R.S. 33:404(A)(3) gives the mayor authority to appoint and remove…
Can a justice of the peace constable in one Louisiana parish also work as a part-time deputy sheriff in a different parish?
Yes. The Louisiana Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law does not bar an elected constable from also holding a part-time appointive position in a different political subdivision. A Tangipahoa Par…
Can a Louisiana parish council member also work for the district attorney's office in the same parish?
Not if the DA position is an appointive office (stenographer, clerk, secretary, special officer, or investigator) or if the position's salary is funded by the parish council. Louisiana's Dual Officeho…
If a Louisiana district public defender's one-year contract simply isn't renewed, does the defender get a hearing and investigation under La. R.S. 15:170?
No. La. R.S. 15:170 gives a district public defender a right to a hearing and investigation only if he is disciplined or has his contract terminated early. If the annual contract just expires and is n…
In a Lawrason Act town, can the board of aldermen tell the elected chief of police where to park patrol cars after shifts, and can they impose line-item limits on the police budget?
No, and no. The elected chief of police controls department property, including where patrol vehicles get parked at the end of a shift. The board of aldermen cannot impose line-item restrictions on th…
Can a Louisiana parish coroner's office issue bonds to advance future opioid settlement payments?
Yes, with State Bond Commission approval. Louisiana coroners are 'political subdivisions' for purposes of the Local Government Budget Act and the bond statutes, so a coroner's office can issue bonds a…
Can a Louisiana parish police jury legally own and operate a pug mill to produce road-paving material for its own roads?
Yes. Sabine Parish Police Jury may purchase and operate a pug mill for producing oil sand used on parish roads. La. R.S. 38:2212(R) prohibits public entities from owning or operating manufacturing fac…
If a Louisiana waterworks district commissioner loses his seat after missing four straight meetings, can the police jury just reappoint him to the same seat?
Yes. Louisiana law treats four consecutive missed meetings as creating a vacancy on a waterworks district board, but nothing in the statute or the parish code prevents the police jury from filling tha…
Can a Louisiana parish amend a budget after the fiscal year has ended to handle adjustments that came in late?
No. St. John the Baptist Parish cannot amend an adopted budget for a prior fiscal year. All budget amendments must happen within the current fiscal year. Late-arriving deficits or surpluses get rolled…
Can a full-time parish solid-waste-district employee also serve on the parish council in Louisiana?
Yes. Under Louisiana's Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law, a full-time employee of the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District (a separate political subdivision created by special act)…
What is the legal relationship between a Louisiana parish library board and the police jury that created it, and who controls the budget, property, and contracts?
The library board is an agency of the police jury, not an independent body. The police jury approves and can line-item-veto the library board's proposed budget (with limits on changing library employe…
What counts as 'kept up, maintained, or worked' in Louisiana's tacit road dedication statute, and can a parish set its own rule by ordinance?
It's a case-by-case factual question. Louisiana courts have not drawn a bright line for what level of road work satisfies La. R.S. 48:491(B)(1)(a). A parish police jury can pass an ordinance setting o…
Can a full-time assistant public defender also serve as part-time special counsel to a Louisiana parish council?
Yes. Louisiana's Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law does not bar a full-time assistant public defender employed by a judicial district public defender from also serving as part-time special co…
Can someone other than a coroner sign off on a cremation in Louisiana, and can the coroner charge the family or the funeral home for the permit?
Only a coroner, deputy coroner, or assistant coroner can issue a cremation permit in Louisiana. The coroner cannot charge the family or the funeral home for the permit; the parish or municipality is r…
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Attorney general opinions in Louisiana are written by the Louisiana Attorney General's office in response to questions from state agencies, legislators, and prosecutors. They are not binding like court decisions, but courts and agencies treat them as persuasive guidance on how state law applies. Every opinion above has a plain-English question and short answer, plus a link to the full original text.