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.
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Could a parish party chair name a different designee for a single election-supervisors meeting?
Yes. The AG said the party chair could designate another member of the same parish executive committee for a meeting the chair could not attend. That designation did not have to last for the chair's…
Could a Louisiana town use its fire department to protect parish land outside town limits for free?
The AG said Woodworth could not provide free fire protection beyond town limits or use its dedicated fire tax to subsidize that service. It could agree to serve the parish area if the parish covered…
Could a Louisiana town contribute public money to support a veterans hospital through a parish agreement?
The AG concluded that Elton could contribute to the VA hospital in Jennings and use a cooperative agreement with the parish. The agreement needed a legal obligation, a public purpose, and a cost…
Could a Louisiana village use a street-maintenance tax to pay workers to cut grass and remove litter?
Yes. The AG said clearing litter and cutting grass around streets and sidewalks fit the voter-approved purpose of maintaining them. Tax proceeds could pay only for time spent on that work, unless an…
Was a privately owned Louisiana cemetery automatically exempt from parish property tax?
No. The AG said operating land as a cemetery did not itself make it tax-exempt. The assessor had to determine whether its owner was a qualifying nonprofit and whether the property met the…
Could Louisiana schools hire a vocational agriculture teacher for less than twelve months?
The AG said no for the full-time teachers described. A vocational agriculture teacher had to have a twelve-month employment term, whether teaching agriculture exclusively or along with other…
Could Louisiana's Causeway commission spend leftover Highway Fund money on rehabilitation?
No. The AG concluded that Act 875's specific spending instructions did not authorize the Greater New Orleans Expressway Commission to use surplus revenue for its proposed rehabilitation program.…
Could a Louisiana town buy one alderman an individual health policy instead of group coverage?
No. The AG concluded that Amite's ordinance and the cited state statute authorized town-paid group health insurance, not a separate individual policy for one alderman. The result did not depend on…
Could a Louisiana school board reimburse members for home internet service?
Yes, on the described facts. The AG concluded that St. Tammany Parish School Board could reimburse members for the average cost of home internet service used with board-provided laptops for official…
Could a Louisiana farmer use a Mule or similar off-road vehicle on a public road?
The AG said a Mule, Ranger, or Rhino designated for farm use through a proper motor-vehicle application could be treated as farm equipment. It quoted limited permission to travel public-road…
Could a Louisiana town lower a mayoral appointee's salary to its base rate during an unexpired term?
No. The AG said an appointee filling an elected official's unexpired term received the salary of the outgoing incumbent, protected against reduction during that term. A town could set a base salary…
Could a Louisiana school board transfer its school property-tax authority to a city?
No. The AG concluded that Baker City School Board could not transfer part of its constitutional school property-tax power to the City of Baker. The request contemplated an election, but the…
Could an elected Louisiana police chief cash out accrued vacation when leaving office?
Absent a specific provision from Amite's governing body, the AG concluded that its elected police chief could not accrue annual leave and collect a payout for it on leaving office. The opinion…
Could a Louisiana sheriff put unclaimed bond and civil fees into the sheriff's general fund?
For the undistributed bond and civil fees described to the AG, the sheriff had to report the money and transfer it to the state treasurer under the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of 1997. The AG…
Could a Louisiana fire district use its tanker to sell water delivery to drilling rigs?
Only conditionally. The AG said the district could use its tanker for paid potable-water deliveries if the activity furthered its fire-prevention or firefighting mission. Fees also had to cover all…
Was the petition to incorporate Central, Louisiana ready for a public vote?
Yes. After an earlier defect was cured, the AG found that Central's petition supplied the required boundaries, population, property value, services plan, proposed name, and petition chairpersons.…
Could Iberville Parish reimburse parents for driving children to an out-of-parish school?
The AG said no on the facts presented: Iberville's transportation duty covered eligible schools within its boundaries, and no student's IEP was said to require the out-of-parish trip. Paying parent…
Could an assistant district attorney serve as magistrate in a Louisiana mayor's court?
The AG concluded that the dual-officeholding law did not bar an Evangeline Parish assistant district attorney from serving part time as magistrate in Mamou's mayor's court. It did not resolve the…
Could a Louisiana town council member also serve on its historic district commission?
Yes. The AG concluded that a Clinton Town Council member could also sit on the local historic preservation commission, treating it as a part-time appointive position and applying the statutory…
Could a Westlake public-works employee also serve on the city council?
The AG said civil-service rules or employer policy might affect whether the employee could seek election. If elected, however, the employee could not simultaneously hold the Westlake council seat…
What did Louisiana's 2005 motor-vehicle repossession rules require of agents and sheriffs?
The AG summarized the 2005 self-help vehicle repossession law: licensed agents had to notify law enforcement after a repossession, and secured parties had to file a notice with the parish recorder…
Was Louisiana state supplemental police pay included when calculating city police overtime?
Yes. The AG reaffirmed that a municipal police officer's state supplemental pay had to be added to regular salary when determining the overtime rate under the cited statutes.
Could a Louisiana legislator contract to consult for a city-parish government?
Under the dual-officeholding law discussed in 2005, yes. The AG concluded that a state representative could contract to provide professional, consulting, and management services to the Baton Rouge…
Could New Orleans City Park employees keep state group health coverage by retiring directly into Social Security?
Yes, under the Office of Group Benefits rules as interpreted in 2005. The AG said Association employees already covered by the office could keep coverage if they retired directly from active…
Could a Louisiana parish council member also work as a city tax collector?
Yes. The AG concluded that an Iberia Parish Council member could also work as Jeanerette's tax collector because the parish and city were separate political subdivisions. The opinion said the result…
What happened to a Zachary civil-service employee's seniority if the city abolished their job or job class?
The AG said a Zachary classified employee whose position or entire class was abolished was laid off, retained seniority, and had to be placed on the reemployment list. If the class was abolished,…
Could St. Bernard Parish use lotteries to assign students to crowded schools, including separate pools for gifted students and students with disabilities?
The AG said the parish school board could use a lottery within its school-assignment authority. A separate lottery for gifted students and students with exceptionalities was not apparently…
Could Broussard's volunteer fire department give gift certificates to its members for past service?
The AG said gift certificates bought with public money for compensated firefighters' past service were prohibited bonuses. Gifts to uncompensated volunteers might be appropriate because they were…
Could one Louisiana lawyer serve part time as both a deputy sheriff and an assistant district attorney?
Yes. The AG said the dual-officeholding law barred two full-time appointive positions, but did not prohibit the two part-time appointive positions described: deputy sheriff and assistant district…
Could a Louisiana clerk of court reimburse his criminal-defense attorney fees from office funds after the charges were dismissed?
Yes. The AG said the Tangipahoa clerk's office could reimburse necessary and reasonable attorney fees for criminal charges arising from his official duties, based on the clerk's report that the…
Was an unmarried father's name on a Louisiana birth certificate enough by itself for a child-support order?
No. Under the law discussed in 2004, the AG said an unmarried father's name on a child's birth certificate, even with the father's surname, was not alone enough to require child support. It…
Could Marksville change its civil-service board's appointment rules after a named civic club stopped operating?
Not by simply rewriting the 1975 special act locally. The AG said only the legislature could amend its civic-club nomination provision. It also described adopting a home-rule charter as an…
Could LSU's Fire and Emergency Training Institute set its own EMT standing orders without parish medical-society approval?
No. The AG concluded that the Institute's medical director's standing orders and protocols were subject to approval by the local parish medical society, in this case the East Baton Rouge Parish…
What could Franklin's city marshal do, who paid for deputies and facilities, and could the marshal act as a notary?
The AG said Franklin's marshal executed city-court orders, could appoint deputies, and had sheriff-like authority when making arrests and preserving the peace. The city controlled its jail; city and…
Were Zachary City Council workshops subject to Louisiana's open-meetings law even if no vote was taken?
Yes, when a quorum gathered to receive information on matters within the council's authority. The AG treated Zachary workshops and work sessions as special meetings under the open-meetings law…
Who could propose and approve spending from Bienville Parish's tourism and development fund?
The AG said fund money could support only tourism promotion or economic development projects proposed by a chamber of commerce in Bienville Parish and approved by the police jury. The jury could…
Could Beauregard Parish remove a tourist commissioner, approve the commission's budget, or control its occupancy tax?
The AG said the Beauregard Tourist Commission was a separate state political subdivision. The parish police jury appointed directors but lacked authority to remove one before a fixed term expired;…
Could a parish hospital-district employee also serve on the parish council in Louisiana?
Yes. The AG said the hospital service district was a political subdivision separate from the parish police jury, even though the jury created it. A full-time district employee could therefore also…
Could East Feliciana school-board members also serve on the parish planning or Zachary Taylor Parkway commissions?
The AG gave different answers. A school-board member could also hold a part-time appointment to the Zachary Taylor Parkway Commission. A member of the parish planning commission could not also hold…
Did East Feliciana school-board advisory committees have to meet publicly when a quorum discussed recommendations?
Yes. The AG said an advisory committee or subcommittee that deliberated to advise the school board was subject to the open-meetings law when a quorum of that committee met to conduct its business.…
Could Tallulah bar new mobile homes and force existing ones to move under a zoning ordinance?
The AG said Tallulah could adopt prospective zoning limits on mobile-home locations. It warned that applying a ban to existing mobile homes and requiring their removal might be unconstitutional;…
Did Lake Charles Harbor Police have peace-officer authority even though the New Orleans port statute did not name them?
Yes. The AG said the New Orleans port-police statute did not grant Lake Charles police any authority, but the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District's own statute authorized police protection. It…
Could Denham Springs advance employees' annual medical spending account benefits without unlawfully donating public money?
The AG concluded that payments under a properly adopted, IRS-authorized Flexible Medical Spending Account plan were earned employment benefits, not unconstitutional loans or donations. Its answer…
Did a reinstated Morgan City assistant fire chief earn on-call time for weeks he never worked?
No. After the civil-service board restored the assistant chief's position, the city paid the difference in salary and retirement contributions. The AG said he was not entitled to compensatory time…
Could Louisiana's Secretary of State negotiate a public-works project under the 2004 bid limit?
Yes. Under the law as it stood in 2004, the AG said a Secretary of State public-works project costing no more than $100,000 could be done by agency employees, negotiated with contractors, or bid…
Could Morehouse Parish eliminate justices of the peace or cut their and constables' pay during a term?
No. The AG said the Morehouse Parish Police Jury could not eliminate the justice-of-the-peace or constable offices, and could not reduce an elected official's salary during the current term. It…
Could the same person serve on Houma's zoning commission and board of adjustment?
No. The AG said Houma's zoning commission rules barred a member from holding another public office. It treated membership on the board of adjustment as a public office under state law, so the same…
Could a Louisiana sheriff sell forfeited vehicles through the state surplus auction and pay its commission?
Yes. The AG said the Division of Administration could sell vehicles seized under the drug-property forfeiture law for local law enforcement and judicial agencies. It reasoned that the statute…
Could the Orleans civil district court clerk contract to provide part-time legal services to a state board?
Yes. The AG said a professional-services contract was not state employment under the dual-officeholding statute. It therefore allowed the Orleans Parish Civil District Court clerk to keep her…
Did the Orleans Criminal District Court clerk have to join the Clerks of Court Retirement and Relief Fund?
Yes. The AG concluded that the newly elected Clerk of the Criminal District Court in Orleans Parish had to join the Clerks of Court Retirement and Relief Fund while serving as clerk.
Could the Orleans Parish district attorney accept a private crime-bureau grant to prosecute auto theft and insurance fraud?
The AG found no state statutory or constitutional bar to the Orleans Parish district attorney receiving the described National Insurance Crime Bureau grant to hire a prosecutor and investigator for…
Could Ouachita Parish create a Cheniere Lake Commission by local ordinance?
The AG said the police jury lacked legal authority to create the Cheniere Lake Commission by ordinance, so the commission had never been lawfully established and its acts were beyond its powers. It…
Did Love v. Foster change the 2004 Baton Rouge mayor-president and council election dates?
No. The AG said its 1999 interpretation remained in force: the East Baton Rouge mayor-president and Metropolitan Council elections followed the state Election Code's October primary and November…
Could Franklin delay its proposed home-rule charter vote to November and change the charter's effective date?
No. The AG said Franklin had to call a vote on its completed proposed charter for the next date allowed by election law, at least sixty days after publication. It said the council could not move the…
How did two Louisiana tax acts govern protested property-tax money and a later refund?
The AG read the two 2003 acts together. Disputed property-tax payments were to be segregated and held until the suit ended; if the taxpayer then requested a refund, the tax collector had to pay it…
Could a St. Bernard Parish councilman continue consulting for the parish adult drug court?
Yes. The AG said a licensed counselor's professional-services contract with the St. Bernard Parish Adult Drug Court was not employment under Louisiana's dual-officeholding law. His election to the…
Could St. Charles Parish put new council business on a supplemental agenda the morning of a meeting?
No. The AG said a supplemental agenda issued at 10 a.m. on meeting day did not itself become part of the published regular agenda. The council could take up a new matter only after two-thirds of…
Could Louisiana clerks reject notarized documents missing a notary ID after the 2003 law took effect?
In February 2004, the AG found no current conflict because the new notary-identification requirement would not take effect until January 1, 2005. It warned that the later rejection rule appeared to…
Could Harahan's police and fire civil service board award a successful employee appeal attorney fees?
No. The AG said the small-municipality statute allowed remedies such as reinstatement and back pay, but gave Harahan's board no authority to award the employee's attorney fees, even when discipline…
Could Plaquemines Parish extend its existing public-land leases after the tenant built permanent improvements?
In this 2004 opinion, the Attorney General said the parish could grant additional time under the public-lease statute when qualifying improvements supported it. For the first lease, he calculated…
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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.