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 Louisiana's economic development department limit film-contract fraud recapture to the wrongdoer and require arbitration?
The AG said the department could contract to pursue only the party that committed fraud or made a material misstatement, and could require arbitration of contract disputes. His arbitration answer…
Could an elected Louisiana city council member also sit on Southern University's Board of Supervisors?
Yes, according to this 2003 opinion. The AG said the Southern University board seat was a part-time state appointment, so the cited rule barring a local elected official from holding a full-time…
Could Ville Platte give its mayor pro tempore additional management duties and pay?
The AG said the board of aldermen could assign the selected alderman duties beyond filling in for an absent mayor and compensate that additional work by enacting an ordinance.
Could the Baton Rouge Housing Authority pay all contributions to a supplemental employee retirement plan?
The AG said the authority could pay 100% of contributions to a supplemental retirement plan for its employees. It cautioned that contributions for an employee with a legally fixed salary could not…
Could an Iberville Parish police juror also serve as a deputy sheriff?
The AG said no. The cited dual officeholding provision barred a member of the parish governing authority from holding any office or employment with the sheriff.
Could Morgan City police and firefighters attend a barbecue hosted by the mayor and council?
The AG said classified fire and police employees could attend the barbecue honoring their storm response. Attendance at the described event was not political activity barred by the civil-service law.
Could a Terrebonne Parish council member work for a nonprofit that sought parish funding?
The AG said a council member's job with Work Connection, Inc. would be incompatible with the elected position if the corporation sought or received parish funds. The nonprofit job alone did not…
Could a district attorney seek removal of a parish council member who was ineligible when elected?
Under the 2002 constitutional provision it applied, the AG concluded that the council member's felony conviction barred him from holding office and that the district attorney could bring a quo…
Could a candidate also serve as a voting-machine custodian at a Louisiana polling place?
The AG found no violation from a candidate's appearance as a deputy parish voting-machine custodian whose duties did not require staying at the precinct during voting. It also said a commissioner…
Did a large transfer of municipal utility revenue to a town's general fund turn customer charges into an illegal tax?
The AG said no. Municipally owned utility charges were prices for services rather than taxes, and a significant transfer of utility revenue to the general fund did not change their character into a tax.
Could a Kisatchie-Delta planning district employee serve on the Rapides Parish School Board?
The AG said yes under the dual officeholding rule it reviewed because the planning district and school board were separate political subdivisions, so the full-time employment was not in the same…
Could a Louisiana drainage district spend leftover construction-bond money on canal maintenance?
The AG said no. Surplus general-obligation bond funds should be returned to taxpayers if practical; otherwise, money raised for capital construction should go to a similar capital purpose, not…
Could Livingston Parish put a mosquito-control surcharge on residents' electric bills?
The AG said Livingston Parish's home rule charter did not authorize the council to impose that surcharge. It said legislation would be needed for such authority and identified a voter-approved…
Could Livingston Parish fund mosquito control with a household charge on electric bills?
The AG said the waterworks service-charge provision did not authorize a charge on other utilities' customers. It concluded the district could levy a $2-per-household special tax with voter approval…
When could issue advocacy groups or elected officials use Jefferson Parish meeting rooms?
Under state law, the AG said paying a commensurate fee avoided the public funds objection to issue advocacy groups' use of a public room. Jefferson Parish's resolution separately barred political…
Could Cotton Valley restrict personal use of police cars despite having an elected police chief?
The AG said the town could limit its vehicles to official business without intruding on the elected chief's police powers. Travel to and from home by officers on call was treated as official use,…
Did Jefferson Parish School Board have to use public bids for maintenance service contracts?
The AG said service contracts were outside the Public Bid Law and that a request for proposals was a valid way to compare them. It also warned that some maintenance work might count as public work,…
Could a Louisiana district attorney use part of a court's child support expedited-process fee?
The AG found no bar to an agreement allowing the district attorney to use part of the court's five-percent fee for the expedited process that establishes or enforces child support orders. The funds…
Could Donaldsonville pay an employee for maternity leave beyond accrued sick and annual leave?
The AG said the city could use accrued sick and annual leave for maternity purposes, but additional maternity leave had to be unpaid. Discretionary extensions of paid leave for this purpose lacked…
Could Gueydan's elected police chief also work full time as its electric department superintendent?
The AG concluded that Louisiana's dual officeholding law barred the elected police chief from simultaneously holding the town's full-time electric superintendent position.
Could Livingston Parish use public money to repair a bridge serving one private landowner?
The AG said the parish could not assume repair and maintenance costs for the bridge as described, because the benefit went to one landowner rather than the public. The opinion left room for a…
Could Terrebonne Parish pay firefighters vacation time after the wage claim period expired?
Yes. The 2002 opinion said the parish could pay vacation time owed despite expiration of the suit period because a natural obligation remained; it also said the parish could not be compelled to pay…
When did Baker’s mayor need council approval for appointments, and who set individual salaries?
The AG said council concurrence was required for the appointments Baker’s charter specified. It also concluded the council could adjust group appropriations but not individual employee salaries…
Could Simmesport hire a collection agency for unpaid town fines?
The AG said the town could contract with a licensed, bonded agency for eligible public debts after attempting written notice to the debtor. The statute excluded bench-warrant debts, parking fines,…
Could a Louisiana hospital district hire a private management firm without public bidding?
The AG said the district could negotiate a hospital management services contract without public bidding if the contract benefited the district and the required notice was published. It found no ban…
Could New Iberia pay health insurance premiums for its mayor and trustees when its charter did not provide for them?
The AG said no. New Iberia's special charter set the officials' compensation but did not authorize health insurance premiums, and ending unauthorized payments would not count as reducing…
Could Rapides Parish fund local events and a chamber marketing plan with public money?
The AG rejected simple donations to the YMCA or a private festival sponsor but identified conditional routes for needy-citizen programming and commercial advertising. Chamber marketing and a visitor…
Did Homer have to pay missed police retirement contributions after enrolling an eligible officer years late?
The AG said Homer was obligated to pay its employer share of past contributions because the officer's enrollment had been mandatory from hiring. It referred the town's Social Security payment…
Did Hessmer's mayor have to resign to run for district judge?
No. The AG concluded that the mayor, who also served as the village magistrate, did not have to resign those positions merely to seek election as an Avoyelles Parish district judge.
Who could remove signs posted illegally on Jefferson Parish public property?
Under the ordinance reviewed in 2002, the AG said that the parish's inspections and code enforcement department and its parkways department were the entities authorized to remove those signs. Other…
Did Louisiana's firefighter heart-lung presumption automatically qualify a firefighter for disability retirement?
No. The AG said disability retirement could fall within the statute's broad 'rights and benefits' language when available for an occupational disease, but retirement applicants still had to meet the…
Could Hammond consider public benefits besides rent when choosing a bid to lease airport land?
The AG said airport lease bids could be evaluated for services and financial return, including nonmonetary public benefits. It recommended putting desired benefits in concrete bid specifications so…
Are an over-term funeral board member's votes valid, and does a closed-account check count as insufficient funds?
The AG said the board member's continued appointment would be invalid, but acts affecting the public or third parties would remain effective until title to office was adjudged insufficient. It also…
Can a Louisiana city lower a customer's water bill because a pipe leaked?
The AG said Morgan City could adjust a water bill for a leak only if the city caused the leak. A policy based merely on the customer's repair documentation omitted that condition.
Could an Erath town employee run for council, then keep his paid job and volunteer fire chief post if elected?
The AG said he could run without resigning or taking leave if he campaigned off duty. If elected to the Erath council, he could not keep his paid town job, but could continue as the volunteer fire chief.
Could New Iberia use city funds to help private Little League associations?
The AG said the city’s Park and Recreation Commission could support the baseball program from its funding, and the city could aid needy children under objective criteria or enter a cooperative…
Did the South Lafourche Levee District retain legal status after the court's ruling on overlapping levee districts?
The AG said South Lafourche Levee District would retain legal status provided it did not replace an existing district or overlap the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District's jurisdiction, functions, and…
Which budget governed Lafourche Parish when its council adopted no new one, and could it retain surplus revenue?
Under Lafourche's charter as described in this 2002 opinion, the parish used its previous budget; because no 2001 budget was adopted, the 2000 budget carried through 2001 and into 2002. The AG also…
Could Louisiana’s administration commissioner omit statutorily mandated registrar merit pay from the executive budget?
The AG said the commissioner lacked discretion to exclude expenses the legislature had required to be funded. The executive budget still had to stay within the official revenue forecast and remained…
What could Cheneyville do when too few aldermen attended repeated special meetings to form a quorum?
The AG identified recall and possible malfeasance proceedings, but did not declare the absences criminal or the seats vacant. Whether missing special meetings was malfeasance was a factual question…
Could Tangipahoa Parish appoint one of its council members to its communications district board?
Yes. The 2002 opinion found no prohibition on the appointment because the district became a state political subdivision when created, and the AG read the parish charter's board restriction as…
Could St. Bernard Parish regulate waterfront structures in territory assigned to its port district?
The AG said the parish’s permitting ordinance infringed the port district’s statutory authority over waterways and banks. It suggested a cooperative agreement with the district as a possible solution.
Could a coroner use and pay a forensic nurse for sexual assault examinations across three parishes?
The AG said a SANE nurse could be certified as an investigative expert, with compensation agreed by the coroner and responsible local government. It suggested a cooperative agreement for the…
Could Natchitoches Parish withhold ambulance tax proceeds from documented operating costs?
The AG said the police jury should authorize tax proceeds for sufficiently documented ambulance operation and maintenance costs, the voter-approved purpose. It excluded capital expenditures from…
Could Union Parish revoke a public road dedication once the road was no longer needed?
The AG said a parish could revoke dedication of an abandoned road no longer needed for public use, subject to its discretion not being arbitrary or capricious. It declined to decide the specific…
Who controlled Allen Parish’s capital improvements fund and what could it pay for?
The AG said the fund received designated state sales tax proceeds without parish action. Subject to legislative appropriation, it had to fund courthouse improvements first and then other…
Does a late appointment restart a Louisiana parish library board member's five-year term?
No. The AG said a board member's term follows its fixed statutory schedule. When an incumbent stays until a successor takes office, that holdover does not extend the term and can shorten the…
Could Hammond's city court clerk also serve on a parish hospital service district board?
Yes, under the circumstances the AG considered in 2002. The hospital district was a state political subdivision, and its commissioner position was part-time, so the two dual-officeholding…
Could Louisiana state retirement systems debit DROP accounts when investment returns were negative?
The AG said no. It treated the participants’ subaccounts as accrued retirement benefits that the systems could not diminish through a negative interest credit or maintenance-fee debit.
Could the Lake Charles port fund a private cooperative's factory feasibility study?
No. The AG concluded that the port could not fund the requested study for a private sugar-cane cooperative because the port lacked a legal obligation or authority for that financial assistance,…
Could the Red River Waterway Commission pay for media messages about the waterway's opportunities?
Yes, if the presentations gave factual information about the waterway's economic, commercial, and recreational opportunities and were designed to inform rather than manipulate public opinion.
Could a Louisiana public board member join by telephone to vote or make a quorum?
The AG said no under the open meetings provision it reviewed. It interpreted the law as requiring physical presence for participation, including votes and quorum counts.
Could Acadia Parish School Board levy a fixed household fee and count it as property tax revenue?
The AG said the proposed fixed fee was a specific property tax, which the school board lacked authority to levy. For the Minimum Foundation Program resolution at issue, “property tax” meant the ad…
Could Dubach use regular municipal employees without plumber licenses to finish plumbing at its RV park?
The AG found no prohibition on using regular municipal maintenance employees for the described low-cost village plumbing project. It cited a licensing exclusion for municipal employees and found the…
What could Montpelier's elected police chief decide about salary, sheriff mutual aid, police vehicles, staffing, and legal fees?
The AG said the town could not cut the chief's compensation during his term; mutual aid was limited to emergencies or special events; and the chief had operational authority over police vehicles,…
Could Cypress Black Bayou district spend its funds on advertising?
The AG said the district could advertise if it found that doing so would help carry out the purposes for which it was created.
Could LSU sell uncollected hospital patient accounts to another collector?
The AG found no legal prohibition on a properly negotiated sale of the described apparently uncollectible receivables if LSU had exhausted reasonable collection avenues and received payment…
Could Ville Platte donate city money, staff time, or property to private festival organizers?
The AG said the city could not donate public funds or the free use of personnel or property to the private organizations described, even if their events drew visitors and attention to Ville Platte.
Did Bossier Parish have to publicly bid prescription drugs for prisoners when annual purchases exceeded the threshold?
The AG said yes. It treated prescription drugs as materials and supplies and aggregated like purchases over a fiscal year to decide whether public bidding was required.
Did a water district need landowner permission to install water lines in a state highway right of way?
The AG said an additional landowner servitude was needed unless the state’s right-of-way grant specifically covered water lines or conveyed full ownership. For roads created by legislative act or…
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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.