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 extend its deferred compensation plan administrator contract beyond the term in the original request for proposals?
The AG found no specific legal prohibition on a longer contract extension and said the public-services procurement law did not apply to the plan's assets. He nevertheless recommended against…
Could a full-time waterworks employee also umpire part-time for a public school?
The AG said Louisiana's dual-employment law did not bar a full-time parish waterworks supervisor from also working part-time as a baseball umpire for a local public school.
Could a Louisiana city elect or contract for its police chief without abolishing police civil service?
The AG said a qualifying city could make its police chief elected through a lawful charter change, or use a contractor that controlled hiring and supervision. Changes to the statutory classified…
Could Baker and Zachary receive Louisiana school funding and contract with East Baton Rouge while forming new districts?
The AG distinguished the two 2001 statutes. Baker needed the specified final court judgment before operating and receiving education funds and could not contract East Baton Rouge to educate its…
Could Lafayette limit general public comments to its last council meeting each month?
The AG concluded that Lafayette's resolution limiting citizen participation to the last Tuesday meeting of each month was not unconstitutional on the freedom-of-speech ground presented. He…
Could Ferriday pay a YMCA director or let town employees work for the YMCA on town time?
The AG said Ferriday could not pay the YMCA director or assign paid town work time to YMCA operations because the town had no legal duty to provide either. The opinion separately discussed aid for…
Could a Louisiana fire district fund a volunteer fire company and lease its trucks under a cooperative agreement?
The AG considered the district's funding agreement with the volunteer company valid for their shared fire-protection purposes and said the district could lease the company's fire trucks. He also…
Could Morehouse Parish pay an East Morehouse school supplement and remove it after a transfer?
The AG said the board could pay teachers and support staff at East Morehouse schools a locally funded supplement above comparable staff elsewhere. When an employee transferred out of that district,…
Could a Louisiana juror demand cash instead of a check for jury service?
The AG said the statute set the amount of juror compensation but did not require payment in cash. A clerk of court therefore was not required to replace a juror's payment check with cash.
When could the public inspect counted absentee ballots in a Louisiana election?
The AG said counted absentee ballots became open to inspection after the election-contest filing period expired, or after final judgment in a filed contest, and remained available during the…
Were riverboat casinos' quarterly payments to vendors public records in Louisiana?
The AG said the exact amounts paid to individual vendors in riverboat compliance reports were confidential financial records under the Gaming Control Law. He concluded that the Public Records Act…
Could Louisiana pay state purchasing-card bills that arose before a new appropriations act took effect?
The AG said bills accrued after the fiscal year began could be paid once the appropriations act became effective, if the act covered that period. No state treasury funds could be withdrawn before…
Could a Louisiana levee district build ramps over levee servitudes for landowners?
The AG said the district could cooperate with landowners on crossings and ramps if its board properly found that doing so was the best and most efficient way to maintain the levees. The AG left the…
Could coordinated insurance claims practices violate Louisiana antitrust law without a formal plan?
The AG answered yes to the senator's hypothetical about practices like those described in a federal consent judgment. The opinion said the alleged price-fixing and market-allocation claims also…
Could a Louisiana fire protection district build a station on privately leased land?
The AG said a fire district could lease private land and use public funds to build a fire station there. He found no public-bid requirement for the lease or state-law maximum that barred a 50-year…
Could a Louisiana police chief ignore an after-hours crime call after working forty hours?
The AG did not give a blanket rule for every after-hours call. He said a chief retained lawful enforcement duties despite delegation, and intentional failure to perform a required duty could…
Could a Louisiana police juror use a parish vehicle, claim mileage, and serve as parish manager?
The AG said a juror could use a parish vehicle for official work but could not collect mileage for that travel. A juror could also be employed as parish manager or assistant manager, with the…
Could a retired Louisiana state trooper's former wife receive his survivor pension?
The AG said a former wife was not the surviving spouse eligible for benefits under R.S. 11:1322 when the retired trooper died. The opinion assumed there was no property settlement requiring a…
Could New Iberia adopt its proposed change to franchise voting rules?
The AG could not approve New Iberia's proposed charter amendment as consistent with state law because R.S. 33:4341 still required voter approval for specified sales or leases of revenue-producing…
Did an Ascension Parish Council committee need public meeting notice if it had fewer than a council quorum?
The AG said a council committee that deliberated to advise the full council was subject to the Open Meetings Law when a majority of the committee's own members were present. Having fewer than a…
Could a Louisiana district court probation department buy land for its own offices?
The AG said neither the probation department nor the district court had authority to buy the land. The department had no separate contracting capacity; parishes were responsible for furnishing…
Could a Louisiana village accept an anonymous gift earmarked to pay its auditor?
The AG said Killian could accept an anonymous donation designated for a lawful village expense. He found no legal requirement for the donor to reveal an identity on the facts presented.
Could a Louisiana police jury reject a district attorney's court-approved expense requests?
The AG said district judges initially decided which district attorney expenses were lawful and reasonable, based on itemization sufficient for the judge. The police jury could not revisit an amount…
Could a Louisiana recreation district send dedicated tax revenue to a town's recreation facility?
The AG said LaSalle Parish Recreation District 22 could send part of its dedicated tax proceeds to Urania to equip, maintain, and operate a facility inside the district, but not for another purpose.…
Did the Calcasieu sheriff receive a conviction fee for citations issued by state or city police?
The 2001 opinion said the sheriff received the fee under R.S. 33:1432(8) only for convictions arising from original citations issued by the sheriff's office, because the fee compensated services…
Could Louisiana's human rights commission keep investigating a discrimination complaint after the employer filed bankruptcy?
The AG said the commission could continue its discrimination investigation under the bankruptcy stay's government regulatory-power exception. It could not file the complainant's bankruptcy claim for…
Could Hammond's city council give its president powers beyond the home rule charter?
The AG said Hammond's council could not delegate its legislative functions to the council president without charter authorization. He found no such authorization in Hammond's charter beyond the…
Could a Louisiana home held in trust qualify for the homestead exemption?
The AG reiterated that trust-held property qualified only when the settlor was also a trustee or the settlor's spouse was the principal beneficiary, subject to the other homestead requirements. The…
Could St. Landry Parish abolish its District Five road commission and take its taxes?
The AG said the parish could not abolish this legislatively created district on its own. He identified a constitutional merger route requiring voter approval in both the parish and the affected…
Could a Louisiana registrar of voters also serve on the State Mineral Board?
The AG said no. Under the Election Code provision he applied, the prospective registrar had to relinquish his State Mineral Board appointment before becoming registrar. A sitting registrar could run…
What powers did an elected Louisiana police chief have over investigations, spending, and town records?
The AG said investigations needed a legitimate basis, police spending had to fit the approved budget and warrant rules, and the town clerk kept municipal records including vehicle titles. He allowed…
Could Plaquemines Parish charge landfill, boat-launch, and oyster-tag fees?
The AG rejected the three proposed charges as described. He said existing litter law addressed debris from landfill traffic, state watercraft regulation barred the proposed boat fees, and state…
Could a Kenner council member also be a deputy constable or hold an honorary constable title?
The 2001 opinion allowed a council member to serve as deputy constable only if that appointment was part time. An honorary title was allowed if it carried no actual constable powers or duties; lack…
Did every co-owner have to consent to a Louisiana coastal restoration project's access?
The AG said unanimous consent was unnecessary for work that preserved co-owned property, but required for work affecting its use and management. Each project needed a factual assessment of its…
Did New Orleans charter-amendment signatures have to be gathered in person under Louisiana's petition statute?
The AG said New Orleans's pre-1974 home rule charter controlled this petition process. Its amendment petition went to the city council rather than the registrar for certification, so the…
Did a Louisiana mayor need a new council vote to sign a contract for an approved budget project?
The AG said approval of a budget containing the project could authorize the mayor of a Lawrason Act town to sign its contract. For a bid project, the public entity could designate an official to…
Could a parish police jury president lift a statewide burn ban, or a fire chief impose one?
The AG said a police jury president could not override a governor's proclamation imposing a state burn ban, and a fire chief had no statutory authority to invoke a burn ban. The opinion separately…
Could a Brusly council member also serve on the West Baton Rouge Parish Library board?
The AG said the two positions could be held together if the library-board role was part-time. Whether the library position was unpaid did not decide the dual-officeholding question.
Could a Louisiana university advance staff or office costs to its support foundation?
The AG said a university could provide space, personnel, or other support to a qualifying support organization under R.S. 17:3390 if the public-purpose conditions were met and the organization…
Could a sheriff's employee serve on Louisiana's Private Investigator Examiners Board?
The AG said a full-time employee of the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office could also serve in the part-time appointed state-board role. The sheriff's office was a separate political subdivision,…
Could a Louisiana registrar challenge a voter for submitting a false change of address?
The AG said yes. He treated a believed fraudulent address change as a basis for the 21-day challenge notice, with the submitted change processed and cancellation only if the registrant failed to…
Could grandparents and a grandson claim Louisiana's homestead exemption on jointly owned land?
The AG said the homestead exemption appeared unavailable for the property owned in indivision by the grandparents and grandson. He stressed that eligibility depended on facts for the assessor to…
Did a Louisiana housing authority have to publish its board proceedings in a newspaper?
The AG said yes. After statutory changes recognized local housing authorities as political subdivisions, he concluded that the newspaper publication requirement in R.S. 43:171 applied to their board…
Could customers add donations to a Louisiana city utility bill to help neighbors pay theirs?
The AG said Ruston's utility could collect voluntary donations for needy customers, with the city helping establish objective and consistent criteria for need. Donations designated for charity on…
Could a Louisiana parish accept residents' donations to pave a public gravel road?
The AG found no prohibition on accepting private donations to offset the cost of paving a road in the parish road system. The parish still had to follow the Parish Transportation Fund Act's…
Could a full-time Louisiana town police officer also work for the town fire department?
The AG said a full-time Simmesport police officer could also serve as a part-time firefighter if the work hours did not conflict. The answer assumed no civil service rule barred the arrangement.
Could Kenner collect referendum petition signatures through the mail?
The AG said mailed-in signatures did not meet the Election Code petition rule then in force. The statute required information identifying the person who witnessed and obtained each signature, which…
Could a Port of South Louisiana commissioner also work full time for the St. Charles Parish president?
The 2001 opinion said the two positions could be held together under the dual-officeholding law if the port commission seat was part time. It expressly left possible ethics conflicts to the ethics board.
How long could a Louisiana alderman serve as mayor pro tempore?
The AG said the alderman selected as mayor pro tempore continued in that role until the board removed that person. The Cullen Board of Aldermen could select a replacement by majority vote.
Could Iota require police officers to stay six months after paid training and raise its clerk's salary without an ordinance?
The 2001 opinion said the town could adopt a six-month post-training employment term, with contract damages rather than forced service if an officer left early. It said any clerk pay increase had to…
Could a Louisiana parish own a grant-funded well that a private nonprofit water system operated?
The AG said Union Parish could enter a cooperative arrangement for its grant-funded well, assuming it met the grant terms. The parish would be responsible for negligence arising from ownership,…
Could Louisiana pay blue crab tariff legal fees from a dedicated fund without an appropriation?
The AG said no. Although the fee revenue was dedicated to the effort, no appropriation from the fund existed, so the Legislature had to enact one before payment; a budget adjustment could not supply it.
Could a Louisiana human services district spend Medicaid collections above its appropriation?
The AG said the district, as a political subdivision, did not have to place its excess collections in the state treasury. If the money was in the treasury, however, it could not be withdrawn without…
Could Bossier Parish run highway vehicles on untaxed dyed diesel fuel?
The 2001 opinion said no for the parish's highway vehicles. It read the fuel-tax exemptions and the prohibition on dyed fuel in highway-registered vehicles together, distinguishing off-highway uses.
Did Louisiana's wildlife department have to pay court costs to execute its administrative judgments?
The AG said the department was exempt under R.S. 13:4521 from paying clerk and sheriff costs for issuing writs and executing judgments in its favor arising from wildlife violations, because he…
Could St. Landry Parish use surplus solid waste funds to buy a dump truck for road work?
The AG said yes. He read Section 4(g) of Act 1249 broadly enough to allow surplus funds covered by an intergovernmental agreement to buy a truck used to haul road and drainage materials.
Could a Louisiana cemetery board use maintenance tax money to buy land for an expansion?
The AG said no. The two Ward Two tax propositions funded cemetery maintenance and upkeep, not acquisition of land. He said voters could be asked to rededicate the proceeds, subject to State Bond…
Did a private Louisiana community action agency need Bond Commission approval before borrowing?
The AG said a community action agency organized as a private nonprofit corporation was outside the general approval rule for public bodies. Bond Commission approval could still be required if its…
Could a licensed or former auctioneer fill a consumer seat on Louisiana's auctioneer board?
The AG said a current licensed auctioneer could not hold one of the two consumer seats. A former licensee was not automatically barred and could qualify as a consumer.
Could a St. Tammany Parish constable also take a part-time clerical job with Abita Springs police?
The 2001 opinion said yes. The proposed police job was part time and in a different political subdivision from the elected constable office, so the dual officeholding restriction did not bar the…
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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.