Louisiana Attorney General Opinions

Could Springhill's elected marshal also serve part-time as a district attorney investigator?

The AG said yes under the facts presented. He treated the investigator role as an appointive office in a separate political subdivision and said the elected marshal could hold it concurrently if the…

Could a Louisiana port commissioner lobby on behalf of the port?

The AG knew of no bar under the dual-officeholding laws to a Greater Krotz Springs Port commissioner serving as the port's lobbyist. He referred questions about the Lobbyist Disclosure Act to the…

Could a Louisiana town sell its own topsoil and purchased gravel to residents?

The AG said Homer could sell town-owned topsoil for town operations if it followed the applicable surplus-property sale procedures. He found the town's practice of purchasing gravel for resale…

Could Tensas Parish lend dedicated sales-tax money to a private business for economic development?

The AG found no law authorizing or obligating the parish to make the contemplated business loan. He also found no authority to create a nonprofit corporation to make the same loan for the parish; a…

Could a full-time Louisiana transportation employee also work part-time for LSU?

Yes, on the facts presented. The AG said both jobs belonged to the state executive branch and the LSU role was part-time, so the cited dual-officeholding restrictions did not bar holding it…

Could a Louisiana funeral home refrigerate an unembalmed body for more than thirty hours?

The AG said no. Under the statute he read, a funeral home could not keep a body longer than thirty hours without embalming, even if it offered refrigeration. He said the Sanitary Code's extended…

Could the West Baton Rouge parish president veto a council decision to remove a budget item before adoption?

No. The AG said the parish president could veto an adopted budget ordinance or specified appropriation items in it, but the charter gave no power to veto a council resolution that had deleted an…

Could Farmerville appoint its elected city marshal as chief of police under its special charter?

The AG said yes. Farmerville's legislative charter allowed the council to establish a police force, its code created an appointed chief position, and the cited dual-officeholding exception permitted…

Could Mamou require town employees to take unpaid leave before running for town office?

The AG did not decide whether Mamou's proposed ordinance was constitutional. He said it needed clearer treatment of classified and unclassified employees and more specific rules for prohibited…

Was Louisiana's $1,000 mariculture permit fee paid once or every year?

The AG concluded the $1,000 fee was annual. Reading the two mariculture-permit provisions together, he said a one-time reading would make the section expressly calling for an annual fee meaningless.

What recourse did a Louisiana justice of the peace have if a constable refused a direct order?

The AG repeated an earlier opinion: after a constable refused a direct order, the justice could appoint a special deputy constable to perform the duties and report the constable to the district…

Could a Louisiana city council member also work as a state district judge's law clerk?

The AG said no. A district-court law clerk was employed in the state judicial branch, and the dual-officeholding statute barred someone with local elective office from also holding state employment.…

Could a Louisiana town pay to install water, sewer, or gas lines on private land?

The AG said the Town of Maringouin could not use municipal money to install those utility lines on private property when the town had no obligation to do so. He treated the expense as a prohibited…

Can a Louisiana justice of the peace require a constable to attend court and withhold constable fees?

The AG said a justice of the peace could require the ward's constable to attend and could use contempt if the constable disobeyed, but could not compel one from another ward or parish. Half of…

When would Louisiana defend or indemnify a deferred compensation commissioner sued over plan duties?

The AG described a conditional defense and indemnity process for covered state officials acting in their duties and free of criminal conduct. He said a fiduciary-duty claim could sound in contract,…

Did a Louisiana parish assessor have to give the Legislative Auditor employees' and spouses' property lists?

Assuming the Auditor's investigation of the assessor fell within a statutory ground, the AG said the Auditor could obtain property information about the assessor's public employees. On the facts…

Could two Louisiana Tax Commission members approve property assessment changes without a public meeting?

The AG said no. The Commission as a whole had to approve or disapprove each assessment change order by an open vote; individual members could review or recommend a change, but two signatures outside…

Could a Louisiana condominium become 'adults only' because most residents were older?

The AG said an 'adults only' label alone did not establish the older-person housing exception to familial-status protections. He described statutory age, occupancy, and published-policy conditions,…

Could Baker and Zachary voters vote on East Baton Rouge Parish's educational-facilities sales tax?

The AG said no under the district structure described in this 2003 opinion. Baker, Zachary, and the remaining East Baton Rouge Parish School District each had a separate educational facilities…

Could a full-time Atchafalaya Basin Levee District employee also join the St. Martin election board?

Yes, for the part-time appointment described in this opinion. The AG classified the levee district as a local political subdivision and said the cited dual-employment prohibition on two full-time…

Could Louisiana's psychology board backdate reinstatement of a lapsed psychologist license?

The AG said the statutes he reviewed did not specify whether reinstatement was retroactive. He concluded the psychology board could adopt rules or guidelines deciding whether to allow retroactive…

Could a Louisiana sheriff increase payroll near a governor's election to open a halfway house?

The AG said a sheriff's completion of a halfway house for the physical custody of inmates fit the prison-facility exception to the election-period payroll restriction in R.S. 14:139.1. The opinion…

Could Baker's city court judge receive statutory civil-case fees even though the council could not set pay on a fee basis?

Yes, according to this opinion. The AG read the statutory civil-case fees and Baker's ban on a council-created fee-based salary as compatible. He said the city finance department should compute and…

After a Louisiana court ordered an arrest record expunged, did the sheriff have to destroy it, and could a victim's family obtain it?

The AG said the result depended on the offense and court order under the 2003 version of the statute: some misdemeanor records had to be destroyed, while portions of expunged felony records could be…

Could Louisiana's practical-nurse board use the national licensing exam and stay in an association that lobbied?

The AG said the board could contract for the national practical-nurse exam and that no state law he found barred its membership in the exam provider's association, even though that association also…

Could a Louisiana court charge the expedited child-support process fee in a case outside that process?

No, according to this opinion. The AG said a court could collect the administrative fee, capped at five percent of support obligations, to fund cases brought through its expedited support process;…

Could an elected Louisiana justice of the peace also take a paid appointment to a state board?

The AG said an elected justice of the peace could also serve on a state board or commission if the appointed position was part time. He said the dual-office-holding rule would prohibit a full-time…

When could a Louisiana parish buy property and casualty insurance through a surplus line broker?

Under the law discussed in this 2003 opinion, the AG said surplus line coverage through a licensed broker was allowed only when the coverage could not be obtained from insurers authorized to write…

Could a Louisiana seafood dealer be cited for undersized crabs after identifying the fisherman who harvested them?

The AG said a dealer who timely gave truthful, compliant identification of the harvesting fisherman should not be cited. If an officer had probable cause to believe that information was false or did…

Could a full-time Louisiana police jury worker also take a part-time legislative assistant job?

Yes, on the positions described in this 2003 opinion. The AG said the part-time legislative assistant role could be held alongside full-time employment as a police jury maintenance crew worker…

Could Louisiana release a missing child's information in an Amber Alert despite juvenile privacy laws?

The Louisiana AG concluded in this 2003 opinion that the state provisions the requester identified did not prohibit releasing information under the Louisiana Amber Alert Plan. The opinion treated…

Could a Terrebonne council member live outside his district temporarily after a fire destroyed his home?

The AG said a reasonably temporary move could be consistent with the charter's residency requirement, but eligibility depended on facts such as duration, intent to return, and continued district…

Could Baskin's mayor lock an elected police chief out of his office, control his patrol car, or require citation copies before he saw them?

The AG said the mayor could not block the elected chief's after-hours access to his office or impose a citation-copy procedure that displaced the chief's operational control. The chief could keep a…

Did Jean Lafitte's mayor lose town residency by living elsewhere temporarily while a new in-town home was built?

The AG found no basis on the presented facts to declare the mayor a nonresident because of the temporary move. It drew on earlier opinions distinguishing domicile from temporary residence and noted…

Could Roseland claim a volunteer fire nonprofit's records, equipment, bank account, and an audit after a dispute?

The AG said the town's rights turned on whether the volunteer department was primarily funded by public money. If it was not, the town could not claim the nonprofit's documents, equipment, or…

Could a Louisiana town set its elected police chief's benefits, supervise the chief, or dictate patrol hours?

The AG said Eros's aldermen had to set the elected chief's compensation, including health insurance benefits, by ordinance. The mayor could not supervise the chief, and the town governing authority…

Could Louisiana hold Winnsboro's 2002 municipal election before its new district plan received federal preclearance?

The AG said the Secretary of State could decline to conduct the election upon certification that no valid apportionment plan existed. The city was to submit its plan for preclearance, with an…

Did Port Barre have to publicly bid a realty firm's contract to find tenants for a town building?

The AG said the tenant-finding agreement was a services contract that did not require public bidding. Any resulting lease of the town building still had to satisfy public lease and municipal…

Could West Monroe City Court move old, unclaimed civil-fee money into its operating fund?

Yes, if the surplus filing fees and costs had remained unclaimed for at least five years. The AG applied a statute allowing the court's judge to transfer such funds to the court's general operational fund.

Could a Caldwell Parish detention officer work part-time on sheriff's patrol after a full workweek?

The AG said yes on the stated facts: the officer could also work part-time as a deputy sheriff if the deputy hiring requirements were met. The opinion said part-time deputies did not qualify for the…

Could a New Orleans criminal court commissioner serve as a contracted boxing judge?

The AG said yes under the described arrangement. The boxing commission would retain the judge by contract rather than employ him, so the state dual-officeholding restriction did not apply.

Could a Baldwin police officer serve on the council of a neighboring Louisiana town?

The AG said state dual-officeholding law did not bar the combination because the job and elected office were in different municipalities. It cautioned that the council town's home rule charter might…

Could Southern University's board require a rotating campus seat for its student board member?

The AG said the student-body-presidents' council, not the board, had to control the selection method. The council could choose rotation, but the board could not impose it through its own bylaws…

Did state funds merely passed through a Louisiana foundation count toward its audit-reporting threshold?

Yes. The AG said the funds counted as 'revenues and other sources' even though the foundation forwarded them to a company and gained no direct benefit, so the more detailed reporting requirement applied.

When did a Louisiana public airport have to bid a space lease, and how long could it run?

The 2002 opinion said operations-space leases over 250 square feet required public bidding, while smaller ones could be bid at the lessor's choice. It also described a ten-year base term and two…

Who could collect Caddo Fire District #4's service charges, and did the assessor have to count buildings?

The 2002 opinion placed original collection and enforcement authority with the fire district and said it could arrange for another agency to collect. It did not identify a mandatory assessor role in…

Can a Louisiana water district make former employees wait two years to join its board?

No, according to this 2002 opinion. The AG said Rapides Parish Water District #3 could not add a two-year waiting period to the statutory qualifications for waterworks commissioners.

Did Louisiana state employees whose main job was driving need their own liability insurance?

Generally no, under the law reviewed in 2002, unless a driver fell under specified financial-responsibility requirements. The AG said the state could adopt such a requirement by policy, while urging…

Who was responsible for the actions of Lake Charles port district employees?

The AG said the Lake Charles Harbor and Terminal District, as a state political subdivision, was legally responsible for acts of its agents and employees. It also noted possible indemnity rights…

Could Opelousas police officers serve as deputy marshals and send court fees to the city?

The AG concluded that full-time city police officers could not be appointed deputy marshals and that the criminal-matter fees discussed in the opinion belonged in the marshal's accounts, not the city's.

Could a fire district charge separately for each bed space in a nursing home's shared rooms?

The opinion concluded that separating two beds with a curtain did not create separate units or structures under the fire district's service-charge authority. It addressed the proposed charge on…

Could someone convicted of an out-of-state felony qualify for elected office in Louisiana?

The AG said a person with an out-of-state conviction equivalent to a Louisiana felony could qualify after a pardon by the proper authority, or without a pardon if qualifying occurred more than…

Could Louisiana lease downtown state property through LSU for a privately funded arts complex?

The AG found statutory authority for the state-to-LSU lease and described routes for LSU to lease to the project LLC. It said privately funded construction under a proper lease avoided public-work…

Could a Louisiana justice of the peace still perform marriages after losing reelection?

The AG said a justice of the peace who had served at least eighteen years could retain marriage-officiant authority after leaving office if the required registration was maintained, within the…

Could a Sabine River Authority board member keep a school teaching job?

The AG said yes under the dual officeholding law discussed because the authority board seat was a part-time appointive office. The prohibition it examined would apply if both positions were full-time.

Could Sulphur provide city-paid group health and life insurance to a retired mayor?

The AG said the city council could adopt the proposed benefit for a retired mayor on the facts presented. It noted that elected-official insurance had to be authorized under an existing contract and…

What territory did Monroe City Court cover after Ouachita Parish changed its precinct labels?

The AG said Monroe’s court territory comprised the city limits as extended with required approval and the historical Third and Tenth Wards, despite new precinct labels. It applied those boundaries…

Could Brusly's mayor and council direct police officers and the assistant chief under proposed ordinances?

The AG said provisions directing officers or the assistant chief to take assignments and report to the mayor or council could infringe the elected chief's authority to run the police department. It…

Could the Calcasieu sheriff lease law enforcement district space to a private ambulance service?

The AG saw no legal bar to a properly negotiated lease if the district did not need the property for law enforcement, received rent commensurate with its value, and obtained beneficial lease terms.

Could vending machines be placed on Lake Providence town property without paying the town?

The AG said the town had to receive compensation for use of its space; otherwise the use would be a prohibited donation of public funds. It referred the separate question about an elected official…