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 Louisiana school board adopt the proposed policy for access to student records under the 2015 law?
Yes. The Attorney General concluded that the proposed student-record access policy was not inconsistent with La. R.S. 17:3914(H). The provision allowed local school boards to adopt access policies…
Could a Louisiana wildlife commissioner also serve on a federal Gulf fisheries council?
The AG said a Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission member could not also hold an appointment to the federal Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. It found no state-law bar to that member…
Could Franklinton's maintenance manager run for Washington Parish Council while keeping the town job?
The AG said the maintenance manager could run for parish council because candidacy alone did not mean holding two public positions. On the facts given, the AG also found no dual-officeholding bar to…
Did voluntary evacuation around the Napoleonville sinkhole trigger Texas Brine's assistance payments?
The AG said the permit's evacuation-assistance commitment covered mandatory or forced evacuation, which counted as required. A voluntary evacuation was a recommendation and did not trigger that…
Could a Hornbeck alderman also work full time for Northwestern State University?
The AG said a Hornbeck alderman could also hold a full-time job with Northwestern State University under the exception for municipalities below the statute's population threshold. It did not decide…
Could a Louisiana village reduce a water bill after a customer's pipe broke beyond the meter?
The AG said Cankton could not reduce or forgive a resident's water bill for a broken pipe on the customer's side of the meter when the village was not at fault. Doing so would violate the state…
Could a Louisiana justice of the peace hold court outside the elected district when no suitable courtroom is available?
The AG said a justice of the peace could not hold court outside the elected district merely because a courthouse elsewhere was more suitable or convenient. A state supreme court order under the…
Could a Louisiana parish use a council-on-aging property tax to renovate a school into senior apartments?
The AG said Terrebonne Parish Consolidated Government, rather than its council on aging, administered the voter-approved tax and could use it to help renovate a former school into apartments for seniors.
Can a Louisiana city set different off-street parking rules for different districts or subdivisions?
The AG said a city could adopt different off-street parking rules for different zoning districts. Within each district, rules had to apply uniformly to each class or kind of land and structure;…
Could LSU use its land for a wetland mitigation bank operated by a private nonprofit?
The AG said LSU could establish a wetland mitigation bank on its property and contract with a qualified nonprofit to operate it, subject to federal and state requirements and fair-value compensation…
Could Louisiana's penitentiary museum display old inmate intake photographs donated by the prison?
The AG concluded that the museum could use and exhibit donated inmate intake records after their required retention period expired, if the custodian confirmed they were releasable information of a…
Could Livingston Parish’s president hire a lawyer when the parish council sued him in his official capacity?
Yes, under the unusual facts presented. The AG said the parish president could hire counsel for a suit against him in his official capacity and pay from available appropriated funds after both…
Could Monroe’s economic development district help pay for a community college training center?
Yes, if the district determined the training center qualified as an economic development project and reasonably expected at least equivalent value for its contribution. The AG said district funds…
Could a Louisiana sheriff exceed a hiring cap during a public-safety emergency?
The AG said the sheriff could add deputies or staff beyond the statutory hiring limit on the reported facts. The AG found a public emergency in the sheriff's account of industrial growth and safety…
Could Denham Springs' civil service board hire its own lawyer for police discipline matters?
The AG said the Denham Springs fire and police civil service board could hire independent counsel for its duties, including an appeal hearing, without city council approval. It still needed Attorney…
Could a former Baton Rouge Metro Council member become parish registrar of voters within two years?
The AG said the charter did not bar a former council member from becoming registrar within two years because the registrar was not a city-parish office of profit. A sitting member could not hold…
Could a Louisiana road district spend its dedicated sales tax on a road section outside the district?
No. The AG said St. Landry Parish Road District No. 1 could spend its dedicated road tax only on roads physically within the district, so it could not pay for the section of a roadway outside the boundary.
Were Southern University police officers at the New Orleans campus eligible for Louisiana supplemental pay?
The AG concluded that qualified, commissioned Southern University police officers at the New Orleans campus were eligible for state supplemental pay, assuming the facts supplied about their police…
Could a Louisiana city pay employees for on-call hours when they were never called to work?
The AG said Denham Springs could pay on-call time without a call-out only if restrictions made that time compensable work. If employees could effectively use it for themselves, the proposed payment…
Could a Louisiana village police chief also work as a parish deputy or another town's police officer?
The AG said Georgetown's elected police chief could also serve as a full-time LaSalle Parish deputy under a small-municipality exception, or work as a full-time police officer for the separate Town…
Must St. John Parish's president carry out the adopted budget, and can its council bypass the president's signature on contracts?
The AG said the parish president had to implement the adopted budget, though not necessarily spend every appropriated dollar. Contract signing was an executive function; the council could act…
Could a Louisiana parish impose a water impact fee on new developments without a voter-approved tax?
The AG said Ascension Parish's proposed charge was a fee, because it would defray infrastructure costs attributable to new developments rather than raise general revenue. The parish could enact it…
Who controlled courthouse security and courtroom cell-phone rules in a Louisiana parish?
The AG said Vermilion Parish Police Jury had general responsibility for courthouse security, including procedures in the building. District judges could also regulate conduct and cell-phone use in…
Were Lakeshore Villages development district supervisors elected or appointed in St. Tammany Parish?
The AG concluded that St. Tammany Parish Council appointed the Lakeshore Villages district's board members because its population was below the statute's 600-person threshold. The parish charter did…
How did Louisiana's 52-week police sick-leave rule apply to repeat injuries and clerical staff?
The statute promised not less than 52 weeks of sick leave per calendar year when conditions warranted. The AG said a second injury did not start a new 52-week period in that year. Staff hired on or…
Could a Louisiana city court use its judicial building fund to pay for online record storage?
Yes, under the law analyzed in 2015. The AG said Bastrop City Court could use its Judicial Building Fund to pay for online storage of scanned suit records because keeping those records accessible…
Can a Louisiana court clerk or deputy use personal or community funds to post bail for someone?
The AG concluded that district court clerks and their deputies were covered by the statewide ban on becoming bail sureties or providing bail money or property, including for themselves, relatives…
Could Youngsville require police officers to attend removal of political signs on private property?
No. The AG said the elected police chief had discretion over department personnel and resources. The sign ordinance did not itself require officers at removals, and a city directive imposing their…
Could St. John Parish's council set salary line items and move adopted budget funds without an open vote?
The council could set salary line items, prescribe the proposed budget format, and amend the proposal before adoption. Once adopted, moving money between line items required a council budget…
Could a Louisiana town use its police officers and patrol cars to escort school teams to away games?
The AG said Independence could not pay on-duty officers to escort local school teams to away games. School-paid off-duty officers could use police vehicles for those escorts if the town met the…
Could a Kenner council member also serve as an unpaid reserve police officer?
Yes, under the dual-officeholding rules and facts examined. The AG said the reserve role was not city employment because Kenner paid no salary or per diem for it, and the charter barred only another…
Could an Evangeline Parish police juror also direct the parish solid waste district?
The AG said an Evangeline Parish police juror could apply for and, on the facts supplied, accept the executive director job at the separate solid waste district. Its conclusion relied on the…
Could a Louisiana justice of the peace also work full time as a town police officer?
The AG found no bar under Louisiana's dual-officeholding law to a justice of the peace also holding full-time police employment with the Town of Blanchard, a separate political subdivision. It…
Could the Louisiana Legislature create a new mayor's court for the City of Central?
The AG concluded that the statute creating Central's mayor's court was presumed constitutional and that the cited provisions of Louisiana's 1974 Constitution did not prohibit the Legislature from…
Can a Louisiana parish waterworks district accept a donated private water system without a petition or vote?
The AG concluded that a donated water system still required the petition or voter approval specified for acquiring a system. The regulated donor also had to obtain Louisiana Public Service…
Did a firefighter employed by a private nonprofit have to join Louisiana's Firefighters' Retirement System?
The AG concluded that an employee of a private nonprofit fire provider was not required to join or contribute to the Firefighters' Retirement System because the nonprofit was not one of the public…
Could a Louisiana school board add hunting rights to a sixteenth-section farm lease without public bidding?
The AG said St. Martin Parish's special bid exception covered agricultural leases of sixteenth-section land, not hunting rights. A hunting lease required the public-bid process in La. R.S. 17:87.8…
Could a Louisiana village appoint its own mayor or alderman to a parish fire district board?
The AG said the Village of Atlanta could not appoint its own mayor or an alderman to the Winn Parish Fire District No. 3 board because the village officials would also hold appointing power. The…
Could Crowley provide free fire protection to unincorporated Acadia Parish?
No. The AG said Crowley could not use city resources to provide free fire protection outside its limits. It identified a local services agreement as a possible route if Acadia Parish paid all…
Were cell-tower lease payments to a Louisiana volunteer fire department public or private funds?
The AG classified the telecommunications tower's lease payments as private funds because the tower stood on the volunteer fire department's privately owned land and did not use the parish-built fire…
How could a Louisiana parish sell surplus land, and could it pay a realtor from the sale proceeds?
The AG said St. James Parish could sell surplus land after declaring it surplus by ordinance, giving public notice, and receiving fair market value. It could use a real estate agent, but should pay…
Must Louisiana's social-work board keep former impaired-professional files, and are they public?
The board's approved schedule required permanent retention. The AG said file contents might qualify for a public-records exemption, while final licensing decisions and their grounds remained public.…
Could a Livingston Parish recreation commissioner also serve as a town alderman?
No, on the facts presented. Although the commissioner role was part-time, the AG said the district's transfer of funds to the town made the two offices incompatible under the dual-officeholding law.
Could a Louisiana deputy sheriff campaign for justice of the peace without taking leave?
Yes, for the deputy and sheriff's office described. The AG said no leave was required where there was no civil-service system or personnel rule requiring one, provided the deputy fulfilled his…
Could a full-time Louisiana State Parks officer also serve as an elected constable?
No. The AG classified the State Parks role as full-time state employment and the constable role as local elective office. It said Louisiana's dual-officeholding law barred holding both at once.
Could a full-time district attorney employee serve as a part-time deputy clerk in two parishes?
Yes, under the dual-officeholding law examined. The AG said the full-time district attorney staff job could coexist with two part-time deputy clerk appointments limited to subpoenas. It raised…
Could a Louisiana police department reduce sick leave pay because an officer received VA benefits?
No. The AG said the police sick-leave law reduced pay for workers' compensation benefits actually received, but did not authorize a reduction for Veterans Administration benefits for the same condition.
Could Winnsboro city and city court employees share a serious-illness leave pool?
Possibly, through a cooperative endeavor agreement. The AG said the city court clerks were court employees, not city employees, and the two entities could share leave only if each reasonably…
Could Ponchatoula lease valuable city property to nonprofits for low cash rent and in-kind work?
Only if the city received equivalent value and followed the applicable legal route. The AG said in-kind work counted toward rent only to the extent it produced a real, quantifiable benefit to the…
Could Orleans Parish Criminal District Court buy servers directly from a state contract vendor?
Yes. The AG said the court could buy the equipment directly from a state contract vendor under cooperative purchasing authority, subject to state purchasing conditions. An invitation to bid or RFP…
Could Thibodaux limit where businesses with more than three video poker machines opened?
Yes. The AG concluded that the proposed rule limited where larger video poker establishments could locate and fell within the city's zoning power. It distinguished that location rule from regulation…
Could a Louisiana 911 district buy radios or safety equipment for sheriff's deputies under a cooperative agreement?
Potentially. The AG said Concordia's communications district could buy and share equipment that improved emergency response if the spending fit its statutory purpose and the restrictions in…
Could the Louisiana Tax Commission raise a property assessment after that year's taxes were paid?
No. The AG read La. R.S. 47:1990 as allowing the Tax Commission to correct a property assessment only before the taxes levied on that assessment had actually been paid.
Could a homeowner keep Louisiana's homestead exemption after an LLC acquired naked ownership?
No, on the facts described. The AG said a retained usufruct and continued occupancy did not preserve the exemption when an LLC held naked ownership, because the constitutional exemption extended…
Could a Louisiana juvenile probation officer also take a part-time drug court contract?
Yes, under the contract arrangement described. The AG treated the drug court compliance work as a professional services contract rather than public employment or an appointed office for…
Could a Louisiana city pay for a crossing guard at a church catechism program?
No. On the facts supplied, the AG concluded that Rayne had no duty to provide the guard, so paying for the church program's crossing service would be a gratuitous use of public funds.
Could Iberia Parish Airport Authority buy a share in a private sugar cooperative?
No. The AG concluded that the state constitution barred a political subdivision from purchasing stock in a private enterprise, so the airport authority could not buy one share of the sugar…
Could Iberia Parish use tax increment district funds for an intersection partly outside district boundaries?
Yes, under the facts presented and subject to the statute's requirements. The AG read the project-cost rule to cover construction within or about the district and relied on the approved intersection…
Could Calcasieu Parish use Parish Transportation Fund money to landscape I-10 rights-of-way?
No. The AG said the fund could cover only the specific state-highway right-of-way maintenance listed in La. R.S. 48:753(A)(6), such as culverts, ditches, and potholes. It did not cover the police…
Could a Louisiana town hire a collection agency to recover unpaid traffic fines?
No for the nonparking traffic fines Jackson asked about. The AG said La. R.S. 13:1898(A) assigned collection of those court fines to the city court clerk or marshal designated by the judge, absent…
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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.