State AG Opinions
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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…
Could one Louisiana parish leave the Audubon Regional Library on its own?
The AG said a member parish could leave only under Article VI of the parishes' written agreement, which made termination depend on agreement between the parishes.
Could a Louisiana home owned by a single-member LLC receive the homestead exemption?
The AG said no. It read the constitutional exemption as requiring ownership and occupancy by a natural person, while even a single-member LLC was a separate legal entity.
Could Loreauville spend a sales tax dedicated to its police department on a contract with the parish sheriff?
The AG said no under the existing voter-approved tax proposition. It recommended asking voters to rededicate the tax to a broader law-enforcement purpose and said the parish sheriff could not also…
Could New Iberia's mayor restrict access to work areas in city facilities under the city charter?
The AG said yes. It read New Iberia's charter as giving the mayor exclusive authority over day-to-day city operations, including discretion to restrict access to work areas for safety, employee…
Was there a fixed deadline to replace a commissioner on Assumption Parish Waterworks District No. 1's board?
The AG said the statute left filling the vacancy to the appointing authority's discretion and specified no deadline in the quoted provision. It said the appointment should be made within a reasonable time.
Could a Louisiana Department of Transportation employee also serve as an elected school board member?
The AG said no. State employment could not be held at the same time as a local elective school board seat under the dual-officeholding statute, and the opinion found no applicable exemption.
Could Carencro police run employer criminal-history checks for hospitals or nursing homes and charge a fee?
The AG said the department could perform authorized checks for specified healthcare and child-protection employers, with a reasonable processing fee under the statute. It said the fee could be…
Could Louisiana school retirement employers use the Employer Credit Account after Act 897's benefit increase was paid from surplus?
The AG said yes, if statutory conditions were met. Act 897's actuarial implementation cost had been paid from surplus as required; a later increase in the employer contribution rate attributable to…
Could Ascension Parish contribute to a study of an airport planned in a nearby parish?
The AG said a cooperative economic-development agreement could be lawful if it identified a specific parish benefit proportionate to the cost and satisfied the public-purpose and legal-obligation…
Which Caddo Parish precinct boundaries could officials use after a boundary agreement with Bossier Parish had not received federal approval?
The AG said officials had to use the last federally precleared precinct boundaries for the elections discussed. The unsubmitted Caddo-Bossier boundary agreement could not be implemented for voting,…
Could the public inspect West Carroll school records that identified students, and who decided how long older school records were kept?
The AG said personally identifiable student records were confidential and excluded from public inspection without the affected parties' consent. It said the state superintendent of education and/or…
Could a Louisiana gravity drainage district board increase its commissioners' per-meeting pay above $60?
The AG said the 2001 amendment raised the statutory ceiling to one hundred dollars per day, but any increase required a two-thirds board vote after a public hearing advertised twice in the…
Could Louisiana advance ancillary appropriation funds for nonprofit capital construction and collect repayment over several years?
The AG said no. The ancillary appropriation was for operating funds, not capital construction, and an advance on an appropriation had to be repaid in the same fiscal year.
How could Killian fill two new alderman seats after changing from a village to a town?
The AG said Killian's governing authority could appoint qualified people to the new seats under its general municipal powers and follow the Election Code's vacancy procedures, including a special…
Did St. Landry's Road District No. 5 boundaries move automatically when Police Jury District No. 5 was reapportioned?
No. The AG said the road district's statutory boundaries stayed where they were despite the police jury district's reapportionment, making the proposed tax election for new boundaries unnecessary on…
What authority did Gramercy's elected police chief, mayor, and aldermen have over off-duty details, citations, hiring, and police records?
The AG said the department could allow off-duty security work using town equipment; citation dismissal had to follow court procedures; the chief could refer ordinance violations to district court;…
Could Terrebonne Parish drug test employees seeking promotion and randomly test safety-sensitive workers in separate pools?
The AG said a promotion could be conditioned on drug testing and random tests could cover safety- or security-sensitive jobs after a job-specific factual determination. Separate selection pools…
Could a Louisiana parish abandon a public gravel road so residents could pave it and then return it to the parish road system?
The AG said Franklin Parish could not abandon roads it intended to take back and still needed for public use. It could accept restricted donations toward paving roads already in its system, provided…
Did North Lafourche levee district commissioners have to live inside the district while serving?
Yes. The AG said commissioners of the North Lafourche Levee, Conservation, and Drainage District had to reside within its territorial limits while serving.
Did a Louisiana gene-therapy nonprofit have to bid its lab design and construction contracts, and could it build on Tulane's land?
Under its state funding agreement, the nonprofit did not have to competitively select its architect or consultant, but its construction contract had to follow public bidding rules. Building on…
Could Louisiana's Public Service Commission exempt newspaper subscription calls from the Do Not Call program?
No. The AG said the Commission could not expand the statute's political-activity exception to cover calls by qualifying newspapers, including subscription sales. That change belonged to the legislature.
Could Louisiana judges assess costs to reimburse sheriffs for bailiffs and courthouse security?
The AG said statutes supplied authority to tax litigants for a sheriff's costs and expenses related to a court proceeding. It tied the answer to those proceeding-related costs, while the judges had…
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