State AG Opinions
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Could a Louisiana constable also serve as a part-time waterworks commissioner?
Yes. The AG said the dual-officeholding restriction he examined applied to a local elected official's full-time appointive office, while this waterworks commission seat was part time.
Could Louisiana fire departments choose outside trainers, and who set certification standards?
The AG said fire departments could choose their own trainers, but other training providers had to coordinate with LSU's Fire and Emergency Training Institute and meet its standards for…
Did Hammond's city council have to confirm an assistant city attorney chosen as prosecutor?
No. The AG read Hammond's charter to require council confirmation for the city attorney, but not for an assistant city attorney selected by that attorney. The council still had to authorize and…
Did Louisiana's hate-crime law cover targeting someone for military service?
The AG said the U.S. Armed Forces could fit the statute's definition of an organization, so targeting someone because of military membership or service might fall within it. He cautioned that a…
Could Ville Platte use a cooperative agreement with merchants for downtown storefront improvements?
The AG said the city was authorized to beautify downtown and the proposed agreement benefited the public. He concluded it complied with the constitution if its cost was commensurate with that benefit.
Could Haynesville council members charge travel and meal per diems to the town?
The AG said the mayor controlled payment of specific town expenses within approved budget categories, while council travel had to serve a proportionate town benefit. A reasonable, authorized meal…
Could St. Martinville raise its maximum ordinance fine from $50 to $500?
The AG found the proposed special-charter amendment consistent with state law, which allowed aldermen to enforce ordinances with fines up to $500. He recommended the governor approve it if no timely…
How much control did a Louisiana police jury have over its 911 communications district?
The AG said the Beauregard Parish Police Jury could amend the creating ordinance, control the district budget, and appoint commissioners. He found no authority for directing commissioners' votes or…
Who controlled Walker's town spending, records, ordinance timing, and police hiring?
The AG said Walker's mayor could pay approved-budget expenses without a new aldermen vote, while the clerk kept town records and the seal. He also addressed officers' bonds, ordinance publication…
Could St. Tammany Parish share district sales tax proceeds with Covington without voter approval?
No. The AG said the tax proposition dedicated the district proceeds to roads and bridges within the district and did not authorize an allocation to Covington. The parish and city could still enter a…
Could Washington Parish use cash held by a dormant industrial district?
The AG said the district could use its own money for industrial development within or next to the district, but the police jury could not simply take it as a donation. If the district were…
Did both spouses have to be 65 for Louisiana's special property tax assessment?
No. For a home owned by spouses as community property, the AG read the then-existing constitutional provision to require only one spouse to meet the age threshold, provided the other eligibility…
Did Louisiana Medicaid managed care have to pay advanced practice nurses the same rate as other providers?
The AG said the Medicaid Managed Care Program qualified under the then-existing reimbursement statute, so advanced practice registered nurses could not be paid less than other providers for the same…
What may a Louisiana police officer's lawyer do during a departmental interrogation?
The AG said the lawyer could advise and confer with the officer during questioning but could not ask questions or object. The department could not impose courtroom-style limits on witnesses called…
Can a Louisiana school board member vote to settle a class action lawsuit in which the member is a plaintiff?
The AG said a board member who belongs to the plaintiff class would violate the public contract fraud statute by voting on or trying to influence a contract matter tied to that lawsuit, including a…
Could Jackson enter private land to remove overgrown weeds after its ordinance's notice period?
The AG said Jackson's weed-abatement ordinance was consistent with state law and could be enforced, including entry and removal after the ordinance's notice and delay. He treated the ordinance as…
Could Sorrento use its senior-program tax for garbage fees and give workers a health-insurance allowance?
Yes, under the circumstances in this 2003 opinion. The AG said Sorrento's dedicated tax could fund programs benefiting residents 60 and over, including the proposed garbage-charge and Christmas…
Could LSU keep fraud-investigation interviews out of public records by conducting them in executive session?
The AG said LSU's board or its committees could investigate alleged misconduct through a properly authorized executive session, whose proceedings would not be public records. Information gathered…
Could Central Lafourche's ambulance district contract with a for-profit company for emergency service?
Yes. The AG said the district's contract with a private for-profit ambulance provider was valid. Its charter permitted nonprofit leases but did not ban for-profit contracts, and voters had approved…
Could Morgan City charge future retirees an extra amount to stay on its health plan?
The AG approved Morgan City's proposed service-based surcharge guideline for future hires who later chose retiree coverage. Under it, retirees with at least 25 years of service paid no surcharge.…
What should a Louisiana water district do with surplus property taxes after bond debt is paid?
The AG said a district should return surplus general-obligation bond funds to taxpayers pro rata if practical, starting with the most recent tax roll and moving backward. If a refund was…
Could LSU fund and lend a public building to the Ogden Museum under the proposed university-foundation deal?
The AG upheld the state appropriation to build LSU-owned Goldring Hall but identified unconstitutional terms in the proposed museum agreement. He rejected public payment of private employees,…
Did Ascension Parish need a charter commission to amend its charter, and could it limit its planning commission?
The AG said Ascension Parish needed an appointed or elected charter commission to propose changes to its post-1974 home-rule charter. The parish governing authority had to write the ballot question…
Did Shreveport have to bid environmental studies and contaminated-soil removal separately?
The AG treated professional environmental studies as service contracts outside the Public Bid Law, but soil removal and replacement fill as public work subject to the law when the project crossed…
Could an unlicensed company franchise a Louisiana veterinarian's practice?
The AG said a franchise with an unlicensed company might conflict with Louisiana's veterinary-practice law. He treated the company's share of practice revenue as ownership and saw some control in…
Did wholesale hearing-aid repair workers need a Louisiana license even without dealing with customers?
Yes. The AG read the then-existing hearing-aid statute as requiring registration and a license for anyone repairing hearing aids, regardless of whether the work was retail or wholesale or involved…
Could a sheriff use a vehicle-and-equipment tax to pay deputies who drove the vehicles?
No. The AG said proceeds dedicated to purchasing, maintaining, and supporting law-enforcement vehicles and equipment could not pay the salaries of deputies who operated those vehicles.
Could a parish school board member also work part-time for the parish government?
Yes, for the positions described. The AG said the elected school-board seat and the part-time parish job were in different political subdivisions, so the cited ban on an elected official's…
Could a Louisiana public retirement board spend system funds lobbying the Legislature?
The AG concluded that state and statewide retirement boards could not use system funds to lobby for or against proposed legislation. Their board members could still share factual information about…
Could Louisiana's Revenue Department charge more than its costs for tax classes?
The AG said the department could charge only an approximate amount for class preparation and materials under its existing authority, not a fee exceeding expenses. He said a new or higher fee could…
Could St. Landry Parish hire central-office staff without advertising the opening?
The AG said yes for the nonteaching position described, if no local board policy, contract, or federal desegregation decree required advertising. He found no state statute or education-board rule…
Must Louisiana's deaf-access fund pay a set amount to the Public Service Commission's relay system?
The AG found no state-law requirement that the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf transfer a particular amount to the Public Service Commission's relay program. The deaf commission controlled…
When did a Louisiana school fundraiser count as a professional solicitor who had to register?
The AG said volunteers soliciting for a charity were outside the professional-solicitor definition, even in the interstate situation described. He classified the academy employee in the stated…
Could Natchitoches give land to a private developer through an industrial-incubator agreement?
The AG said the described cooperative agreement could satisfy Louisiana's constitutional public-funds rule. His approval depended on legal authority for the city project, a public purpose, and a…
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;…
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