Judges: RICHARD P. IEYOUB
Filed Date: 6/9/1999
Status: Precedential
Modified Date: 7/5/2016
Dear Mr. Lewis:
This office is in receipt of your recent opinion request in which you inquire about the legality of information which has been published on the St. Charles Parish Home Page on the internet. Specifically your concerns seem to be regarding the personal nature of the information which has been published about the members of the Parish Council.
The most authoritative provision of law which is applicable to your inquiry is found in the Constitution of the State of Louisiana, specifically Article
§ 14. Donation, Loan, or Pledge of Public Credit
Section 14. (A) Prohibited Uses. Except as otherwise provided by this constitution, the funds, credit, property, or things of value of the state or of any political subdivision shall not be loaned, pledged, or donated to or for any person, association, or corporation, public or private.
This constitutional provision was interpreted by the Louisiana Supreme Court in City of Port Allen v. La. RiskManagement,
La. Const. Art.
"No public funds shall be used to urge any elector to vote for or against any candidate or proposition, or be appropriated to a candidate or political organization."
This constitutional provision was considered in Godwin v.East Baton Rouge Parish,
Although the information provided by the St. Charles Parish Council's home page is personal in nature, our office does not consider the posting of this information on the internet for a purely informative purpose and not connected with any personal objective to be the taking of a "something of value" prohibited by Article VII, Section 14.
In recent opinions, this office addressed concerns similar to those which you specified regarding incumbent elected officials having this information published at no cost. In Louisiana Attorney General Opinion No. 96-231, we opined that "the law clearly prohibits the use of public funds for any informative publications other than those that disseminate purely factual, unbiased information to the general public."
Here again, the key to determining the legality of information of this nature is whether it is merely informative or promotional. A copy of this opinion has been provided for your information, as well as Louisiana Attorney General Opinions 98-49 and 99-65, which reiterate these ideas.
If you have doubts about the purpose of any particular information that is being provided on the web page, we advise that you make further inquiry directly to the members of the Parish Council to gain assurance of its purpose.
We hope that this information answers the questions that you have. Should you need further information, please contact this office.
Very truly yours,
RICHARD P. IEYOUB ATTORNEY GENERAL
BY: CHARLES H. BRAUD JR. ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
RPI:CHB, Jr.:lrs
Enclosures
STATE OF LOUISIANA One American Place DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE 301 Main Street, Suite 600 CIVIL DIVISION P.O. Box 94005 BATON ROUGE TEL.:(504)342-7013 70804-9005 FAX.:(504)342-2090