Police Jury Association counsel outlines parish government forms, police power limits and taxing authority

Debbie Hinton, executive counsel for the Police Jury Association of Louisiana, told the St. Tammany Parish Charter Review Committee that Louisiana parishes operate under several distinct legal forms and that those forms determine what local officials can and cannot do.

Hinton said the basic distinction is between police juries and home rule charters: home rule charters allow a parish to “exercise any power ... not denied by general law or inconsistent with the constitution,” while police juries are creatures of state law restricted to powers expressly granted by statute. She explained that the state delegates police power to local bodies but can also withdraw or limit those powers.

Hinton’s presentation laid out how the forms differ and why that matters for decisions the committee is considering. She described the historical evolution of parish government in Louisiana and cited Article 6 of the state constitution and Title 33 of the Louisiana statutes as the legal framework that shapes local authority. She also summarized several specific, legally constrained fiscal powers: ad valorem millage limits, purpose-limited special millages, occupational licensing limits, and voter-approved sales taxes.

In the meeting, Hinton noted specifics about local taxing authority: “That is what we call our tax, but it cannot exceed 4 mills unless the voters vote on it,” and she said a parish’s general ad valorem levy can produce significant revenue—“It generates close to $8,000,000 about a year.” She also described how special-purpose millages must state a specific purpose and time-limited term and be spent only for the approved purpose.

Hinton described other operational differences. Under a home rule charter, a parish president’s powers come from the charter itself; by contrast, a police jury’s president has no inherent executive authority beyond what statutes and the jury’s resolutions provide. She explained that a police jury combines legislative and executive functions among jurors acting as a body, that juries may hire a treasurer (commonly combined with a secretary) and may create a parish manager if they choose, and that police juries can vary in size from 5 to 14 members.

She also explained the default legal-counsel arrangement: unless a charter specifically provides for parish-employed legal counsel, the district attorney is the general legal counsel for parish government. “If you don't have the provision in the charter, then it defaults to the DA as the legal counsel for the parish,” she said.

Hinton closed by urging the committee to consider the local differences in population and services when weighing forms of government and invited questions from committee members.

The committee asked about typical council sizes across the state and about when parishes change form; Hinton said population growth often prompts parishes to adopt home rule charters because larger populations tend to require additional governmental structure and services. She also noted that the legislature can alter statutory police jury structures, which is a reason some jurisdictions choose home rule charters to preserve locally defined structures.