Opinion ID: 1132351
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Whether the EEIDD is Constitutionally Mandated to Abide By the State Civil Service Regulations

Text: Louisiana Constitution Article X, Section 1(A) provides that the state civil service is established and includes all persons holding offices and positions of trust or employment in the employ of the state, or any instrumentality thereof .... (emphasis added). [1] If a public entity is found to be an state instrumentality, it is constitutionally mandated that its employees be included within the state civil service system, since they are not otherwise excluded by its terms. Polk v. Edwards, 626 So.2d 1128 (La.1993). Classified civil service employees have a property interest in retaining their positions, and cannot be terminated without due process of law. Cleveland Bd. of Educ. v. Loudermill, 470 U.S. 532, 105 S.Ct. 1487, 84 L.Ed.2d 494 (1985); AFSCME, Council # 17 v. State ex rel. Dep't of Health & Hospitals, 789 So.2d 1263, 1267 (La.6/29/01). However, Article X, Section 1(A) also states that the state civil service shall not include persons holding offices and positions of any... local governmental subdivision, and local governmental subdivision is defined as any parish or municipality. LA. CONST. art. VI, § 44(1). Whether EEIDD is mandated by the Constitution to enroll in the state civil service system, this Court must determine (1) whether EEIDD is an arm of the state or state agency, or (2) whether EEIDD is sufficiently detached from the state that is more local and autonomous in nature, similar to a parish or municipal government. This determination requires a fact intensive inquiry, investigating the entity's powers and functions, as well as its interrelationship with the state. Polk, 626 So.2d 1128 (La.1993); State Licensing Board of Contractors v. State Civil Service Commission , 123 So.2d (La.1960). Additionally, we find factors such as the geographic scope and level of autonomy are helpful in investigating the relationship prong of the analysis. Anderson v. Red River Waterway Commission, 231 F.3d 211 (5th Cir.2000). [2] We find the facts discussed below clearly support that EEIDD is not an instrumentality of the state, but instead, more comparable to a parish or municipal government. By its own definition, EEIDD is a special district created by the legislature as a unit of local government. [3] Significantly, EEIDD's enabling legislation, LA.REV.STAT. ANN. § 33:130.351-359, is contained in the Local Government section of the Louisiana Revised Statutes, Title 33, Municipalities and Parishes, whereas state government is organized under Title 36, Organization of Executive Branch of State Government. Moreover, EEIDD's jurisdiction and scope are limited to Rapides Parish. LA.REV.STAT. ANN. § 33:130.352 announces the district is created to replace and enhance the economic benefits generated by the former air base and LA.REV. STAT. ANN. § 33:130.351 states that the EEIDD is composed of all of the territory located within Rapides Parish. EEIDD is also entirely governed from within Rapides Parish: members of the board of commissioners are required to be domiciliaries and registered votes of Rapides Parish, and membership is exclusively by appointment from local governing bodies within Rapides Parish. [4] LA.REV.STAT. ANN. §§ 33:130.353(A) & (B). Significantly, in addition to being geographically limited to Rapides Parish, EEIDD is entirely emancipated from state control and oversight. Nowhere in EEIDD's enabling legislation is there mention that any of the express powers bestowed require approval from the state. Indeed, EEIDD is granted the authority to adopt its own bylaws and other rules and regulations; to enter into contracts; to incur debt and issue general obligation bonds in its own name and behalf; to acquire property by gift, grant, purchase, lease, expropriation or otherwise; to sell, transfer, and convey any property acquired by it; and to levy and collect ad valorem, sales, and use taxes. LA.REV. STAT. ANN. §§ 33:130.353, 33:130.355. The board of commissioners fills its own vacancies and also elect[s] yearly from its number, a chairman, vice-chairman, secretary, and treasurer and establish[es] their duties as may be regulated by laws adopted by the board. LA.REV.STAT. ANN. § 130.353(G). Lastly, and of importance, the board is expressly declared to be the appropriate governing body for all purposes provided in the Louisiana Enterprise Zone Act, R.S. 51:1781, et. seq., within the area comprised of property owned and formerly owned by the district, and shall have the power to perform all acts specified by applicable laws and regulations to achieve such purpose. LA.REV. STAT. ANN. § 33:130.355(18). The powers and functions entrusted to EEIDD, as well as its autonomous nature, are in stark contrast to those possessed by the entities that have been held by this Court to be instrumentalities of the state. For instance, in Polk v. Edwards, supra , this Court addressed the Casino Corporation, created by the legislature to adopt statewide rules for the conduct of specific games and gaming operations. The issue in Polk was the constitutionality of a provision in the Casino Act requiring employees of the corporation be exempt from the state civil service. This Court, however, recognized that the corporation is accountable to the governor, the legislature, and the people of the state through a system of audits, reports, and legislative oversight, and through financial disclosure.... Id. at 1146 citing LA.REV. STAT. ANN. § 4:602(A). For instance, the board of directors are appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. LA.REV.STAT. ANN. § 4:611(A)(1). For contracts to acquire an item, service, or product in the amount of $100,000.00 or more, the Casino Corporation is required to obtain authorization either pursuant to the Louisiana Procurement Code or special procedures adopted by the corporation. Id. at 1147 citing LA.REV.STAT. ANN. § 4:621(6)(a). Even further, any rule, regulation, or special procedure of the board requires legislative authority and publication of notice of intent in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. Id. citing LA.REV.STAT. ANN. § 49:953(A). Adding together these factors, we concluded: After considering its powers and functions, as well as its interrelationship with the state in many areas, we find that the Casino Corporation is an instrumentality of the state and is subject to the provisions of the civil service system. The Casino Corporation does not enjoy an existence separate from the state. It does not independently transact its business and hire its personnel. Furthermore, its actions determine the progress of the gaming industry, which the legislature has designed to assist the growth of tourism and generate revenue as a benefit to the general welfare. Id. at 1147. This Court undertook the same type of analysis in State Licensing Board of Contractors v. State Civil Service Commission, 110 So.2d 847 (La.1959), holding the Contractors' Board to be a state agency under the Constitution of 1921 [5] and thus its employees were subject to the state civil service laws. In that case, the Board attempted to argue it was not a state agency because it is financed by contractors' license fees collected by itself rather than by state appropriations. We disagreed, noting the board's statewide regulatory powers and extensive entanglement with the state. For instance, the Board was created to regulate the practice of contracting in Louisiana and we pointed out that [n]o person or firm can engage in contracting as defined by the statute unless licenced to do so by the Board ... nor may any awarding authority issue specifications or receive bids except by licenced contractors.... Id. at 849. Additionally, the Board operates almost entirely at the will of the Governor: it is statutorily required to obtain approval from the Governor for fees fixed pursuant to its authority; the board is mandated to file annual reports to the Governor; and membership to the Board is exclusively by appointment from the Governor. In the end, we concluded that the State Licensing Board of Contractor's is clearly a state Board or agency; and, as such, it is subject under our State Constitution to regulation by civil service. There is not the slightest indication in the Act itself that the legislature intended otherwise. Id. at 849. When EEIDD's powers, functions, and relationship with the state are compared to the Casino Corporation or the Contractors' Board, it is clearly evident that EEIDD is a local and self-governing entity. Both the Casino Corporation and the Contractors' Board were entrusted by the legislature to regulate entire industries statewide and both are subject to extensive oversight and control from the state government. EEIDD, in contrast, is (a) comprised of, and limited to, territory located exclusively within Rapides Parish, (b) governed solely by residents of Rapides Parish, and (c) entirely independent from state supervision. Notwithstanding the overwhelming evidence which supports that EEIDD is a local and self-governing entity, plaintiff asserts, and the lower courts in part agreed, that because EEIDD is completely exempt from state taxation, and itself is entrusted with the power of taxation and expropriation, it must be an instrumentality of the state for purposes of the state civil service. We disagree. First, political subdivisions, which include municipal and parish governments, are entrusted with the power of taxation and expropriation, and as mentioned above, are not instrumentalities of the state. See LA. CONST. art. VI, § 30 (A political subdivision may exercise the power of taxation....); LA. CONST. art. VI, § 23 (political subdivisions may acquire property for any public purpose by purchase, donation, expropriation, exchange, or otherwise.) (emphasis added). Secondly, we can find nothing in the Louisiana Revised Statutes, Civil Code, or even the jurisprudence that states that tax exempt status equates to being a state instrumentality. We are unwilling to find that because EEIDD, an autonomous unit of local government for all intents and purposes, has been exempted by the legislature from paying taxes, it should somehow be forced to abide by the regulations promulgated by the State Civil Service Commission. As such, we disagree with the lower courts that the EEIDD is a state instrumentality. We find it is clear that EEIDD is an autonomous unit of local government, thus, it is not constitutionally mandated to follow the laws and regulations of the State Civil Service Commission. Although we find EEIDD is not constitutionally mandated to participate in the state civil service, our inquiry does not end here. We will next determine if the legislature intended EEIDD to participate in the State Civil Service Commission.