Opinion ID: 1954259
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: additional sources of funding

Text: It is a well settled rule of statutory construction all laws dealing with the same subject matter must be construed in pari materia. La.Civ.Code art. 17. Thus, we construe 16:6 and all other laws on the subject in a manner which harmonizes the various provisions with each other. Smith v. Cajun Insulation, Inc., supra; Bunch v. Town of St. Francisville, 446 So.2d 1357, 1360 (La.App. 1st Cir.1984). There are a number of statutory provisions which create special funds to be used by a district attorney in defraying the expenses of the office. La.R.S. 15:571.11 [1] created the Criminal Court Fund (CCF) which is composed of fines and forfeitures resulting from violations of state law or parish ordinances. This fund is available to judges, district attorneys and sheriffs. It can be used for a wide range of expenses incurred by criminal courts. La.R.S. 15:571.11(A)(1)(a), (b). A district attorney may, after obtaining court approval, use revenues from the CCF to defray his 16:6 expenses, as well as other expenses related to his office. One-half of any surplus remaining in the fund at the end of the year goes to the parish general fund. La.R.S. 15:571.11(C)(1). In addition, La.R.S. 15:571.11(A)(2) provides for a special fund composed of fines and forfeitures resulting from violations of municipal ordinances. Originally, the district attorney was given six percent of this fund. However, in 1986, the legislature increased the amount to be remitted to the district attorney to twelve percent. 1977 La.Acts No. 591, § 2; 1986 La.Acts No. 956, § 1. In 1986, the legislature provided district attorneys with two new sources of funding. La.R.S. 16:15 entitles the district attorney to use fees collected in prosecuting worthless check cases to defray the expenses of his office. La.R.S. 16:16 created a special account composed of a $10.00 cost assessed against every defendant who is convicted after trial, pleads guilty or forfeits a bond. The district attorney may use this fund in defraying the expenses of his office. The court of appeal looked at the various sources of funding available to a district attorney and concluded the only reasonable construction of 16:6 is that it gives a police jury discretionary authority to allocate money from their general funds to pay the expenses of the district attorney's office. The court seemed concerned with double funding and reasoned that since the legislature provided district attorneys with various sources of funding, it could not have intended to require the police juries to fund the 16:6 expenses. The court also relied heavily on a 1960 amendment to the CCF. In 1960, the reference to 16:6 appeared in the CCF for the first time. The CCF was amended to provide that the funds in the CCF shall be used or paid out in defraying the expenses of the criminal courts of the parish as provided in Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 13, Sections 692 and 1587 and Title 16, Section 6, upon motion by the district attorney and approval order of the district judge ... La.Acts 1960, No. 236, § 1. Seizing upon the language shall be used the court of appeal reasoned that as of 1960, 16:6 gave the police jury discretionary authority to fund the district attorney's expenses exceeding $5,000.00; and the CCF authorized payment of the excess expenses from the fund if the police jury chose not to pay them. The effect of the court of appeal's reasoning is to make the CCF the primary source of funding where the state's funding left off, rather than local government. We disagree with this construction. As a practical matter, the legislature could not have intended to require the district attorneys of this state to rely on funds such as the CCF for the primary source of revenues to operate their offices. Because of the importance of the constitutional function performed by the district attorney's office, it is imperative that there be a reliable source of funding to ensure the effective operation of the office. The CCF is a fluctuating fund, and the amount available in the fund is subject to a number of factors. The size and location of the parish, as well as its character as urban or rural will significantly affect the amount of money available in the CCF. The CCF is also available to the sheriff and judges of the criminal courts, further impacting how much the district attorney is able to obtain from the fund for operating his office. In addition, the district attorney cannot get any funds without court approval. We do not believe that the legislature could have intended to require the district attorneys of this state to depend on the CCF as the primary source of funds to operate their offices. Instead, we view the CCF, the twelve percent fund, and provisions such as R.S. 16:15 and 16:16 to be nothing more than a recognition by the legislature of the increased cost of operating the district attorney's office. These additional sources were never intended to wrest the primary responsibility for funding the 16:6 expenses from the shoulders of the legislative branch of government. Characteristics such as discretionary usage, instability of amounts available, allocation among several officers, the need for court approval, negate the availability of these funds as a primary source to insure the basic function of the district attorney will not be impaired. The fact that these alternate funds exist suggests a need for cooperative intergovernmental relations. The lack of such cooperation, and the problems which result, addresses itself to the legislature or to the political arena for resolution.