Opinion ID: 1920148
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Municipal Ordinances Invalid When In Contravention of General Law

Text: Prior to the enactment of the 1974 Constitution, Louisiana courts did not hesitate to invalidate local ordinances containing any measure of conflict with the provisions of any general law enacted by the Legislature. For example, in National Food Stores of Louisiana, Inc. v. Cefalu , a grocery store sought injunctive relief to prevent the Town of Amite from enforcing its Sunday closing ordinance. National Food Stores of Louisiana, Inc. v. Cefalu, 280 So.2d 903, 906 (La.1973). Although the state Sunday Closing Law contained an exemption for public and private markets, the town ordinance contained no such exemption. Id. at 906. This Court found that the exemption provided in the state statute indicates that the Legislature expressly considered application of the Sunday Closing Law to supermarkets, but found that this type of business should not come within the law's prohibitions. Id. at 908. Accordingly, the City's Sunday closing ordinance was held to be inconsistent with general state law and thereby invalid. Id. In reaching its decision, this Court relied upon an analogous earlier case, City of Alexandria v. LaCombe, 220 La. 618, 57 So.2d 206 (La.1953). In LaCombe, several defendants were arrested for violating the provisions of a City ordinance which prohibited all gambling without reference as to how the same shall be conducted or operated. Id. at 207. The state criminal statute, however, prohibited only gambling conducted as a business. Id. The Court found that the State intended to occupy the field on the issue of gambling, as the State had in its latest enactment removed from a municipality the power which it had previously given to it to define gambling and itself passed a law specifically defining it. Id. at 210. The LaCombe court found that the Legislature, by prohibiting only gambling conducted as a business, implicitly exempted recreational gambling from criminal enforcement. Id. at 209-10. Thus, although the City possessed concurrent jurisdiction to regulate gambling, its municipal authority was limited by the parameters of the State's definition of criminal conduct, as a municipality has not the right to extend or enlarge upon the definition adopted by the Legislature. Id. at 209. However, in cases decided subsequent to the enactment of the 1974 Louisiana Constitution, in recognition of a new philosophy of the state-local government relationship which struck a balance in favor of home rule, Louisiana courts have allowed home rule municipalities greater autonomy to regulate local affairs where the local ordinance is not in direct conflict with applicable state law. City of New Orleans v. Board of Commissioners of the Orleans Levee District, 93-0690 (La.7/5/94); 640 So.2d 237, 252. In Restivo v. City of Shreveport , for example, the City's Plumbing and Gas Piping Code prohibited licensed journeyman plumbers from practicing plumbing unless qualified as a master plumber by the City or employed by a City-qualified master plumber. Restivo v. City of Shreveport, 566 So.2d 669, 670 (La. App. 2 Cir.1990). The State, however, tested and licensed only journeyman plumbers and placed no limitations on a journeyman plumber's ability to work independently. Id. at 670. The Restivo Court recognized the long-standing jurisprudence prohibiting a municipality from enacting ordinances inconsistent with or in contravention of state law. Id. at 671 (citations omitted). However, the Court found that a municipal ordinance which goes further in its prohibitions than a state statute is valid so long as it does not forbid what the Legislature has expressly or implicitly authorized. Id. (citing City of Shreveport v. Curry, 357 So.2d 1078 (La.1978)); National Food Stores of Louisiana, Inc. v. Cefalu, 280 So.2d 903 (La.1973). Under the facts present in Restivo, the Court found that: [S]ince neither the Legislature nor the State Plumbing Board has provided for testing the qualifications of those persons desiring to progress to the status of a master plumber, it appears that the state has not preempted this area of regulation and there is no conflict between the City Code and the state law in this respect. Id. More recently, in City of Baton Rouge v. Williams , this Court upheld a municipal ordinance which provided for a penalty greater than that imposed by the State. City of Baton Rouge v. Williams, 95-0308 (La.10/16/95); 661 So.2d 445, 450. In that case, the defendant was issued a citation for disturbing the peace by fistic encounter, a misdemeanor violation of a Baton Rouge City ordinance. Id. at 447. Williams argued that the city ordinance, under which he was charged, was unconstitutional, as it imposed a penalty in excess of that imposed by the State for the same offense. Id. The city prosecutor argued that its home rule charter granted the City the authority to enact ordinances and provide for penalties not to exceed the maximum penalties allowed under state law for offenses falling within the jurisdiction of the city court. Id. This Court held that the ordinance was not in conflict with the general law of the State, as there exists no statute which specifically places a ceiling on the penalty that a municipality may set for disturbing the peace. Id. at 449 (emphasis added). The Williams Court ultimately held that the ordinance was a proper exercise of the City's home rule charter authority, as the ordinance did not conflict with the general law of the State, did not abridge the State's police power, did not violate the equal protection clause, nor did it overstep the limits of the City's home rule charter. Id. at 452. Turning to the instant matter, it is clear that the State Legislature has not enacted any general law which either explicitly or implicitly authorizes or provides criminal sanctions for fighting cocks and chickens. LA.REV.STAT. § 14:102.1 is silent with regard to cockfighting, as well as all other sports or amusements involving animals; therefore, the present case is distinguishable from National Food Stores of Louisiana, Inc. and LaCombe. In National Food Stores of Louisiana, Inc., grocery stores were explicitly exempt from criminal enforcement of the State's `Sunday Closing Law.' Here, there is no applicable state law which explicitly authorizes that cockfighting events may be staged, or specifically prohibits home rule charter municipalities from enacting ordinances which proscribe cockfighting events. Similarly, the state law applicable in LaCombe explicitly defined gambling, and thus, any activities not encompassed by the definition were implicitly exempt. Here, LA. REV.STAT. § 14:102.1 makes no mention of any sporting event involving animals as a form of cruelty for which a participant or promoter may be prosecuted; therefore, the failure to mention cockfighting does not rise to the level of implicit authorization of the activity. The Legislature has simply chosen to exclude fowl as animals warranting protection under the applicable statute criminalizing cruelty to animals. Such silence cannot be construed to mean that cockfighting has thereby been authorized by the Legislature. The court of appeal erred in holding that LA.REV.STAT. § 14:102.1(D) was amended in response to a controversy surrounding cockfighting. Savage v. Prator, 38,955 (La.App. 2 Cir. 10/6/04); 886 So.2d 523, 525, rehearing denied 10/29/04. The legislative history associated with the amendment reflects no such controversy. [2] Further, although dogs are subject to the protection of LA.REV.STAT. § 14:102.1, the Legislature enacted LA.REV.STAT. § 14:102.5, which prohibits dogfighting and all incidents thereof. [3] In addition, sporting events involving combat between one or more domestic or feral canines or hogs are prohibited by LA.REV. STAT. § 14:102.19, even though these animals are not exempt from the protection of LA.REV.STAT. § 14:102.1. If LA.REV.STAT. § 14:102.1 contemplated any form of animal combat, as Respondents submit, then statutes prohibiting dogfighting and dog-hog fighting would be superfluous. Conversely, while the Legislature has authorized and provided for the regulation of horse racing [4] and prohibited dog racing, [5] Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 4, governing Amusements and Sports, is silent with regard to cockfighting. Thus, a local ordinance which prohibits cockfighting is not in conflict with any general state law authorizing the sport. This matter is closely analogous to the decisions reached in Restivo and Williams. In Restivo, the Second Circuit held that the Shreveport ordinance was not in conflict with applicable state law, as the State had not preempted the field by providing testing and licensing for master plumbers. Similarly, in Williams, this Court required the existence of a specific state law which placed a ceiling on the penalty that a municipality may set for the violation of a misdemeanor. Here, the State has passed no general law which may be interpreted as an attempt to preempt the field with regard to authorizing, prohibiting, or regulating cockfighting. Further, no specific state law prohibits cockfighting, or authorizes that cockfighting tournaments be permitted. Local governments therefore may authorize or prohibit the conduct of cockfighting tournaments within municipal boundaries.