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The city should have a written policy regarding the use and rental of city facilities and the rates for such rental. The Attorney General has stated that as part of such a written policy, the city may choose to make an exception to provide free use of its facilities for community events that are not political in nature. To qualify for this exception the community event must be of a kind that such free use satisfies a public purpose for which the city is authorized to carry out and the city can show that it reasonably expects that it will receive a reciprocal benefit in an amount equal or greater to the waived rental fee. The public benefit does not have to be solely for residents of the city but should predominantly be for a public benefit within the jurisdiction of the city. Events such as a debate between all the candidates running for city council or voter registration would appear to qualify for such a “community” public use.
The AG has noted that compensated use of public facilities with private funds will avoid the Constitutional and statutory restrictions against the use of public property for political activities. Therefore, the city would only be authorized to allow privately compensated use of its public facilities for political activities. See AG Op. No. 02-0297. The rental fee must be at the regular, published rate for renting such public facilities. See also AG Op. No. 14-0203, AG Op. No. 11-0195, and AG Op. No. 91-0216. However, as part of its written policy, the city may choose to not allow city facilities to be rented for any partisan, political activities. If such a prohibition is adopted, it must be used for all such events regardless of political affiliation.
Louisiana Legislative Auditor website: 06/07/2026 08:07:45 PM
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