Louisiana Civil Service League v. Forbes

246 So. 2d 800, 258 La. 390, 1971 La. LEXIS 4536
CourtSupreme Court of Louisiana
DecidedMarch 29, 1971
Docket51120
StatusPublished
Cited by37 cases

This text of 246 So. 2d 800 (Louisiana Civil Service League v. Forbes) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Supreme Court of Louisiana primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Louisiana Civil Service League v. Forbes, 246 So. 2d 800, 258 La. 390, 1971 La. LEXIS 4536 (La. 1971).

Opinion

HAMLIN, Justice:

Defendants, Jack P. F. Gremillion, Attorney General of Louisiana, William E. Dent, Jr., Director, Department of Public Safety, State of Louisiana, and Stanley H. Berthelot, Superintendent, Division of State Police, State of Louisiana, and Intervenors, Lieutenant Douglas M. Milliet and Lieutenant Ralph D. Powers, individually and on behalf of all Commissioned Officers and Troopers of the Louisiana Department of Public Safety, Division of State Police, appeal from a judgment of the trial court which decreed Act 33 of 1970 unconstitutional in toto, null, void, and of no effect, and permanently enjoined the following persons and their successors in office, in their official capacities, as follows:

“Harold E. Forbes, Director of Personnel, Department of State Civil Service, or his agents, employees or any person claiming to act in his behalf, is hereby restrained, enjoined and prohibited from certifying any payroll for any trooper, sergeant, lieutenant, captain, major or lieutenant colonel in the state classified civil service of the Division of State Police, State Department of Public Safety for payment of any salary fixed or provided by Act No. 33 of 1970 unless or until it is in accordance with a uniform pay plan adopted by the State Civil Service Commission in accordance with Article 14, Section 15, of the Louisiana Constitution.
“William E. Dent, Jr., Director, Department of Public Safety, State of Louisiana, is hereby restrained, enjoined and prohibited from disbursing any funds or preparing, executing, signing, processing or delivering any warrant or any individual payroll check in payment of a salary pursuant to the provisions of Act 33 of 1970 to a person .who is a classified employee unless or until it is in accordance with a uniform.pay plan adopted by the State Civil Service Commission and until it has been certified for payment by the Director of Personnel, State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Article 14, Section 15, of the Constitution of Louisiana.
“Stanley H. Berthelot, Superintendent, Division of State Police, Department of Public Safety, State of Louisiana is hereby restrained, enjoined and prohibited from disbursing any funds or preparing, executing, signing, processing or delivering any warrant or any individual payroll checks in payment of a salary pursuant to the provision of Act 33 of 1970 to a person who is a classified employee unless or until it is in accordance with a uniform pay plan adopted by the State Civil Service Commission and until it has been certified for payment by the Di *395 rector of Personnel, State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Article 14, Section 15, of the Constitution of Louisiana.
“W. W. McDougall, Commissioner of Administration, State of Louisiana is hereby restrained, enjoined and prohibited from making or approving any allotment of funds to the Division of State Police, Department of Public Safety, State of Louisiana for payment of salaries pursuant to Act No. 33 of 1970 to any trooper, sergeant, lieutenant, captain,
“To amend and reenact Section 1394 of Title 40 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to provide for the minimum salaries of certain troopers and officers of the Division of State Police; and to amend and reenact Section 412, Subsection C of Section 1306 and Subsection G of Section 388 of Title 32 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, to provide for the fees for driver’s and chauffeur’s licenses, motor vehicle certificates of inspection, and for over-length, over-weight, and over-length * permits ; to provide for the disposition of certain portions of said fees for the implementation of a minimum salary schedule for certain troopers and officers of the Division of State Police and otherwise to provide with respect thereto. major or lieutenant colonel in the Division of State Police who is a classified civil service employee under the jurisdiction of the State Civil Service Commission unless or until such salary is a part of the uniform pay plan adopted by the State Civil Service Commission upon the recommendation of the Director of Personnel, State Department of Civil Service in accordance with Article 14, Section 15, of the Louisiana Constitution.”

The trial court, asked to decide whether Act 33 of 1970 1 was consonant with the *399 Constitution of the State of Louisiana, particularly Art. 14, Sec. 15, providing for the authority of the State Civil Service Commission, correctly analyzed the Act as follows:

“Act 33 of 1970 amends and reenacts Section 1394 of Title 40 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 to provide for the minimum salaries of certain troopers and officers of the Division of State Police. [These persons are admittedly classified employees under Civil Service.] It also amends and re-enacts Sec. 412, subsection C, of Section 1306 and subsection G of Sec. 388 of Title 32 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of Í950 to provide for the fees for drivers and chauffeurs licenses, motor vehicle certificates of inspection, and for overlength and overweight permits; it also provides for the disposition of certain portions of these fees for the implementation of the *401 minimum salary schedule for certain troopers and officers of the Division of State Police. Thus, the essential purpose of the Act is to give the Louisiana State Troopers a well-deserved pay raise, the pay raise to be financed from funds obtained through higher driver and vehicle taxes.”

Plaintiffs, Louisiana Civil Service League and two taxpayers and registered voters, Wilson S. Callender and Ralph M. Pons, instituted this suit as a class action, LSA-C.C.P. Arts. 591 et seq., primarily as a right to all taxpayers, voters, citizens, and holders of driver’s licenses, and secondarily as a right to all classified civil service employees of the State of Louisiana. They contended that Act 33 of 1970 is unconstitutional in many enumerated respects and prayed for injunctive and declaratory relief.

Pursuant to LSA-C.C.P. Art. 1880, the Attorney General answered plaintiffs’ petition ; exceptions with which we are not now concerned were filed and passed upon by the trial court; in their answers, defendants, except Harold E. Forbes, Director of the Department of State Civil Service, averred the constitutionality of Act 33 of 1970; in answer, Forbes prayed for the same relief demanded by plaintiffs; interventions were filed on behalf of defendants.

The trial court was of the opinion that the salaries of all employees who are under civil service, whether public officers or not, are governed by the Civil Service Amendment. The Court was of the further opinion that only those public officers who are not subject to Civil Service can have their salaries altered by the method set forth in Art. III, Sec. 34, La.Const. of 1921. 2 It concluded:

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

Related

State v. Small
100 So. 3d 797 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2012)
Borel v. Young
989 So. 2d 42 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2008)
Landry v. LOUISIANA CITIZENS PROPERTY INS.
983 So. 2d 66 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2008)
Bryant v. City of Alexandria
956 So. 2d 94 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007)
Charles Bryant v. City of Alexandria
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2007
Monceaux v. R & R CONST., INC.
919 So. 2d 795 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2005)
Donovan Monceaux v. R & R Construction, Inc.
Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2005
State v. Johnson
884 So. 2d 568 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2004)
New Orleans Firefighters Local 632 v. City of New Orleans
876 So. 2d 211 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 2004)
State Civil Service Commission v. Department of Public Safety Director
873 So. 2d 636 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2004)
CIVIL SERVICE COM'N v. City of New Orleans
854 So. 2d 322 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 2003)
Bannister v. Dept. of Streets
666 So. 2d 641 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1996)
New Orleans Rosenbush Claims Service, Inc. v. City of New Orleans
653 So. 2d 538 (Supreme Court of Louisiana, 1995)
Warren v. Bergeron
636 So. 2d 1013 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1994)
Tarver v. Bailey
633 So. 2d 347 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1993)
Helmerich & Payne, Inc. v. Stephens
569 So. 2d 21 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1990)
Harris v. Estate of Fuller
521 So. 2d 736 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1988)
Jackson v. Department of Public Safety for Louisiana
675 F. Supp. 1025 (M.D. Louisiana, 1985)
New Orleans Firefighters Assoc. v. City Civ. Serv. Comm'n
459 So. 2d 1204 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1984)
Jack A. Parker & Assoc., Inc. v. STATE, ETC.
454 So. 2d 162 (Louisiana Court of Appeal, 1984)

Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
246 So. 2d 800, 258 La. 390, 1971 La. LEXIS 4536, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/louisiana-civil-service-league-v-forbes-la-1971.