The Naughty List: Louisiana Agencies That Ignored Transparency

Every December, children are reminded of a simple rule: Good behavior is rewarded. Bad behavior has consequences.

Louisiana law expects no less from public officials. The state’s Public Records Law is not a suggestion. It is a mandate that ensures the people who delegate their authority to and fund their government can also see how it operates. And yet, year after year, some agencies behave as if transparency were optional — especially when no one is watching.

This Christmas season, several public bodies have earned a spot on the naughty list. It’s not for budget overruns or policy disagreements but for something more basic: A lack of transparency and simple willingness to follow the law.

The Law They Were Supposed to Follow

Louisiana’s Public Records Law is among the clearest in the nation. It requires that public bodies:

• Promptly respond to public records requests
• Provide the record immediately, or
• Provide a written explanation of when the record will be available, or
• Cite a specific legal exemption justifying any denial

“Promptly” does not mean eventually or at a convenient time. And it certainly does not mean after repeated follow-ups or public embarrassment. The law presumes openness, not delay.

Louisiana’s Public Records Law is part of a much broader concept, the constitutionally protected right to direct participation. Our state constitution provides: “No person shall be denied the right to observe the deliberations of public bodies and examine public documents, except in cases established by law.”

“No man’s life, liberty, or property is safe while the Legislature is in session.” Gideon Tucker of New York wrote that timeless line in a court decision back in 1866, yet it still rings true today. In almost every legislative session in our state, we find erosion of our constitutionally protected right through the establishment of new laws or the watering down of existing ones.

Last year, our legislature passed a bill authored by Representative Les Farnum (R 6/10) that removed personal liability for a custodian who fails to properly handle a public records request. Now, instead of the individual being held personally liable for their malfeasance and misfeasance, you (the taxpayer) get to pay that bill, too.

How Agencies End Up on the Naughty List

An agency may earn its place on the naughty list when it:

• Ignores a public records request entirely
• Responds weeks later with no explanation
• Provides partial records without acknowledging missing material
• Demands unnecessary identification or justification
• Treats lawful requests as nuisances rather than obligations

In short, it acts as if the records belong to the agency, rather than to the public. The list of prospective candidates is endless, but we have narrowed it down to a select few.

This Year’s Naughty List (So Far)

🎅 Naughty List Entry #1: Downtown Lafayette Economic Development District

• Request submitted: August 18, 2025
• Subject: Expenditures from the Downtown Lafayette EDD Fund for the period of January 1, 2024, through present.
• Status: Request was initially submitted to LCG on August 8, 2025, who indicated that they were no longer the custodian. It was then redirected to LPTFA on August 8, 2025, who also indicated ten days later that they were no longer the custodian. Then, on August 10, 2025, it was directed to Councilman Elroy Broussard (also EDD Treasurer and Secretary), who, to this day, has never responded. Then, on October 15, 2025, Fishman-Haygood, LLP of New Orleans provided responsive records.
• Issue(s): Failure to acknowledge the request and to promptly provide records or issue a written determination.

From there, one poorly run Economic Development District brought us to another.

🎅 Naughty List Entry #2: Holy Rosary Economic Development District

• Request submitted: September 27, 2025
• Subject: Expenditures from the Holy Rosary EDD Fund for the period of January 1, 2024, through present.
• Status: Pending. No response or acknowledgement received.
• Issue(s): Failure to acknowledge the request and to promptly provide records or issue a written determination.

🎅 Naughty List Entry #3: Northway Economic Development District

• Date request submitted: September 27, 2025
• Subject: Expenditures from the Northway EDD Fund for the period of January 1, 2024, through present.
• Status: Pending. No response or acknowledgement received.
• Issue(s): Failure to acknowledge the request and to promptly provide records or issue a written determination.

🎅 Naughty List Entry #4: Trappey Economic Development District

• Request submitted: September 27, 2025
• Subject: Expenditures from the Trappey EDD Fund for the period of January 1, 2024, through present.
• Status: Pending. No response or acknowledgement received.
• Issue(s): Failure to acknowledge the request and to promptly provide records or issue a written determination.

🎅 Naughty List Entry #5: University Gateway Economic Development District

• Request submitted: September 27, 2025
• Subject: Expenditures from the University Gateway EDD Fund for the period of January 1, 2024, through present.
• Status: Pending. No response or acknowledgement received.
• Issue(s): Failure to acknowledge the request and to promptly provide records or issue a written determination.

🎅 Naughty List Entry #6: Opelousas Downtown Development District

• Date request submitted: November 14, 2025
• Subject: Records pertaining to funding, contacts, and communication.
• Status: Pending. No response or acknowledgement received.
• Issue(s): Failure to acknowledge the request and to promptly provide records or issue a written determination.

The Time of Year When You See Red and Green

The colors that permeate the Christmas season are red and green, but at Citizens for a New Louisiana, those are the colors we operate under all year long. You will notice that most of the requests on our notice list were due to red flags and bureaucratic red tape. They are also tied to another unmistakable color, green. They all involve requests about how the government is spending money!

🎅 Naughty List Entry #7: 16^th Judicial District Attorney’s Office

• Request submitted: July 18, 2025
• Subject: Invoices and expenses paid from the Criminal Court Clearing Fund for the period of July 1, 2024, through present.
• Status: Request was initially submitted to the 16^th JDC District Attorney on July 18, 2025. Come July 25, 2025, we followed up because no one had even acknowledged the request. On July 28, 2025, our request was acknowledged, and an estimate of 30 days to provide the records was given. By September 5, 2025, another follow-up was necessary because the time had lapsed and there had been no communication from the 16^th JDC District Attorney. Another follow-up on September 17, 2025, only to be told the following day ‘We will look into this.’ Additional follow-ups on October 6, 2025, and October 20, 2025, ultimately led to some records being made available on October 22, 2025. Bottom line… we are still waiting on additional records.
• Issue(s): Failure to acknowledge the request and to promptly provide records or issue a written determination.

This request is one of interest this particular time of year. You can bet the 16^th JDC District Attorney is preparing to draw the balance of this account down to avoid having to remit any money back to the parish. That is something we will have to cover another day.

🎅 Naughty List Entry #8: St. Mary Parish Government

• Date request submitted: September 11, 2025
• Subject: Records supporting appropriations and expenditures to outside agencies.
• Status: This actually started as a simple request for information. We inquired where we could find the adopted budgets for the Parish for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, as they weren’t posted online. Only to be told we had to submit a records request and pay a fee. It’s the typical, lazy nonsense you will get from entrenched, self-serving bureaucrats masquerading as public servants. We then submitted a records request on September 11, 2025, for more granular information.
• After all, if the agency can’t simply tell you where you can review a copy of their budget, you’d bet it is worth the time to dig a little deeper. We received a response on September 5, 2025, estimating that it would take approximately 30 days to provide the requested records. We followed up on October 20, 2025, only to be told on October 27, 2025, that they were presently working diligently on the 2026 budget. To date, we have been provided no further timeline.
• Issue(s): Initial run around when seeking basic information and failure to provide records or issue a written determination promptly.

St. Mary Parish is a place we have decided to focus more energy on next year.

🎅 Naughty List Entry #9: Iberia Parish Government

• Request submitted: September 11, 2025
• Subject: Records supporting appropriations and expenditures to outside agencies.
• Status: This actually started as a simple request for information, much like in St. Mary Parish. We inquired where we could find the adopted budgets for the Parish for fiscal years 2024 and 2025, as they weren’t posted online. We were told to submit a request, so we sought more granular information in our request submitted on September 11, 2025. After receiving no response, we followed up on September 18, 2025. On September 19, 2025, we were notified by the 16^th Judicial District Attorney’s Office that they would handle the request and that it would take 15 days to provide the responsive records. We have since submitted additional requests to the Iberia Parish Government on October 23, 2025, which have also been referred to the 16^th Judicial District Attorney for handling. Needless to say, we are still waiting patiently. (Isn’t next year an election year?)
• Issue(s): Unable to provide basic information and failure to provide records or issue a written determination promptly.

🎅 Naughty List Entry #10: Youngsville Police Department

• Request submitted: May 14, 2025
• Subject: Grievance records
• Status: Our request was submitted on May 14, 2025. Chief J.P. Broussard referred the request to outside counsel for handling, and by May 19, 2025, an estimate of ten working days to provide responsive records was provided. A follow-up was made on June 3, 2025. On that same day, we received a ‘no records responsive’ explanation for a portion of the request and an explanation that another record was unavailable because an officer had left with it and was presently on sick leave.
• On June 10, 2025, we were told the officer was still out on sick leave, and in response to a follow-up made on November 17, 2025, we were advised on November 21, 2025, “YPD has requested Officer Alexander to search for the grievance and expects an answer by Monday. We’ll report back on Monday.” We probably should have clarified which Monday they are referring to, because here we are still waiting.
• Issue(s): Improper retention of records and failure to promptly locate, recover, and provide records.

These are not isolated mistakes. They reflect a culture problem — one where compliance occurs only when exposure becomes unavoidable.

Why This Matters (Even at Christmas)

Public records are not about paperwork. They are about trust. When agencies ignore lawful requests:

• Citizens often assume something is being hidden. The one defining American quality that has not been corrupted is skepticism toward government.
• Journalists and watchdogs waste time chasing compliance rather than facts, and often double down on their efforts.
• Confidence in local government erodes — quietly, but steadily

Transparency delayed is transparency denied. And denial, like bad behavior, has consequences.

How Agencies Get Off the Naughty List

The solution is not complicated. Public bodies can redeem themselves by:

• Training staff on public records obligations,
• Handling simple requests themselves instead of spending hundreds of dollars per hour in taxpayer dollars on an attorney to push paper,
• Acknowledging requests promptly and in writing,
• Communicating timelines honestly (not the boilerplate 30 day response that got LCG sued a few years ago); and
• Citing lawful exemptions — not manufactured nonsense — when denying access.

Transparency is not seasonal. It is year-round.

A Final Word from the Public

This Christmas, citizens aren’t asking for gifts.

They are asking for transparency and accountability in government. They simply want the law to be followed, their tax dollars spent wisely, and to be left alone from unnecessary government intrusion. It is a simple and short list.

And come the New Year, agencies that continue to ignore their obligations may find that the naughty list is no longer just symbolic — but documented, escalated, and publicly available, so all can know what is going on behind the walls of government bureaucracy.

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