The Louisiana Department of Justice will open an investigation into the Caddo Parish Commission for possibly violating the Open Meetings Act. Attorney General Liz Murrill made the request for an investigation after the commission issued a proclamation welcoming Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders to Shreveport.
Sander’s visit was all part of his Fighting Oligarchy tour. But there was no mention of the resolution on any meeting agenda. Loyola University Law Professor Dane Ciolino says there is merit to the claims. “Under the open meetings law, the public is entitled to an agenda posted 24 hours in advance regarding any matters that a public body is going to vote on in general session.” That said, Ciolino says even if the commission acted improperly, the violation is a minor one.
Murrill posted on her official X social media account, “If members of the Caddo Commission want to act as a body (including issuing official documents in the name of the Commission welcoming Socialist Bernie Sanders to Shreveport), they are legally required to put it in the agenda at a properly held public meeting.”
