Public records are defined by the Louisiana Public Records Law as “[a]ll books, records, writings, accounts, letters and letter books, maps, drawings, photographs, cards, tapes, recordings, memoranda, and papers, and all copies, duplicates, photographs, including microfilm, or other reproductions thereof, or any other documentary materials, regardless of physical form or characteristics, including information contained in electronic data processing equipment, having been used, being in use, or prepared, possessed, or retained for use in the conduct, transaction, or performance of any business, transaction, work, duty, or function which was conducted, transacted, or performed by or under the authority of the constitution or laws of this state, or by or under the authority of any ordinance, regulation, mandate, or order of any public body or concerning the receipt or payment of any money received or paid by or under the authority of the constitution or the laws of this state.”
Every record made or received by the Parish is presumed to be a public record, unless it is subject to an exemption. Public records exempt from disclosure are those that federal, state or local law prohibits the Parish from disclosing or permits the Parish to decline to disclose. Louisiana Public Records Law and its exemptions appears in La. R.S 44:4.1.et. seq.
To review or receive a copy of a public record, you must first make a request to the “custodian” of the document in question. The most efficient way to make a public records request to the Parish is by mailing a request letter to:
St. Landry Parish Government,
PO Drawer 1550,
Opelousas, LA 70571.