The Second Municipality Council on April 25, 1837 resolved that the Commissaries would be elected quarterly rather than be appointed as before. On March 19, 1844 their elective term was made annual. It appears that the duties and responsibilities of the Commissaries for the Second Municipality remained essentially as they had been under the pre-1837 laws. In 1838 there were five Commissaries in the municipality, one for each of the three wards, one for the market, and one for the batture. On April 13, 1847 the Council ordained that there be a commissary district for each ward, with an individual elected annually to fill the post for each district (by that time there were seven wards in the municipality).

On November 5, 1817, the Council passed an ordinance that more formally established the Commissaries of Police. This law provided that the Mayor nominate, with Council consent, three persons of "good morals and behaviour" as Commissaries. These individuals were to take an oath before the Mayor and also were to provide a security bond in the amount of $1000. Each Commissary would reside in, and be responsible for, one of the city's three wards. They were to walk the streets and other passages of their wards; to examine vagrants, beggars, and other "idle and disorderly persons" as to their place of residence and form of livelihood (those not giving satisfactory answers were to be brought before a magistrate to be dealt with according to law); to stop runaway slaves and bring them before the proper authorities (and share in the bounty provided for by the Code Noir); to report on the performance of the City Guard within their wards; and to generally see that the ordinances for the government of the city were obeyed.

In 1824 the Commissaries were further required to superintend, on order of the Mayor, the police of balls, theatres, and public meetings in the city. By resolution in 1829 the Council also ordered them to examine the bread produced by the bakers of the city and to make reports on their examinations to the Mayor. In 1827 the number of Commissaries was increased to six. Of these two were to serve as commissaries of the two city markets, two in the second district (the Vieux Carre), and one each in the Faubourgs Marigny and St. Mary. The latter officer would also serve as Commissary of the St. Mary market, and in 1829, was given some responsibility for supervision of the public works in outlying portions of the district.

A new ordinance, passed on June 10, 1835, reiterated the Mayor's control over the Commissaries and also directed them to assist the Recorder and the Aldermen in the performance of their duties. This law also required the Commissaries to keep a record book of their rounds; the book to be available for review by the Mayor, Recorder, and Aldermen, and to be deposited in the archives of the City Council when no longer in use. Another key element of this law was the provision that the Commissaries be authorized to enter private premises (with prior notice) and public places (without the need of giving prior notice).

There remains some uncertainty as to the exact relationship between the Commissaries of Police and the City Guard. The provision that the former officers report on the performance of the Guard suggests that they had some supervisory function, an interpretation that is supported by the meaning of the French term "commissaire," i.e., superintendent.