Could an assessor's deputy or employee also hold elected office in Louisiana?

Plain-English summary

Bossier Parish's assessor asked how dual officeholding rules applied to deputy assessors and other employees seeking elected office. The AG classified a deputy assessor as holding a full time local appointive office and said that person could not simultaneously hold city, parish, or state elective office. Ordinary employees, whether full time or part time, were treated differently. Because the assessor's office was a separate political subdivision from a municipality or parish, the AG said their employment did not bar elective office in those other bodies or the state under the cited provision.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2000. Subsequent statutory amendments, court decisions, or later AG opinions may have changed the analysis. Treat this page as historical context, not current legal advice. Verify current law before relying on any specific rule, deadline, or remedy mentioned here.

Common questions

Could a chief deputy assessor also be a town alderman?
The AG said a deputy assessor's full time appointive office could not be combined with local elective office.

Could a regular assessor employee hold a city council seat?
The opinion said employment in the separate assessor's office did not itself bar an elected municipal role.

Did part time status change the employee answer?
No. The AG gave the same answer for ordinary full time and part time employees.

Background and statutory framework

LSA-R.S. 42:62(9) treated tax assessors as separate political subdivisions for these rules. The opinion then applied LSA-R.S. 42:63(D) to distinguish a full time appointive deputy office from ordinary employment in a separate subdivision.

Citations and references

• LSA-R.S. 42:62(9): assessor as separate political subdivision.
• LSA-R.S. 42:63(D): concurrent elective office and employment restrictions.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0164

Original opinion text

June 1, 2000
OPINION NUMBER 00-164

Mr. Bobby W. Edmiston
Assessor, Bossier Parish
204 Burt Boulevard
Post Office Box 325
Benton, Louisiana 71006-00325

Dear Mr. Edmiston:

You have requested an Attorney General’s opinion relative to the Bossier Parish Assessor’s Office. Specifically, you ask whether the following positions are prohibited under Louisiana’s dual officeholding laws:

A. A chief deputy of the assessor holding an elected position with a city, parish or the state;
B. An employee of the assessor holding an elected position with a city, parish or the state;
C. A part-time employee of the assessor holding an elected position with a city, parish or the state;
D. A part-time or full-time employee of the assessor holding an elected position as a town alderman;
E. Under any circumstances can an employee of the assessor hold any elected position with the city, parish or the state?

A deputy assessor holds a local, full-time appointive office within a political subdivision. See, Attorney General Opinion Number 92-304. A “political subdivision” is defined, in part, under LSA-R.S. 42:62(9) as:

[A] parish, municipality, or any other unit of local government … authorized to perform governmental functions. In addition for the purposes of this Part, mayor’s courts, justices of the peace courts, district attorneys, sheriffs, clerks of court, coroners, tax assessors, registrars of voters, and all other elected parochial officials shall be separate political subdivisions.

LSA-R.S. 42:63(D), in pertinent part, provides:

D. No person holding an elective office in a political subdivision of this state shall at the same time hold another elective office or full-time appointive office in the government of this state or in the government of a political subdivision thereof.

Page 2

Mr. Bobby W. Edmiston
Opinion Number 00-164
Page ~2~

No such person shall hold at the same time employment in the government of this state, or in the same political subdivision in which he holds elective office. In addition, no sheriff, assessor, or clerk of court shall hold any office or employment under a parish governing authority or school board, nor shall any member of any parish governing authority hold any office or employment with any sheriff, assessor, or clerk of court.

By definition, the assessor’s office is a separate political subdivision from that of any parish or municipality. However, the prohibition in LSA-R.S. 42:63(D) specifically prohibits a full-time appointed official from simultaneously holding an elected office with the state or a political subdivision of the state. Therefore, in answer to your first question, a deputy assessor may not concurrently hold an elected position with a city, parish or state government entity.

However, in response to your remaining questions, an employee of the assessor’s office is treated differently under the law. Because the assessor’s office is a separate political subdivision from parishes or municipalities for the purposes of the dual officeholding laws, LSA-R.S. 42:63(D) does not prohibit that employee from concurrently holding elective office in those separate political subdivisions or the state of Louisiana. The same holds true whether the employee is full-time or part-time.

I trust this addresses your concerns. Please, contact this office should you require further assistance.

Yours very truly,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _______
CARLOS M. FINALET, III
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

RPI:CMF:gbl

Page 3

OPINION NUMBER 00-164

78 – Officers, Dual Office Holding
4 – Assessors

The assessor’s office is a separate political subdivision from parishes or municipalities for the purposes of the dual officeholding laws, LSA-R.S. 42:63(D) does not prohibit that employee from concurrently holding elective office in those separate political subdivisions or the state of Louisiana. The same holds true whether the employee is full-time or part-time.

Mr. Bobby W. Edmiston
Date Received:
Assessor, Bossier Parish
204 Burt Boulevard
Date Released: June 1, 2000
Post Office Box 325
Benton, Louisiana 71006-00325
Carlos M. Finalet, III
Assistant Attorney General