Could a Louisiana city council member also work as a university financial-aid counselor?

Plain-English summary

Northwestern State University considered hiring Natchitoches City Councilman Billy Ray Evans as a Verification Counselor in its student financial aid office. In 2000, the attorney general's office concluded that he could hold both positions. State employment and local elective office ordinarily fell under the dual-officeholding prohibition in LSA-R.S. 42:63(D), but LSA-R.S. 42:66(B) excepted people employed in a professional educational capacity.

The office focused on the job's contact with students and its possible counseling and instructional duties. It distinguished an earlier university business-services job whose primary duties involved finances, and compared a school coordinator job involving instruction and counseling. The conclusion concerned the proposed Verification Counselor position as described to the office.

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.

City council members at the time

The opinion allowed this council member to take the described university job while retaining his elected office because the office classified the job under the educational-capacity exception.

University employers at the time

The office treated duties involving direct student contact, counseling, and possible instruction as relevant to whether a university employee worked in a professional educational capacity. It did not treat every university financial position alike.

Common questions

Q: Did any university job qualify a council member for the exception?
A: The opinion did not say that. It contrasted the proposed counselor job with a director of business services position whose primary duties concerned university finances.

Q: Why did the financial-aid counselor job qualify?
A: The office pointed to direct contact with students and the possibility of instructional and counseling services, including an orientation class about financial aid.

Q: What law created the exception discussed here?
A: LSA-R.S. 42:66(B), as quoted in the opinion, allowed a school teacher or person employed in a professional educational capacity at an educational institution to hold an elective or appointive office at the same time.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion read LSA-R.S. 42:63(D) as barring the combination of local elective office and state employment absent an exception. It then applied LSA-R.S. 42:66(B). The office said that “professional educational capacity” was undefined and drew on its prior opinions about duties tied to students' educational process. It compared Attorney General Opinion No. 94-278, involving university business services, with Opinion No. 87-545, involving instruction and counseling.

Citations and references

• LSA-R.S. 42:63(D) (dual-officeholding prohibition)
• LSA-R.S. 42:66(B) (professional educational capacity exception)
• Attorney General Opinion No. 94-278 (business services position)
• Attorney General Opinion No. 87-545 (school coordinator position)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0332

Original opinion text

August 29, 2000
OPINION NUMBER 00-332

Ms. Linda Law Clark
DeCuir & Clark, L.L.P. 78 - OFFICERS - Dual Office Holding
Attorneys At Law
Elected position of city councilman and employment with
Northwestern State University would not be a violation of the 1961 Government Street dual officeholding laws. Baton Rouge, LA 70806

Dear Ms. Clark:

We are in receipt of your request for an Attorney General’s opinion on behalf of Northwestern State University, regarding a dual officeholding question. Your letter states that the University is considering employing an elected City Councilman for the City of Natchitoches, Mr. Billy Ray Evans, in the position of Verification Counselor in the Office of Student Financial Aid.

LSA-R.S. 42:63(D) prohibits the holding of local elective office [position of City Councilman] and employment in the government of the state [employment with the University]. However, the law provides for an exemption. LSA-R.S. 42:66(B) states:

B. Nothing in this Part shall be construed to prevent a school teacher or person employed in a professional educational capacity in a grade school, high school, other educational institution, parish or city school board from holding at the same time an elective or appointive office.

In interpreting this statute over the years, our office has had to resort to an interpretation which would seem to accomplish the purpose of the dual officeholding laws, as professional educational capacity is not defined by the law. It has been and remains our opinion that this exemption for school teachers and those employed in a professional educational capacity is intended to exempt that class of employees whose employment is concerned with the educational process of the students in general. More specifically, we expanded on this intention, by further stating over the years that certain duties affecting the curriculum, participation in the educational programs, and/or planning of educational goals for the students was sufficient to fall within the exception of R.S. 42:66(B).

You have provided a job description of Verification Counselor, Office of Student Financial Aid, which includes responsibility for counseling financial aid students in all Federal Student Financial Aid Programs offered by the U.S. Department of

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Ms. Linda Law Clark
Opinion Number 00-332
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Education through Northwestern; responsibility for verification of students federal application for student aid; and responsibility for completing other projects as assigned by supervisor. We have also been told that this position may require the teaching of an orientation class at the University, presumably on the matter of student financial aid.

In Attorney General Opinion No. 94-278, we concluded that the position of Director of Business Services at the University of Southwestern Louisiana did not fit within the exemption of R.S. 42:66(B), as the primary duties of the job related to the University’s finances. In Attorney General Opinion No. 87-545, we concluded that the position of Drug Free School and Communities Act Project Coordinator fit within the exemption of the law, as the duties of the employee required interaction with the students, and required instructional and counseling services.

We mention these two opinions because they are relevant to our analysis herein. First, the matter at hand differs from Opinion No. 94-278 in that the position of Verification Counselor, Office of Student Financial Aid is a position which has direct contact with the students of the University and not merely an administrative financial position, like the one in Opinion No. 94-278. Additionally, we are of the opinion that the position of Verification Counselor, Office of Student Financial Aid also includes or has the possibility of including instructional and counseling services to the students, either one on one or in a group instructional setting, like the position in Opinion No. 87-545.

For all of these reasons, we are of the opinion that the position of Verification Counselor, Office of Student Financial Aid at Northwestern State University and the elected office of City Councilman for the City of Natchitoches would not be a violation of the dual officeholding laws, as per the exemption of R.S. 42:66(B). We hope this opinion sufficiently addresses all of your questions, and if we can be of further assistance, please advise.

Yours very truly,

RICHARD IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

ANGIE ROGERS LAPLACE
Assistant Attorney General

RPI/ARL;mjb

Cc: Mr. Billy Ray Evans

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Ms. Linda Law Clark
Opinion Number 00-332
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SYLLABUS

78 - OFFICERS - Dual Office Holding

Elected position of city councilman and employment with Northwestern State University would not be a violation of the dual officeholding laws.

Ms. Linda Law Clark
DeCuir & Clark, L.L.P.
Attorneys At Law
1961 Government Street
Baton Rouge, LA 70806

Date Received:
Date Released: August 29, 2000

ANGIE ROGERS LAPLACE
Assistant Attorney General