Could a St. Tammany Parish constable also take a part-time clerical job with Abita Springs police?

Plain-English summary

A Ward 10 constable in St. Tammany Parish asked whether he could also work in a part-time clerical position for the Abita Springs Police Department. In 2001, the attorney general's office said he could. The proposed role involved 28 hours a week, no commission, weapon, badge, or benefits, and was treated as part-time employment. Even if classified as an appointive position, the office said it would not violate the cited restriction while it remained part time.

The office also emphasized that the elected constable office and the municipality were separate political subdivisions. The rule against an elected local official holding employment in the same political subdivision therefore did not apply to the described combination.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2001. 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.

Constables at the time

The opinion allowed this elected constable to take the proposed part-time Abita Springs job. It called the separate political-subdivision point more important; part-time status also meant the job would be permitted if classified as an appointive position.

Municipal police departments at the time

The office treated the proposed 28-hour clerical role as part-time. It did not analyze a full-time police appointment or a commissioned officer role on these facts.

Local government attorneys at the time

The opinion classified a constable as a separate political subdivision for the same-subdivision employment restriction and distinguished the municipal job from that office.

Common questions

Q: Could the constable work 28 hours a week for Abita Springs police?
A: Yes. The opinion treated that clerical position as part time and in a separate political subdivision.

Q: Why did the office discuss the job's part-time hours?
A: Those hours mattered if the job was classified as an appointive position. The office called the fact that the constable's office and Abita Springs were separate political subdivisions more important to its employment analysis.

Q: Were the constable's office and the town considered the same political subdivision?
A: No. The opinion treated the elected constable office as separate from the municipality for the cited dual officeholding restriction.

Background and statutory framework

LA R.S. 42:63 (D) limited combinations of elective local office with other offices or employment. The office applied the statutory definition of part-time work and the political subdivision definition to a constable's proposed clerical police job. It concluded the two described positions could be held simultaneously.

Citations and references

• LA R.S. 42:63 (D) (dual officeholding rule)
• LA RS 42:62 (4) (part-time classification cited by the office)
• LA R. S. 42:62 (9) (political subdivision definition quoted in the opinion)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/00-0431

Original opinion text

February 23, 2001
OPINION NUMBER 00-431

78 OFFICERS – Dual Office Holding
Constable Gary L. Frisard, Sr. An elected constable may simultaneously be employed
71173 Bryan Street
by a municipal police department without violating dual
Abita Springs, Louisiana 70420 officeholding provisions, as both positions are within separate political subdivisions.
Dear Constable Frisard:

We are in receipt of your request for an Attorney General’s Opinion concerning a possible dual officeholding violation. In your opinion request, you have stated that you currently hold the elective office of Constable of Ward–10 in St. Tammany Parish. Additionally, you state that you have been offered a part-time position with the Abita Springs Police Department. Your inquiry centers on a possible dual office holding violation in the event you accept employment with the Abita Springs Police Department in this capacity.

The dual officeholding laws, LA R.S. 42:61 et seq., apply in general to a person holding two positions at the same time. LA R.S. 42:63 (D) states in pertinent part:

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. 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 an elective office. [Emphasis added]

“Political subdivision,” as defined by LA R. S. 42:62 (9) is any:

Parish, municipality, and any other unit of local government…authorized by law to perform governmental functions. In addition for the purposes of this part, mayors courts, justices of the peace courts, district attorneys, sheriffs, clerks of court, coroners, tax assessors, registrar of voters, and all other elected parochial officials shall be separate political subdivisions.

In order to determine if there is a dual officeholding conflict, the classification of the position must be addressed. In your letter, you state that the position you have been offered is a part-time position in which you would work twenty-eight (28) hours per week in a clerical position. Furthermore, you state that you will receive no benefits and will

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Constable Gary L. Frisard, Sr.
Opinion No. 00-431
Page 2

not be commissioned or carry a weapon or badge. Given these details, this position does in fact seem to be classified as “part-time,” as you will be working less than thirty- five hours (35) per week. See LA RS 42:62 (4). Even if this position were to be classified as an “appointed position” rather than “employment,” there would be no violation as long as the position remained part-time.

Additionally and more importantly, this potential employment would be within a separate political subdivision, namely the municipality of Abita Springs. Please see Opinion No. 92-743 that states, “an elected constable of a justice of the peace court, like a justice of the peace, are independent elected ward officials and are not entities of the local governing authority.” Thus, the provisions of LA R.S. 42:63 (D) prohibiting local elected officials from gaining employment within the same political subdivision from which they were elected is not violated.

Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that an elected parish constable may simultaneously hold a part-time appointed position or employment within a municipal police department without violating dual officeholding provisions, as the positions are within separate political subdivisions.

We hope this opinion addresses all of your concerns. If we can be of further assistance, please advise.

With kindest regards,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:
ANDREW D. BENTON
Assistant Attorney General

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Constable Gary L. Frisard, Sr.
Opinion No. 00-431
Page 3

OPINION NUMBER 00-431
Syllabus

78 OFFICERS – Dual Office Holding

LA R.S. 13:2583
LA R.S. 42:61 et seq.
LA R. S. 42:62 (9)
LA R. S. 42:63 (D)

An elected constable may simultaneously be employed by a municipal police department without violating dual officeholding provisions, as both positions are within separate political subdivisions.

Constable Gary L. Frisard, Sr.
71173 Bryan Street
Abita Springs, Louisiana 70420

Date Received:

Date Released: February 23, 2001

Andrew D. Benton
Assistant Attorney General