Could a full-time Atchafalaya Basin Levee District employee also join the St. Martin election board?

Plain-English summary

The Atchafalaya Basin Levee District asked whether one of its full-time employees could also serve on the St. Martin Board of Elections Commission. In Opinion 03-0031, the Louisiana Attorney General said yes for the part-time board appointment described. He classified the levee district as a local political subdivision and identified the election board seats as part-time appointments. The quoted dual-employment provision barred certain combinations of two full-time public positions, so it did not prohibit this combination.

The AG also said he found no other Title 42 restriction that prohibited the two positions concurrently. His answer depended on the election seat being part time; it did not analyze a full-time appointment.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2003. 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.

What the opinion meant at issuance

Levee district employees

The opinion treated employment with the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District as employment by a local political subdivision for the dual-employment analysis. It concluded that a full-time employee could also take the described part-time election board appointment.

Parish election boards and appointing officials

The AG read La. R.S. 18:423(C) as creating part-time appointive positions on parish boards of election supervisors. That classification was why the full-time/full-time bar in La. R.S. 42:63(E) did not apply to the proposed combination.

Common questions

Q: Could a levee district worker serve on the St. Martin election board? A: The AG said yes for a full-time levee district employee appointed to the part-time seat described in the request.

Q: Why did the dual-employment restriction not apply? A: The provision the AG quoted barred certain simultaneous full-time public positions. The election board seat was part time.

Q: Did the AG treat the levee district as part of local government? A: Yes. He described levee districts as local political subdivisions and applied the dual-employment statute on that basis.

Background and statutory framework

The request came from the levee district's executive director, William C. Tyson. The opinion cited La. R.S. 42:61-66 on dual employment and La. R.S. 42:63(E) for the particular full-time restriction. It cited La. R.S. 18:423(C) for the composition and part-time nature of parish election boards. Its first-page February date stamp has an uncertain day in the PDF extraction, so the exact issue date is blank.

Citations and references

Authorities in the opinion: La. R.S. 42:61-66; La. R.S. 42:63(E); La. R.S. 18:423(C). The opinion also cited the state constitutional definition of political subdivisions and an earlier AG opinion on levee districts.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0031

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

One American Place
301 Mare Street, Suite 600
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. Box 94005
~21VIL DIVISION
TEL.: (225) 342-7013
BATON ROUGE
FAX: (22S) 342-2090

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

FEB 8 2003
OPINION NUMBER 03-0031

78 Officers - DUAL OFFICE HOLDING La. R.S. 42:61-66; La. R.S. 42:63(E);
La. Const. Art. VI, § 38; La. Const. Art. VI, § 44(2).
William C. Tyson
La. R.S. 38:291; La. R¯S. 38:291 A(2);
La. R.S. 18:423; La. R.S. 18:423(C).
Executive Director
La. Atty. Gen. Ops. 84-75.
Atchafalaya Basin Levee District
P.O. Box 170
Nothing in La. R.S. 42:61-66 would prohibit a full-time employee
with the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District from accepting a part-
Port Allen, LA 70767-0170
time appointment to the St. Martin Board of Elections
Commission.
Dear Mr. Tyson:

You have requested this office to issue an advisory opinion as to whether an employee of the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District can serve as a member of the St. Martin Board of Elections Commission.

The legal matters of dual office holding and dual employment are covered in Louisiana Revised Statute 42:61-66. The articles discuss certain prohibited combinations of work and those positions that are exempt from such prohibitions.

The first employment position questioned involves a full-time employee of the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District. The Local Government article of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974 retained the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District along with other levee districts in the state¯ La. Const. Art. VI, § 38. Article VI further defines political subdivisions as a "parish, municipality, and any other unit of local government, including a school board and a special district, authorized by law to perform governmental functions." La. Const. Art. VI, § 44(2). This office in a prior opinion has stated that levee districts are classified as local political subdivisions. See Atty. Gen. Op. 84-75.
Therefore, we still hold that levee districts ere local political subdivisions.

Parish boards of election supervisors were established by La. R.S. 18:423. Under La.
R.S. 18:423(C), these boards are composed of appointive, part-time positions, namely the registrar of voters, the clerk of court, the chairman of the parish executive committee of each recognized political party or his designee who shall be a member of the parish executive committee of the same recognized political party, and one member appointed by the Governor.

The Revised Statutes regarding dual employment clearly state that "no person holding.
¯. full-time employment.., of a political subdivision thereof shall at the same time hold

OPINION NUMBER 03-0031
William C. Tyson
Page - 2-

another full-time appointive office or full-time employment in the government of the state of Louisiana, in the government of a political subdivision thereof, or in a combination of these." La. R.S. 42:63(E). The above prohibition does not affect the issue at hand because the appointed position to the St. Martin Board of Elections Commission is a part-time appointed position.

There are no other restrictions under Title 42 that would prohibit a person from holding these two positions concurrently. Therefore, nothing in La. R.S. 42:61-66 would prohibit a person currently enjoying full-time employment with the Atchafalaya Basin Levee District from accepting a part-time appointment to the St. Martin Board of Elections Commission.

I believe the above opinion has answered you questions. Should you have any further questions, please contact this office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

By:
CHARLES H. BRAUD JR\ \ "
Assistant Attorney General\,,.)

RPI/CHB:mjb