Could a New Roads council member also take a classified job with Louisiana's Department of Insurance?

Plain-English summary

A New Roads council member asked whether he could accept a "classified/restricted appointment" with the Louisiana Department of Insurance while keeping his elected seat. In Opinion 03-0186, the AG concluded that if the job was actually in the state civil service, he could not also hold elected office.

The letter considered two distinct provisions. It said R.S. 42:63(D) generally barred a local elected official from state employment, although R.S. 42:64 might provide an exception if New Roads fell below the specified 1990-census population and the jobs were otherwise compatible. The AG then identified Article X, Section 9 of the state constitution as the more pressing issue because it restricted political activity by classified civil service employees. The final conclusion was conditional on the insurance job actually being in state civil service.

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

New Roads council member

The AG said he could not hold his elected office if the proposed Department of Insurance position was in state civil service. The opinion did not decide from the appointment label alone whether the specific job had that status.

State and municipal employers

The opinion separately discussed the dual-officeholding rule and a possible small-municipality exception. It did not treat that possible exception as resolving the constitutional restriction on classified civil service employees.

Common questions

Q: Did the AG decide that every Department of Insurance job barred a council seat? A: No. Its final conclusion depended on whether this position was actually in state civil service.

Q: Was there a possible exception to the state-employment restriction for small municipalities? A: The AG said R.S. 42:64 might apply if New Roads met the population condition and the combination was not incompatible or adverse to the public interest.

Q: Why did classified civil service status matter?
A: The opinion quoted Article X, Section 9 of the Louisiana Constitution, which restricted political activity by employees in the classified service, and concluded that such an employee could not also hold elected office.

Background and statutory framework

The request came from Thomas A. Nelson, Jr., an elected New Roads council member. The AG cited R.S. 42:63(D) on simultaneous local office and state employment, R.S. 42:64 on a possible population-based exception, and Article X, Section 9 of the Louisiana Constitution on political activity by classified state employees. The letter did not resolve the factual classification of the proposed appointment.

Citations and references

Statutes cited: R.S. 42:63(D); R.S. 42:64. Constitutional provision quoted: Article X, Section 9 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0186

Original opinion text

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. Box 94005
RICHARD P. iEYOUB
TEL: (.504) 342-7013
ATTORNEY GENERAL
70804-9005
FAX: (504) 342-7335

May 8, 2003
OPINION 0a-0] 86

Mr. Thomas A. Nelson, Jr.
9 CIVIL SERVICE
City Council Member At-Large
78 DUAL OFFICEHOLDING
308 E. Main Street
R.S. 42:61, et seq.
New Roads, LA 70760
An employee in the classified civil service may not hold elected
office.

Dear Mr. Nelson:

You advise that you are an elected councilman with the governing body of New Roads, Louisiana. You ask if you may accept a "classified/restricted appointment" with the Louisiana Department of Insurance.

Assuming your position is in fact one of employment, of concern would be R.S. 42:63(D) which prohibits a local elected official from holding employment in the government of the state.1 However, the exemption of R.S. 42:64 may be applicable to you, as New Roads may fall under a population of six thousand five hundred:

N. Nothing in this Part shall be construed to prohibit a person holding employment in the government of the state from holding at the same time an elective office in the government of a municipality of this state with a population of less than six thousand five hundred according to the 1990 federal decennial census, unless the particular nature of such employment in combination with the duties and interests of such elective office is incompatible as provided in this Part or is found to be adverse to the public interest as set forth in R.S. 42:61.

1
R.S. 42:63(D) and R.S. 42:62(6) provide, respectively:
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. 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. In addition no shedff, 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 or school board hold any office or employment with any sheriff, assessor, or clerk of court.

(6) The executive branch of state government includes the following named officers and all other officers, agents, employees, or other persons holding or exercising an employment with them, namely, the govemor; lieutenant governor; secretary of state; attorney general; treasurer; commissioner of agriculture; commissioner of insurance; superintendent of education; commissioner of elections; members of the State Civil Service Commission, the Public Service Commission, the Board of Regents, the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, the Board of Supervisors of Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Board of Trustees for State Colleges and Universities, and the State Bond Commission. The executive branch shall also include the officers, members, agents, and employees of any department, office, agency, instrumentality, board, commission, or other entity created by the consEtution or by law whose functions are not primarily legislative, judicial, or local in nature or operation.

Page 2

Mr. Thomas A Nelson, Jr.
Opinion 03-0186
Page 2

Of more concern would be Article X, §9 of the Louisiana Constitution of 1974, which specifically prohibits state civil service employees from engaging in political activities:

§9. Prohibitions against political activities

Section 9. (A) Party Membership; Elections. No member of a civil service commission and no officer or employee in the classified service shall participate or engage in political activity; be a candidate for nomination or election to public office except to seek election as the classified state employee serving on the State Civil Service Commission; or be a member of any national, state, or local committee of a political party or faction; make or solicit contributions for any political party, faction, or candidate; or take active part in the management of the affairs of a political party, faction, candidate, or any political campaign, except to exercise his right as a citizen to express his opinion privately, to serve as a commissioner or official watcher at the polls, and to case his vote as he desires.

(B) Contributions. No person shall solicit contributions for political purposes from any classified employee or official or use or attempt to use his position in the state or city service to punish or coerce the political action of a classified employee.

(C) Political Activity Defined. As used in this Part, "political activity" means an effort to support or oppose the election of a candidate for political office or to support a particular political party in an election. The support of issues involving bonded indebtedness, tax referenda, or constitutional amendments shall not be prohibited.

If your position with the insurance department is actually with the state civil service, you could not hold elected office.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTOI~EY GENERAL

ASSIST’Af~T ATTORNEY GENERAL
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