Can a Louisiana town alderman also manage a private nonprofit water system?

Plain-English summary

A Henderson alderman also managed the Henderson-Nina Water System, described to the AG as a private nonprofit. In Opinion 03-0337, the AG said the dual officeholding and dual employment laws did not apply if one of the two positions was private as described. Those laws concerned public offices and employment.

The letter did not resolve whether the arrangement complied with ethics law. It said the alderman's ethics questions had been forwarded to the Louisiana Board of Ethics.

Currency note

The full issue date is not legible in the available official extract. 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

Alderman with private employment

The AG relied on the description of the water system as a private nonprofit. On that premise, managing it did not create a second public position under R.S. 42:61, et seq.

Local ethics review

The opinion expressly raised a separate ethics issue and referred it to the Board of Ethics. An alderman assessing this kind of arrangement would need to address that issue separately; the dual officeholding conclusion alone did not answer it.

Common questions

Does every second job held by an alderman trigger dual officeholding law?

No. The AG said the cited laws apply when the relevant positions are public in nature. The reported water-system job was private.

Did the AG approve the arrangement under ethics law?

No. The letter forwarded the ethics questions to the Louisiana Board of Ethics and gave no ethics ruling.

Would the answer cover employment with a public water district?

The opinion did not decide that situation. Its conclusion depended on the water system being a private nonprofit.

Background and statutory framework

R.S. 42:61, et seq. supplied the dual officeholding and dual employment framework. The AG applied its public-position limit to the reported facts and separated that question from the ethics issue.

Citations and references

• R.S. 42:61, et seq.: dual officeholding and dual employment laws.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0337

Original opinion text

DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
One American Place
aVlL mv s oN
301 Main Street, Suite 600
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE
TEL.: (225) 342-7013
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL
70604-9005
FAX: (225) 342-2090

OPINION 03-0337

      Mr. Ray Robin                                 78        Dual Officeholding

R.S. 42:61, et seq.
Alderman
The holding of private employment and local elected office may
P. O. Box 556
raise ethical concerns, but doe not invoke application of dual
Breaux Bridge, LA 70517
officeholding laws.

Dear Mr. Robin:

You advise this office that your serve the Town of Henderson as elected alderman and also hold employment as manager of the Henderson-Nina Water System. The System is a private, non-profit entity.

The Louisiana Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Laws, R.S. 42:61, et seq., are applicable only when the positions of office or employment are public in nature; the laws have no applicability where one of the positions is private, as you assert. However, we have forwarded your ethics questions to the Louisiana Board of Ethics, 8401 United Plaza Blvd., Suite 200, Baton Rouge, LA, 70804, phone: 225-922-1400.

Very truly yours,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
:Y GENERAL

KER
IT ATTOR
GENERAL

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