Are St. Tammany hospital district nominating committee members appointed officials, and are they personally liable for nominations?

Plain-English summary

The chairman of St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District No. 2's permanent nominating committee asked whether its members were elected or appointed officials and whether they risked personal liability while interviewing candidates or sending names to appointing authorities. In Opinion 03-0341, the AG called them appointed officials. Act 562 assigned their selection to elected officials and governmental bodies, fitting the opinion's quoted definition of an appointive office.

The AG also applied La.R.S. 9:2792.4(B)'s limit on individual liability for a political subdivision's board, commission, or authority members. The quoted protection concerns good-faith policy judgment within official duties and does not cover damage caused by willful or wanton misconduct.

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

Committee and appointing officials

The committee members were selected under Act 562 by elected officials acting with governmental bodies. The AG used the definition in La.R.S. 42:62(2) to explain why they were appointed officials, even though the request itself did not ask a dual officeholding question.

Committee members facing a claim

The opinion read the liability statute's "shall" as mandatory. Its protection depended on the member acting in good faith within official functions and the absence of willful or wanton misconduct. The opinion did not decide any particular interview, nomination, or damage claim.

Common questions

Are these committee members elected officials?

No. The AG said they were appointed by the officials and governmental bodies named in Act 562.

Does appointment make a member personally liable for a disputed nominee?

Appointment alone did not answer liability. The AG applied the statutory limit for good-faith acts within official duties, subject to the willful-or-wanton-misconduct exception.

Did the AG decide a dual officeholding question?

No. It used that law's definition of "appointive office" to classify the committee, while expressly noting the inquiry was not about dual officeholding.

Background and statutory framework

La.R.S. 42:62(2) defines appointive office for dual officeholding purposes. The AG used that definition alongside Act 562's appointment process. La.R.S. 9:2792.4(B) supplied the quoted individual-liability rule for board, commission, or authority members of political subdivisions.

Citations and references

• La.R.S. 42:62(2): appointive-office definition.
• La.R.S. 9:2792.4(B): good-faith individual-liability limit.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/03-0341

Original opinion text

o i iana
One American Place
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
301 Main Street, Suite 600
CIVIl. DIVISION
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE
TEL.: (225) 342-7013
FAX: (225) 342-2090
RICHARD P. IEYOUB
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

OCT o 2003
OPINION NUMBER 03-0341

84 - PARISHES
90-A - POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS - Officers, Agents & Employees 107-A - SPECIAL DISTRICTS
LSA R.S. 9:2792.4(B); LSA R.S. 42:62(2)
La.Atty.Gen.Op.No. 92-61
Gene Bellisario, Chairman
La Atty.Gen.Op.No. 96-218(A)

Nominating Committee
Act 562 of the Louisiana Leg=slature
St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District #2 Members of the nominating committee are appointed offic=als such that they
510 Bradford Dr.
are appo=nted pursuant to an act of the state leg=slature by elected officials
in conjunction with governmental bodies of the state and its pohbcal
Slidell, LA 70461
subdiv~s=ons. Any person who =s serving as a member of any board,
commission, or authority of a political subd~ws~on must be absolved of any personal liability wh~le acting in the course and scope of his/her duties
Mr. Bellisario: provided he/she is in good fa=th and absent any intent=onal misconduct on
his/her part.

This office is in receipt of your recent opinion request in which you present questions relative to whether members of the St. Tammany Parish Hospital Service District nominating committee are elected or appointed officials and whether any personal liability may arise in the course of carrying out their duties (i.e., interviewing potential nominees and/or forwarding the names of nominees to the appointing authority).

The Louisiana legislature has provided a definition for appointive offices for the purposes of dual office holding, which reads as follows:

"Appointive office" means any office in any branch of government or other position on an agency, board, or commission or any executive office of any agency, board, commission, or department which is specifically established or specifically authorized by the constitution or laws of this state or by the charter or ordinances of any political subdivision thereof and which is filled by appointment or election by an elected or appointed public official or by a governmental body composed of such officials of this state or of a political subdivision thereof. La.R.S. 42:62(2). Also see La.Atty. Gen. Op. No. 96-218A citing La.Atty.Gen.Op.No. 92-61.

While your inquiry does not concern itself with dual office holding, this office is of the opinion that this statute communicates what the legislature intends "appointive office" to mean. Sections 2.1(B)(1)(a), (b) and (c) of Act 562 state that elected officials (i.e., the mayor, city council, parish president, parish governing authority, and a legislative delegation) bear the responsibility of naming persons to the permanent nominating committee. Based on the foregoing, it is definitively clear that the members of the nominating committee are appointed officials such that they are appointed pursuant to

Page 2

Opinion No. 03-0341
Mr. Gene Bellisario, Chairman
Nominating Committee
St. Tammany Parish Hospital
Service District #2
Page: -2-

an act of the state legislature by elected officials in conjunction with governmental bodies of the state and its political subdivisions.

Your final inquiry is whether members of the nominating committee may be subject to any personal liability while in the course of carrying out their duties (i.e., interviewing potential nominees and/or forwarding the names of nominees to the appointing authority). La.R.S. 9:2792.4 discusses the limitations of liability of members of boards, commissions, or authorities of political subdivisions. La.R.S. 9:2792.4(B) states, in relevant part:

A person who serves as a member of a board, commission, or authority of a political subdivision as defined in Subsection A, shall not be individually liable for any act or omission resulting in damage or injury, arising out of the exercise of his judgment in the formation and implementation of policy while acting as a member of a board, commission, or authority of that political subdivision, provided he was acting in good faith and within the scope of his official functions and duties, unless the damage or injury was caused by his willful or wanton misconduct.

For the purposes of statutory construction, the word "shall" is mandatory and the word "may" is permissive. La.R.S, 9:2792.4(B) uses the word "shall" in its language, which establishes that the provisions contained therein are to be regarded as a mandate from the legislature. It is clear on the face of the statute that any person who is serving as a member of any board, commission, or authority of a political subdivision must be absolved of any personal liability while acting in the course and scope of his/her duties provided he/she is in good faith and absent any intentional misconduct on his/her part.

I trust that this adequately responds to your inquiry. Should you have any further questions, please contact this office.

Yours very truly,

RICHARD P. IEYOUB
ATTORNEY GENERAL

CHARLES H. BRAUD,’~.’~
Assistant Attorney GeneraT
RPI/CHBjr/dr