Could a federal postal employee serve on Natchitoches' city council?

Plain-English summary

A Natchitoches resident asked whether a U.S. Postal Service employee could serve as a city council member. In this 2004 opinion, the Louisiana Attorney General said no. The dual-officeholding statute generally barred a person holding a state or local position from also holding federal employment. The AG treated postal work as federal employment and found the special postal-employee exception unavailable because Natchitoches exceeded its population ceiling.

The exception then allowed a postal employee to hold local elective office in a village or town with a population of 5,000 or fewer under the latest federal decennial census. The opinion did not give Natchitoches' exact population; it said only that the city exceeded the statutory ceiling. Its answer concerned the Natchitoches council position, not every Louisiana town.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2004. 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.

Common questions

Could a Natchitoches postal worker serve on the council under this opinion?

No. The AG said the general federal-employment restriction applied and Natchitoches was too populous for the postal exception.

Did Louisiana law contain any exception for postal employees?

Yes. The opinion quoted an exception for a Postal Service employee holding local elective office in a village or town of no more than 5,000 residents under the latest federal decennial census.

Did the AG decide eligibility for a postal worker in a smaller town?

It quoted the exception but applied it only to Natchitoches, which it said exceeded the population threshold.

Background and statutory framework

The AG relied on R.S. 42:63(A)(1)'s general restriction on combining state or local positions with federal employment and R.S. 42:66(I)(1)'s narrower Postal Service exception. The specific council seat failed the exception because of the local population.

Citations

• R.S. 42:63(A)(1) (federal-employment restriction).
• R.S. 42:66(I)(1) (Postal Service exception).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/04-0001

Original opinion text

January 15, 2004
OPINION 04-0001

Ms. Sylvia Morrow
1112 Lake Street
Natchitoches, LA 71457

Dear Ms. Morrow:

In response to your recent correspondence, note that our state Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Laws, R.S. 42:61, et seq., prohibit one from holding federal employment and local elective office. R.S. 42:63(A)(1) states:

A. (1) Except as otherwise provided in this Subsection, no person holding an elective office, appointive office, or employment in any of the branches of state government or of a political subdivision thereof shall at the same time hold another elective office, appointive office, or employment in the government of a foreign country, in the government of the United States, or in the government of another state.

A postal service employee is an employee of the federal government and is generally prohibited from holding any position with a political subdivision of the state. In accord is Attorney General Opinion 92-116.

Finally, note that there is an exemption in the law pertaining to the simultaneous holding of these positions. R.S. 42:66(I)(1) states:

I. (1) Nothing in this Part shall be construed to prevent an employee of the United States Postal Service from holding at the same time a local elective office in a village or town, provided such village or town has a population of five thousand or less, according to the latest federal decennial census.

The provision is inapplicable as the population of Natchitoches exceeds that contemplated by the exemption of R.S. 42:66(I)(1).

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _______ KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

KLK:ams

Page 2

OPINION 04-0001

78 DUAL OFFICEHOLDING

R.S. 42:61, et seq.; R.S. 42:63(A)(1); R.S. 42:66(I)(1)

Federal postal employee may not hold local elective office as Natchitoches councilman.

Ms. Sylvia Morrow
1112 Lake Street
Natchitoches, LA 71457

Date Received:
Date Released: January 15, 2004

KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL