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Could a Stonewall town council member serve as an unpaid volunteer police officer?

Short answer Yes. The AG said a town council member could serve as a volunteer police officer because the unpaid service was not employment under the dual-officeholding law. The opinion distinguished that volunteer role from compensated police-department employment.
State
Louisiana
Opinion
La. Atty. Gen. Op. 06-0030
Issued
April 20, 2006
Issued by
Office of the Louisiana Attorney General
Requested by
Curtis McCune, Mayor, Town of Stonewall
Source
View official page

Apply this to your situation

This page answers the general question as of 2006. Ask about yours and see what current Louisiana law means for your facts, with citations you can check.

Disclaimer: This is an official Louisiana Attorney General opinion. AG opinions are advisory; they inform Louisiana officials but are not binding precedent like a court ruling. This summary is informational and is not legal advice. Consult a licensed Louisiana attorney before relying on the opinion for a specific situation.
About this page: The plain-English summary, reader guidance, and Q&A below were written by Ezel based on the official AG opinion. The original opinion (linked on this page as an official web page) is the authoritative source for any reliance.
View original AG opinion (official page)

Plain-English summary

Stonewall's mayor asked whether an elected town council member could also volunteer as a town police officer. The AG said yes. Although the dual-officeholding rule barred a council member from holding police-department employment, the AG said uncompensated volunteer service did not count as employment under the statutory definition it cited.

The opinion's conclusion was tied to volunteer status. Its footnote defined employment as a job compensated on a salary or per-diem basis, apart from elective or appointive office. The AG expressly said a council member could not concurrently hold police-department employment. It did not decide whether a separate appointive office could be held with the council seat.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2006. 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 the council member work as an unpaid volunteer police officer?

The AG said yes, because the described volunteer service was not employment for the dual-officeholding restriction it applied.

Would the same answer cover a salaried police job?

No. The opinion distinguished volunteer service from employment and said concurrent police-department employment would be impermissible for a council member under R.S. 42:63(D).

Why did compensation matter?

The AG cited R.S. 42:62(3), defining employment in terms of a salary- or per-diem-compensated job. That definition was the reason it excluded the volunteer role.

Background and statutory framework

The AG applied the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law, particularly R.S. 42:63(D), to the town council and volunteer-police roles. R.S. 42:62(3)'s employment definition appeared in the opinion's footnote. The distinction between paid employment and volunteering resolved the narrow request.

Citations

  • R.S. 42:63(D) (dual-officeholding restriction applied to council members).
  • R.S. 42:62(3) (statutory definition of employment).

Source

Original opinion text

April 20, 2006
OPINION 06-0030

Honorable Curtis McCune
78 Officers – Dual Officeholding
Mayor
R.S. 42:63(D), R.S. 42:61, et seq.
P. O. Box 92
Councilman may serve as a volunteer police officer.
Stonewall, LA 71078

Dear Mayor McCune:

You have asked this office to advice whether an elected town councilman may serve as a volunteer town police officer.

The statute which is pertinent to your opinion request is R.S. 42:63(D), a provision of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law, and in pertinent part provides:

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. . . . (Emphasis added).

The prohibition of R.S. 42:63(D) makes it impermissible for a town councilman as a local elected official to concurrently hold any employment with the police department. However, a councilman could not be considered “employed” for purposes of R.S. 42:63(D) because of his service as a volunteer policeman. See R.S. 42:62(3).1 For this reason, a councilman may serve as a volunteer town police officer.

Should you have other questions or concerns, please contact this office.

Very truly yours,

CHARLES C. FOTI, JR.
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: _______ KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
KLK:ams

1
(3) "Employment" means any job compensated on a salary or per diem basis, other than an elective or appointive office, in which a person is an employee of the state government or of a political subdivision thereof.

Page 2

OPINION 06-0030

78 Officers – Dual Officeholding

R.S. 42:63(D), R.S. 42:61, et seq.

Councilman may serve as a volunteer town police officer.

Honorable Curtis McCune
Mayor
P. O. Box 92
Stonewall, LA 71078

Date Received:
Date Released: April 20, 2006

KERRY L. KILPATRICK
ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL

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