Could a Monroe city council member also serve part-time on the G.B. Cooley hospital district board?

Plain-English summary

A Monroe city council member's simultaneous service on the G.B. Cooley Hospital Service District board raised a dual officeholding question. The 2013 opinion concluded that state dual officeholding law allowed the elected council seat alongside the part-time appointed board seat. The AG classified the roles and found the relevant bar on another full-time appointive position did not apply to this part-time seat.

The opinion expressly limited itself to dual officeholding law. It did not decide whether Louisiana's governmental ethics code affected the arrangement and pointed that issue to the State Board of Ethics.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2013. 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.

Historical summary

City council members

For the council and hospital-board positions described, the AG concluded that the elected local office could be held with a part-time appointed local board seat under the dual officeholding rules.

Hospital district board members

The opinion treated the G.B. Cooley board position as part-time and appointive. That classification was central to its conclusion.

Common questions

Could the Monroe council member keep both positions?

The AG said yes under the dual officeholding law, given the board seat's part-time appointed status.

Did the opinion approve any full-time hospital board post?

No. Its analysis depended on the board position being part-time.

Did the AG resolve any conflict-of-interest question?

No. The AG expressly left ethics-code questions to the Louisiana State Board of Ethics.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion classified the council membership and district board service under the dual officeholding law beginning at La. R.S. 42:61. It referred to La. R.S. 42:1111 when reserving ethics-code questions. Its holding was limited to the described combination of offices.

Citations

• La. R.S. 42:61: dual officeholding law considered by the opinion.
• La. R.S. 42:1111: ethics-law provisions expressly left undecided.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0077

Original opinion text

Best-effort transcription from a scanned PDF. Minor errors may remain — the linked PDF is authoritative.

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DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWElL
70804-9005
ATIORNEY GENERAL

JUN 2 8 2013
OPINION 13-0077

78 DUAL OFFICEHOLDING

    Christian Creed                                   La. R.S. 42:61, et seq.      La.R.S. 46:1051. et seq.

Creed & Creed
The Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Laws, La. R.S. 42:61, et
seq., do not prohibit an elected member of the Monroe City Council from
P.O. Drawer 14136
holding a part time appointive position on the G. B. Cooley Hospital
Monroe, Louisiana 71207
Service District Board.

Dear Mr. Creed:

You have requested an opinion of the Attorney Gener~1 as to whether the Dual Officeholding Laws prevent a person from serving on the G.B. Cooley Hospital Service District Board ("Board") and serving as an elected member of the Monroe City Council.
Your request has been assigned to me for research and reply.

The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law, found at La. RS.
42:61, et seq., govern questions concerning the ability to hold two or more public offices and/or positions simultaneously. Classifying the correct nature of the positions is essential for the purposes of applying the dual officeholding provisions.

G.B. Cooley Hospital Service District was created by the Ouachita Parish Police Jury in accordance with La. RS. 46: 1051. It is a political subdivision of the state and is governed by a board of commissioners appointed by the police jury pursuant to La. RS.
46: 1056. The position on the Board is characterized as a part time,1 appointed position. 2 As your letter states the position in question is appointed by the Ouachita Parish Police Jury. Further, the position on the Monroe City Council is considered a local elected position.

1 The dual officeholding law defines "part time" as the period of time which a person normally works or is expected to work in an appointive office or employment which is less than the number of hours of work defined in this Section as full time. La. R.S. 42:62(5).
2 The dual officeholding law defines "appointive office" as 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).

Page 2

OPINION 13-0077
Mr. Christian Creed
Page No.2

The most applicable provision of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law is La. R.S. 42:63 (D), which states, in pertinent part: "no person holding an elective office in a political subdivision of this state shall at the same time hold ... full-time appointive office ... in the government of a political subdivision thereof." Accordingly, an elected official is not prohibited from simultaneously holding a part time appointive office. Our office has opined on a similar situation of an elected official and a member of a hospital service district board in La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 12-0050.

Therefore, it is the opinion of this office that the state law governing dual officeholding would not prohibit a person from serving on the Monroe City Council while continuing to serve on the G.B. Cooley Hospital Service District.

This opinion is limited to an examination of the dual officeholding law. Please note that it does not address the potential applicability of the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics, La. R.S. 42:1111, et seq. Advisory rulings addressing questions under the Ethics Code are within the jurisdiction of the Louisiana State Board of Ethics. The Board may be contacted at the following address: P.O. Box 4368, Baton Rouge, LA 70821, phone: 225-219-5600.

We hope that this opinion has adequately addressed the legal issues you have raised. If our office can be of any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact us.

With best regards, .

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY~dftU# essica MP Thornhrll
Assistant Attorney General
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