Could an elected Jackson Parish school board member also serve on the watershed district board?

Plain-English summary

A Jackson Parish official asked whether an elected school board member could also serve as a commissioner of the parish watershed district. The 2013 opinion concluded the dual officeholding law allowed the combination. The school board seat was an elected local office, while the watershed board seat was a part-time appointed local office.

The AG said the relevant prohibition concerned an elected local official simultaneously holding a full-time appointed office. It expressly left possible governmental ethics questions 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

School board members

The opinion allowed the elected school board seat to be held with the part-time watershed appointment under the dual officeholding law it analyzed.

Watershed district officials

The AG relied on the board position's part-time appointive status. It did not say that a full-time appointed role would produce the same answer.

Common questions

Could a school board member join the watershed district board?

Yes. The AG said the described elected and part-time appointed seats could be held together.

Did the opinion approve a full-time watershed appointment?

No. Its reasoning depended on the board role being part-time.

Did the AG decide whether the arrangement created an ethics conflict?

No. It confined the opinion to dual officeholding and referred ethics questions to the State Board of Ethics.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 38:2900 created the district, and La. R.S. 38:2904 provided for commissioners appointed by the police jury. The AG classified the positions under La. R.S. 42:62 and applied the dual officeholding restriction in La. R.S. 42:63.

Citations

• La. R.S. 38:2900 and La. R.S. 38:2904: watershed district and board.
• La. R.S. 42:62 and La. R.S. 42:63: office classifications and dual officeholding restriction.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/13-0105

Original opinion text

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

~tate of 1Uoui13iana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATIORNEY GENERAL
August 9, 2013
OPINION 13-0105
78 DUAL OFFICEHOLDING
Honorable Lynn Treadway
Jackson Parish Police Juror
La. R.S. 42:62; La. R.S. 42:63; La. R.S. 38:2900; La. R.S. 38:2904
505 Fifth Street
The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law do
Jonesboro, Louisiana 71251
not prohibit an elected Jackson Parish School Board member from
simultaneously holding a part-time appointive position on the Jackson
Dear Mr. Treadway: Parish Watershed District the Board of Commissioners.

You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General as to whether an elected member of the Jackson Parish School Board may simultaneously serve as a commissioner on the Board of Commissioners of the Jackson Parish Watershed District. Your request has been assigned to me for research and reply.

The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law, found at La. R.S.
42:61 et seq., govern questions concerning the holding of two or more public offices and/or employments. Identifying the correct nature of the positions held is essential for purposes of applying the dual officeholding provisions.

A school board member holds "elective office in a political subdivision of this state" as defined by La. R.S. 42:62(1) and (9) as follows:

(1) "Elective office" means any position which is established or authorized by the constitution or laws of this state or by the charter or ordinances of any political subdivision thereof, which is not a political party office, and which is filled by vote of the citizens of this state or of a political subdivision thereof.

(9) "Political subdivision" means a parish, municipality, and any other unit of local government, including a school board and a special district, authorized by law to perform governmental functions. In addition for the purposes of this Part, mayor's courts, justice of the peace courts, district attorneys, sheriffs, clerks of court, coroners, tax assessors, registrars of voters, and all other elected parochial officials shall be separate political subdivisions.

With respect to the second position, note that the Jackson Parish Watershed District is a separate political subdivision created by La. R.S. 38:2900. It is governed by a board of commissioners appointed by the police jury pursuant to La. R.S. 38:2904. The

Page 2

OPINION 13·0105
Honorable Lynn Treadway
Page No.2

position of commissioner on the Board of Commissioners of the Jackson Parish Watershed District is characterized as a 'part-time 1 appointed office. 2

The most applicable provision of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law is La. R.S. 42:63(D), which prohibits one who holds "an elective office in a political subdivision of this state" from simultaneously holding a ''full-time appointive office in the government of this state or in the government of a political subdivision." However, the statute does not prohibit a local elected official from simultaneously holding a part-time appointed office. Thus, it is the opinion of this office that an elected member of the Jackson Parish School Board may simultaneously serve on the Jackson Parish Watershed District Board of Commissioners.

Finally, note that our expressed opinion relative to state law is limited to an examination of the dual officeholding provisions. Any potential ethical questions concerning this matter arising under the Code of Governmental Ethics, La. R.S. 42:1111, et seq., must be addressed by advisory rUling of the Louisiana State Board of Ethics. The Board may be contacted at P.O. Box 4368, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70821 or by phone at 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: -tu2Y        C. ~                              _

Erin C. Day
Assistant Attorney General
JDC: ECD

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 conslilution 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).