Could a Livingston Parish recreation commissioner also serve as a town alderman?

Plain-English summary

In 2014, the Louisiana Attorney General concluded that a Livingston Parish Recreation District Number 5 commissioner could not also serve as a Town of Livingston alderman. The commissioner role was a part-time appointed office and the alderman role an elected office. That combination was not barred by the general full-time appointment rule alone, but the two offices were incompatible because the district provided funds to the town.

The AG said the commissioner would need to resign before being sworn in as alderman if elected. It limited the opinion to the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law and did not decide any Governmental Ethics Code issue.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2014. 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

Did part-time status automatically permit the commissioner to become an alderman?

No. The AG explained that the general elective-office restriction did not usually prohibit a part-time appointed office, but a separate incompatibility provision controlled these two positions.

What made the offices incompatible?

The opinion relied on the request's fact that the recreation district provided money to the town. The statute prohibited the same person from holding offices where funds received by one were deposited with or turned over to the other.

When did the AG say the commissioner should resign?

It said the commissioner had to resign before being sworn in as alderman if elected, to avoid the dual-officeholding violation.

Did the opinion resolve ethics-law questions?

No. It expressly left those questions to the Louisiana State Board of Ethics.

Background and statutory framework

The requester asked whether one person could serve as a recreation district commissioner and town alderman. The AG classified the positions under La. R.S. 42:62 and then applied the incompatible-offices rule in La. R.S. 42:64(A)(6) to the district-to-town funding described in the request.

Citations

• La. R.S. 42:62(2) (appointive office).
• La. R.S. 42:64(A)(6) (incompatible offices where one office transfers funds to the other).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/14-0022

Original opinion text

~tate of 1fiouisiana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 9400S
BATON ROUGE
70B04-9005
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
ATIORNEY GENERAL

November 6, 2014
OPINION 14-0022

78 DUAL OFFICEHOLDING
Ms. Abby Crosby
La. R.S. 42:61, etseq.
19866 Louisiana Highway 42
The Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law provisions prohibit
Livingston, Louisiana 70754
a commissioner on the Recreation District Number 5 of Livingston
Parish from simultaneously serving as an alderman of the Town of Livingston.
Dear Ms. Crosby:

You have requested an opinion of the Attorney General as to whether an individual that serves as a commissioner on the Recreation District Number 5 of liVingston Parish (Recreation District) may also serve as an alderman of the Town of Livingston.

The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law, found at La. R.S.
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 held is essential for the purposes of applying the dual officeholding provisions.

For purposes of dual officeholding, a commissioner of the Recreation District holds "appointive office" as defined by La. R.S. 42:62(2). An individual holds an appointive office where the position is established by the constitution, statutes, home rule charter provisions or ordinances of a municipality or parish, and the position is appointed by another elected or appointed official, or a body of officials.' A review of the parish ordinances indicates that the commissioners serving on the Recreation District are appointed by the town councll.?

For your reference, we note that a full-time position would require a commissioner to work at least seven hours per day of work and at least thirty-five hours per week' while a part-time position would require an appointed commissioner to work less than the number of hours of work defined as full-time." Based on the information you have provided our office, it is our understanding that the appointed position of commissioner of Recreation District is a part-time position.

La. R.S. 42:62(2).
2
Code of Ordinances of the Parish of Livingston, Louisiana, Ord. Sec. 12-90 (1-27-79, § 4).
3
La. R.S. 42:62(4).
4
La. R.S. 42:62(5).

Page 2

OPINION 14-0022
Ms. Abby Crosby
Page No.2

With respect to the second position, you inquire about an alderman who serves the Town of Livingston. For purposes of dual officeholding, an alderman holds elective office in a political subdivision of the state."

The most applicable aspect of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law is La. R.S. 42:63(0), which provides in pertinent part:

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.

La. R.S. 42:63(0) generally does not prohibit one from simultaneously holding an elective office and a part-time appointive office. However, our office directs your attention to La. R.S. 42:64, which establishes "incompatible offices." In particular, La. R.S. 42:64(A)(6) provides as follows:

A. In addition to the prohibitions otherwise provided in this Part, no other offices or employments shall be held by the same person in combination if any of the following conditions are found to pertain and these prohibitions shall exist whether or not the person affected by the prohibition exercises power in conjunction with other officers:

(6) Funds received by one office or employment are deposited with or turned over to the other office or position.

Based on the information you provided this office, it is our understanding that the Recreational District provides funds to the Town of Livingston. These facts alone would, in our opinion, invoke the incompatibility provisions of La. R.S. 42:64(A)(6) quoted above. For this reason, it is the opinion of this office that a commissioner on the Recreation District Number 5 of Livingston Parish may not slrnultaneously serve as an alderman of the Town of Livingston. If elected, the commissioner must resign before being sworn in as alderman to avoid violating the Dual Officeholding Law.

Please note that our expressed opinion relative to state law is limited to an examination of the dual officeholding provisions. 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

5
La. R.S. 42:62(1) defines "[eJlective office" as "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."

Page 3

OPINION 14-0022
Ms. Abby Crosby
Page No.3

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
ATIORNEY GENERAL

BY ~ e.kqL
Erin C. Day 1
Assistant Attorney General

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