Could Palmetto’s volunteer fire chief also work part time as a village police deputy and gas and water operator?

Plain-English summary

Palmetto asked whether the chief of its volunteer fire company could also be a part-time village police deputy and a part-time certified gas and water operator. In October 2015, the Attorney General concluded that the dual officeholding and dual employment law did not prohibit this combination on the facts presented.

The AG treated the fire chief as a volunteer even though he received a nominal monthly payment, and treated both village roles as part-time employment. The request reported that the regular hours of the two paid positions would not overlap absent an emergency. The opinion expressly limited itself to dual officeholding law and did not answer whether the arrangement complied with the government ethics code.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2015. 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 the fire chief’s $200 monthly payment make the volunteer role a barred second job?

The AG still treated the role as a volunteer fire chief position outside the dual officeholding law. It noted earlier opinions saying a nominal payment did not necessarily constitute compensation for that law.

Could the chief hold both village jobs?

On the reported part-time schedules, the AG said the dual officeholding provisions did not prohibit the police-deputy and gas-and-water-operator jobs.

Did the opinion resolve potential ethics conflicts?

No. It expressly left questions under the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics to the State Board of Ethics.

Would the answer cover two full-time village positions?

The AG applied its answer to two positions described as part time. It said the cited full-time prohibition did not apply on those stated facts.

Background and statutory framework

The opinion classified each role before applying the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law. It identified La. R.S. 42:63(E) as the most applicable restriction and concluded that its full-time condition was absent. It also reported that none of the specific incompatible-office restrictions in La. R.S. 42:64 applied to the request’s factual scenario.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/15-0108

Original opinion text

j&tate of 1fioulslaua
DEPARTMENT OF IU5TlCE
P.O. BOX94005
BATON ROUGE
JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWEll
70604·9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

October 29, 2015
OPINION 15-0108

Mayor Marx A. Budden
76 Dual Officeholding
Village of Palmetto
La. R.S. 42:61 et seq.
P.O. Box 220
The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law
Palmetto, LA 71358
do not prohibit Ihe Fire Chief for the Palmetto Volunteer Fire
Company from holding the part time positions of police deputy and certified gas and water operatorfor the Village of Palmetto.

Dear Mayor Budden:

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether the Fire Chief for the Palmetto Volunteer Fire Company ("Company") may also hold the part time positions of police deputy and certified gas and water operator for the Village of Palmetto ("Village").

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.

According to the information provided to our office, the Company is entirely comprised of volunteer firemen. The Fire Chief for the Company is appointed by the members of the Company. His services are provided on an as needed basis. Although the Fire Chief is not salaried and does not receive a per diem, he receives a nominal payment of $200.00 a month from funds collected by the Village from water customers who are assessed an additional fifty cents on their monthly bill. Our office has consistently opined that the provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law are not applicable to volunteer firemen or a volunteer Fire Chief.' Therefore, the provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law do not apply to a volunteer fireman who holds the position of Fire Chief for the Company.

We now consider the other two positions at issue in this request.

, La. Atty. Gen. Op. Nos. 11-0249. 08-0031, 07-0113 and 04-002. These opinions base this conclusion on La. R.S. 42:62(3) which defines employment as any compensated job. These opinions also state that payment of nominal amount does not necessariiy constitute "compensation" for the purposes of La. R.S.
42:62(3).

Page 2

OPINION 15-0108
Mayor Budden
Page 2

The Village is governed by the Lawrason Act, La. RS. 33:361 et seq. The Village is a political subdivision of the state for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding Laws." Your request indicates the Fire Chief is also employed by the Village as a part time police deputy. The position of police deputy for the Village is considered a position of "part time" "employment" for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding Laws. 3

As stated in your request, the Village desires to employ the Fire Chief as a part time certified gas and water operator. You state that the regular work hours for this position will be Monday through Friday and that the regular work hours for position of police deputy are Saturday through Sunday. Absence some emergency situation, the work hours of these two positions will not conflict. The position of certified gas and water operator for the Village is considered a position of "part tirne" "employrnent" for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding Laws.

The most applicable provision of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law is La. RS. 42:63(E), which provides in pertinent part:

No person holding a full-time appointive office or full-time employment in the government of this state or of a political subdivision thereof shall at the same time hold another full-time appointive office or full-time employment in the government of the state of Louisiana, in the government of a political subdivision thereof, or in a combination of these.

The prohibition of La. R.S. 42:63(E) is inapplicable, as you have stated that the positions of employment with the Village are part time positions."

Based on the applicable provisions of law and the information you provided, it is the opinion of this office that the Fire Chieffor the Palmetto Volunteer Fire Company is not prohibited by the Dual Officeholding provisions from holding the part time positions of police deputy and certified gas and water operator for the Village of Palmetto.

Please note that our expressed opinion is limited to an examination of the state law relating to Dual Officeholding. Further, it does not address the potential applicability of the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics, La. RS. 42:1111 et seq. Advisory rulings addressing questions under the Ethics Code are within the jurisdiction

2 "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. La. R.S. 42:62(9). 3 "Part time" means 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). "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. La. R.S. 42:62(3). 4 Based on the information provided to our office. none of the specific "incompatible office" prohibitions contained in La. R.S. 42:64 are applicable to the factual scenario of your request.

Page 3

OPINION 15-0108
Mayor Budden
Page 3

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 adequately addresses 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: 7Y)o.dQJu'/)J.J-:J
Madeline S. Carbonette
9, CdJJsJ/J~
Assistant Attorney General

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