Could a Cotton Valley alderman take the town’s appointment to the North Webster industrial district board?

Plain-English summary

John B. Slattery, Jr. asked whether a Cotton Valley alderman could also serve as the town’s appointee to the North Webster Parish Industrial District board. In December 2015, the Attorney General concluded that the dual officeholding law barred the town from appointing its own alderman to that seat.

The AG classified the alderman as an elected officer and the district commissioner as a part-time appointed officer. Under the Lawrason Act, the mayor and aldermen together formed the town’s governing authority and participated in the district appointment. La. R.S. 42:64(A)(1) barred a person whose one office had power to appoint the holder of the other. The AG added that Webster Parish or a different municipality could appoint the Cotton Valley alderman under that provision.

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

Why was the town’s own appointment barred?

The alderman participated, with the mayor and other aldermen, in the authority that chose Cotton Valley’s district board member. The AG applied the statute’s incompatible-office rule for appointing power.

Could another local government appoint the same alderman?

The opinion said La. R.S. 42:64(A)(1) did not bar an appointment by Webster Parish or another municipality, because the alderman did not hold the appointing office there.

Did the opinion decide ethics-code questions?

No. It limited its answer to dual officeholding and referred ethics advisory matters to the State Board of Ethics.

Background and statutory framework

The district board had seats appointed by several municipalities and the parish. The AG applied the Lawrason Act’s governing-authority structure and La. R.S. 42:64(A)(1), and relied on a prior opinion involving a Sarepta alderman and the same industrial district.

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/15-0170

Original opinion text

j5)tate nf 1/lnui13iana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE

JAMES D. "BUDDY" CALDWELL
70804-9005
ATTORNEY GENERAL

December 18, 2015
OPINION 15-0170

78 Dual Officeholding
Mr. John B. Slattery, Jr.
P.O. Box 94005
La. RS. 42:61 et seq.
Springhill, LA 71075-0887
The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law
prohibit a member of the Board of Aldermen for the Town of Cotton Valley from serving as the Town's appointee to the Board of Commissioners for the North Webster Parish Industrial District.

Dear Mr. Slattery:

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether a member of the Board of Aldermen ("Board") for the Town of Cotton Valley ("Town") may serve as the Town's appointee to the Board of Commissioners for the North Webster Parish Industrial District ("District").

The provisions of the Dual Office holding 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.

The Town is governed by the Lawrason Act, La. R.S. 33:321 et seq. A member of the Board holds an "elective office" for purposes of the Dual Officeholding Laws.'

The District was created as a political subdivision of the State pursuant to the provisions of La. R.S. 39.551.5. The District is governed by a Board of Commissioners comprised of seven members, two of which are appointed by the governing authority of the City of Springhill, one each appointed by the governing authorities of the municipalities of Cullen, Sarepta, Shongaloo and Cotton Valley, and one appointed by the governing authority of Webster Parish. A member of the Board of Commissioners for the District holds a "part time" "appointive office" for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding Laws. 2

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 for this state or of a political subdivision thereof. La. R.S.
42:62(1).
2 "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). "Appointive office" means 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

Page 2

OPINION 15-0170
Mr. John B. Slattery, Jr.
Page 2

Under the Lawrason Act, the Board and the Mayor are considered to be the governing authority for the Town." Therefore, the Board, in conjunction with the Mayor, would be the appointing authority for the Town's member to the District.

La. RS. 42:64 sets forth incompatible offices under the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Laws and expressly prohibits dual officeholding where the incumbent of one office appoints the incumbent in another office. La. RS. 42:64(A)(1) provides, in pertinent part, as follows:

The incumbent of one of the offices, whether or not in conjunction with fellow officers, or employment has the power to appoint or remove the incumbent of the other, except that local governmental subdivisions may appoint members of the governing body to boards and commissions created by them and over which they exercise general powers as provided in Article VI, Section 15 of the Constitution of Louisiana ....

In a similar factual situation our office opined that the "incompatible offices" provision of La. R.S. 42:64(A)(1) prohibits a member of the Board of Aldermen for Town of Sarepta from serving as the Town's appointee to the Board of Commissioners for the North Webster Parish Industrial Distrlct."

Based on the applicable provisions of law, our prior opinion and the information you have provided, it is the opinion of this office that a member of the Board of Aldermen for the Town of Cotton Valley is prohibited from serving as the Town's appointee to the Board of Commissioners for the North Webster Industrial District pursuant to La. RS. 42:64(A)(1 ).

However, La. RS. 42:64(A)(1) does not prohibit the governing authority of Webster Parish or the governing authority of another municipality from appointing a member of the Board of Alderman for the Town of Cotton Valley to the North Webster Industrial District.

Please note that our expressed opinion relative to state law is limited to an examination of the Dual Officeholding provisions. Further, 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.

state or by the charter or ordinances of any political subdivision thereof and which ;s 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). 3 La. R.S. 33:362. 4 La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 08-0205.

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OPINION 15·0170
Mr. John 8. Slattery, Jr.
Page 3

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
ATIORNEY GENERAL

BY: ?r)dL~ 9. CeJiJJ:rJ?~
Madeline S. Carbonette
Assistant Attorney General

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