Could the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District's full-time director also hold an elected Louisiana state office?

Plain-English summary

The executive director of the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District was considering an elected office in Louisiana state government. The official opinion concluded that the two positions could not be held at the same time under the state's Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.

The AG treated the district as a political subdivision and its director, on the information provided, as a full-time employee. La. R.S. 42:63(C) barred a person holding a state elective office from also holding employment in a political subdivision. That classification determined the answer.

The opinion did not decide any question under the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics. It identified the State Board of Ethics as the body for ethics-code advisory rulings.

Currency note

This opinion was issued in 2023. 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 did the district director count as a government employee?
The district was created as a political subdivision, and the facts given to the AG described its executive director as a full-time employee hired under the district's authority.

Would taking elected state office have been compatible with this job?
No. The opinion applied La. R.S. 42:63(C) to the full-time district employment and the proposed state elective office and found the combination prohibited.

Did the AG clear the director under Louisiana ethics rules?
No. The AG expressly left the ethics-code question to the State Board of Ethics.

Background and statutory framework

La. R.S. 38:3071 et seq. created the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District. The opinion used La. R.S. 42:62's definitions of full-time employment and political subdivision, then applied the dual-officeholding restriction in La. R.S. 42:63(C). The conclusion rests on the director's employment status as described in the request.

Citations and references

Law cited: La. Const. art. X, § 22; La. R.S. 38:3071 et seq.; La. R.S. 42:61 et seq.; La. R.S. 42:62(4); La. R.S. 42:63(C).

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/23-0071

Original opinion text

State of Louisiana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
CIVIL DIVISION
RO. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE
70804-9005
Jeff Landry
Attorney General
August 30, 2023
OPINION 23-0071
78 Dual Officeholding
Ms. Catherine Crawford
Attorney at Law La. R.S. 42:61, etseq. La. R.S. 38:3071, etseq.
7914 Wrenwood Blvd. Suite A
The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual
. .
.

Baton Rouge, LA 70809
Employment Law prohibit the Executive Director of the Capital
Area Groundwater Conservation District from holding an elective office in the government of the state.
Dear Ms. Crawford:

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether the Executive Director of the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District may hold an elective office in the government of the state.

Pursuant to La. Const. art. X, § 22, the legislature has enacted laws regulating dual employment and defining, regulating, and prohibiting dual office holding in state and local government. The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and 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 and Dual Employment Law.

The Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District was created as a political subdivision of the state pursuant to the provisions of La. R.S. 38:3071 et seq. The
,

Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District is governed by a thirteen-member Board of Commissioners. The Commissioners are appointed by the governor, subject to confirmation by the Senate.1 The Board of Commissioners is authorized to hire personnel and retain consultants that are reasonably necessary to the performance of its functions.2 According to the information provided to this office, the Executive Director of the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District is a full time employee which is classified as “full time” “employment” in a “political subdivision of the state” for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.3

1
La. R.S. 38:3074.
2 La. R.S. 38:3O76(A)(23).
3 “Full time” means the period of time which a person normally works or is expected to work in an appointive office or employment and which is at least seven hours per day of work and at least thirty-five hours per week of work. La. R.S. 42:62(4). “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). “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,

Page 2

OPINION 23-0071
Ms. Catherine Crawford
Page 2

Your request states that the Executive Director of the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District is considering seeking an elective office in the government of the state which is classified as an “elective office” for the purposes of the Dual Off iceholding and Dual Employment Law.4

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

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

La. R.S. 42:63(C) prohibits holding an elective office in the government of the state and employment in the government of a political subdivision.

Based on the applicable provisions of law and the information you provided, it is the opinion of this office that the provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law prohibit the Executive Director of the Capital Area Groundwater Conservation District from holding an elective office in the government of the state.

Please note that our expressed opinion is limited to an examination of the state law relating to Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment. Further, it does not address the potential applicability of the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics, La. R.S. 42:1 1 1 1 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.

registrars of voters, and all other elected parochial officials shall be separate political subdivisions. La. R.S. 42:62(9). “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).

Page 3

OPINION 23-0071
Ms. Catherine Crawford
Page 3

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,

JEFF LAN DRY
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:_______
Madeline S. Carbonette
Assistant Attorney General
JL: MSC