Can a full-time parish solid-waste-district employee also serve on the parish council in Louisiana?

Plain-English summary

St. Landry Parish President Jessie Bellard asked the Louisiana AG whether a full-time employee of the parish's Solid Waste Disposal District could serve on the parish council without running afoul of Louisiana's dual-officeholding rules. The AG said yes.

Louisiana's Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law (La. R.S. 42:61 et seq.) regulates whether one person can hold two or more public positions simultaneously. The analysis turns on classifying each position correctly: elective vs. appointive office, full-time vs. part-time, and which political subdivision each position belongs to.

The AG's classifications here:
- A member of the St. Landry Parish Council holds an "elective office," defined in La. R.S. 42:62(1) as a position established by the constitution, laws, or charter of a political subdivision and filled by vote of the citizens. The council seat is part-time.
- A full-time employee of the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District holds full-time "employment" with that special district. The District is its own political subdivision, created originally by Acts 1980, No. 289 and amended by Acts 1984, No. 642 and Acts 1999, No. 1249. It is governed by a nine-member appointed board.

Once both positions are classified, the relevant rules in La. R.S. 42:61 et seq. (as applied here) do not bar the combination:
- The general bar in La. R.S. 42:63(D) is on holding two full-time positions in the same political subdivision. The parish council seat is part-time and the District is a different political subdivision from the parish government, so that bar does not apply.
- The other bars in the statute address combinations the AG concluded do not fit this fact pattern (such as two full-time appointive offices, or full-time employment combined with another full-time appointive office).

The opinion is narrow. It addresses only the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law. It does not address the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics (La. R.S. 42:1111 et seq.), which has separate conflict-of-interest restrictions that are administered by the Louisiana State Board of Ethics. Anyone considering this combination should also consult that board for an ethics opinion before taking both seats.

What this means for you

If you are a special-district employee thinking about running for parish council. Under this opinion, the dual-officeholding law alone does not block you, because the special district is a separate political subdivision from the parish government and the council seat is part-time. But before filing to run, get a separate ethics opinion from the Louisiana State Board of Ethics. The Ethics Code (La. R.S. 42:1111 et seq.) has its own conflict-of-interest rules that can prevent you from voting on contracts, budget items, or appointments that affect your employer.

If you are a parish president evaluating a council member's eligibility. Confirm three facts before relying on this opinion: (1) the other entity is, in fact, a separate political subdivision and not part of the parish government's payroll; (2) the council seat is genuinely part-time under your home rule charter; and (3) the employee's district role does not give them governmental authority over the parish (or vice versa) that would create an ethics conflict. The opinion is based on the facts the requester provided; different facts can flip the answer.

If you are advising a special district that has overlapping authority with the parish. Many parish solid waste districts, fire protection districts, recreation districts, and gravity drainage districts have boards appointed by the parish governing authority. Even when the dual-officeholding law allows an employee to also hold an elective seat on the parish council, the Ethics Code may bar them from voting on the district's budget or board appointments. Map the financial and supervisory relationships before assuming the combination is workable in practice.

If you sit on the St. Landry Parish Council and are reading this opinion. Treat it as confirmation for one specific combination of roles. Do not extend it by analogy to other combinations (parish council + parish full-time employee, or parish council + sheriff's office full-time employee) without a fresh AG opinion or your parish attorney's review, because the political-subdivision analysis is fact-specific.

Common questions

Q: Why does it matter whether the Solid Waste District is a separate political subdivision?
A: The Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law applies a stricter rule when both positions are in the same political subdivision. By statute, two full-time positions in the same subdivision are flatly prohibited. When the positions are in different subdivisions, the law allows more combinations, especially when one of the positions is part-time.

Q: What makes a parish council seat "part-time"?
A: Under La. R.S. 42:62(4)-(5), full-time means the person normally works or is expected to work at least seven hours per day and at least thirty-five hours per week. Anything less is part-time. Almost all parish council members serve part-time at the parish.

Q: Is the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District the same as the parish government?
A: No. The District was created by special legislative act in 1980 as a distinct political subdivision. It has its own governing board of nine commissioners, four appointed by the parish governing authority and the rest under the appointing scheme set by the Acts of 1980, 1984, and 1999. The District's budget, contracts, and personnel are administered separately from the parish general fund.

Q: Does this opinion let parish employees run for council?
A: It does not. The opinion addresses an employee of a separate special district, not the parish itself. A full-time parish employee on the parish council would be a same-subdivision combination, and the dual-officeholding analysis would be different (and would also need to consider the parish home rule charter's internal incompatibility rules).

Q: What about the Ethics Code? Doesn't that bar me from voting on my employer's business?
A: Possibly. The Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics (La. R.S. 42:1111 et seq.) is separate from the Dual Officeholding Law and applies a different test. It addresses conflicts of interest, gifts, and self-dealing. Even when the dual-officeholding law allows you to hold both positions, the Ethics Code may require you to recuse on votes that touch your employer. The Louisiana State Board of Ethics (P.O. Box 4368, Baton Rouge, LA 70821, phone 225-219-5600) issues advisory rulings on specific situations.

Background and statutory framework

Constitutional foundation. La. Const. art. X, § 22 directs the legislature to "enact laws regulating dual employment and defining, regulating, and prohibiting dual office holding in state and local government." The legislature carried that out in La. R.S. 42:61 et seq., the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.

Definitions that drive the analysis. The law's outcomes turn almost entirely on three statutory definitions:
- Elective office (La. R.S. 42:62(1)) — a position established by constitution, statute, or local charter, not a political party office, filled by vote of the citizens.
- Employment (La. R.S. 42:62(3)) — a job compensated on a salary or per-diem basis, other than an elective or appointive office, in which the person is an employee of the state or a political subdivision.
- Political subdivision (La. R.S. 42:62(9)) — a parish, municipality, or other unit of local government, including school boards and special districts authorized to perform governmental functions. The statute also treats mayor's courts, justice of the peace courts, district attorneys, sheriffs, clerks of court, coroners, tax assessors, registrars of voters, and other elected parochial officials as separate political subdivisions for purposes of this Part.

St. Landry Parish structure. St. Landry Parish operates under a home rule charter with a president-council form of government. Section 1-03 of the charter identifies the parish president and council as the governing authority.

Solid Waste District structure. The District was created as a political subdivision by Acts 1980, No. 289, amended by Acts 1984, No. 642 and Acts 1999, No. 1249. Its governing board consists of nine commissioners.

Outside the opinion's scope. The opinion does not address the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics (La. R.S. 42:1111 et seq.), which addresses conflicts of interest separately. The Louisiana State Board of Ethics issues opinions on Ethics Code questions.

Jeff Landry was Attorney General of Louisiana in 2023. Madeline S. Carbonette was the Assistant Attorney General who authored the opinion.

Citations and references

Constitutional provisions:
- La. Const. art. X, § 22 (legislative authority over dual employment / dual office holding)

Statutes:
- La. R.S. 42:61 et seq. (Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law)
- La. R.S. 42:62(1) (elective office)
- La. R.S. 42:62(3) (employment)
- La. R.S. 42:62(4) (full time)
- La. R.S. 42:62(9) (political subdivision)
- La. R.S. 42:63(D) (specific prohibitions cited by the opinion)
- La. R.S. 42:1111 et seq. (Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics, noted as outside scope)

Session laws:
- Acts 1980, No. 289 (creation of St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District)
- Acts 1984, No. 642 (amendment to District composition)
- Acts 1999, No. 1249 (further amendment)

Local charter:
- Section 1-01, St. Landry Home Rule Charter (president-council form)
- Section 1-03, St. Landry Home Rule Charter (governing authority)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/23-0104

Original opinion text

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

State of Louisiana
DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
CIVIL DIVISION
P.O. BOX 94005
BATON ROUGE, 70804-9005

Jeff Landry
Attorney General

December 13, 2023

OPINION 23-0104

Honorable Jessie Bellard
Parish President
St. Landry Parish Government
118 South Court St.
Opelousas, LA 70570

78 Dual Officeholding
La. R.S. 42:61, et seq.

The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law do not prohibit a full time employee of the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District from serving as a member of the St. Landry Parish Council.

Dear President Bellard:

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether a full time employee of the St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District may serve as a member of the St. Landry Parish Council.

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.

St. Landry Parish operates under a home rule charter that provides for a president-council form of government. The president and the council are the governing authority for the Parish. A member of the St. Landry Parish Council holds an "elective office" for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.

The St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District was created as a political subdivision by Legislative Acts 1980, No. 289, as amended by Acts 1984, No. 642 and Acts 1999, No. 1249. The St. Landry Parish Solid Waste Disposal District is governed by a nine-member Board of Commissioners who are appointed as follows: four commissioners are appointed by the governing authority of St. Landry Parish; four [the remainder of the appointment scheme follows in the original opinion].

[The middle of the opinion applies La. R.S. 42:63 to the facts and concludes that none of the dual-officeholding bars are triggered by this combination of positions. The full reasoning is in the linked PDF.]

OPINION 23-0104
Honorable Jesse Bellard
Page 3

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.

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,

JEFF LANDRY
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:
Madeline S. Carbonette
Assistant Attorney General

JL: MSC