Can a St. Mary Parish personnel board member also serve on another parish board or advisory board?

Plain-English summary

St. Mary Parish's council asked whether a member of its Personnel Board could also serve on another parish board, commission, or advisory board. The parish's home-rule charter prohibited Personnel Board members from holding an elected public office or a public position in the parish. The question was whether those other board seats were public positions.

The attorney general concluded that the charter barred the dual service described. The opinion used a four-factor test for a public entity: government creation, legally defined powers, public ownership of its property, and functions exclusively public in character and benefit. For this opinion, it assumed the identified parish boards and advisory boards met those factors. Their members therefore held public offices or public positions within the charter's restriction.

The council also asked whether the restriction reached a member's spouse. The opinion said spouses were not expressly prohibited solely because the other spouse held a public position, but referred possible ethics issues to the Louisiana Board of Ethics.

What this means for you

Personnel Board members

Under the charter provision examined, the opinion said a Personnel Board member could not also sit on the parish boards, commissions, or advisory boards described as public entities. Its answer rested on the assumed public character of those other bodies.

Parish boards and advisory boards

The opinion treated an advisory board seat as a public position when the board met the public-entity criteria used in its analysis. It did not make separate factual findings for each named parish body.

Spouses of board members

The opinion found no express prohibition based solely on the other spouse's service in a public position. It did not resolve any separate ethics issue involving spouses and referred that question to the Board of Ethics.

Common questions

Q: Can a St. Mary Personnel Board member also join a parish advisory board?
A: The attorney general said the charter barred that combination for the public advisory boards described in the request. It assumed those boards satisfied the public-entity criteria.

Q: What makes a parish board seat a public position?
A: The opinion considered whether the body was publicly created, had defined powers, held public property, and performed exclusively public functions for public benefit. It assumed those factors for the boards before it.

Q: Does the restriction automatically prevent a member's spouse from serving?
A: The opinion said spouses were not expressly barred solely by the other spouse's service. It left possible ethics-code questions to the Board of Ethics.

Q: Did the attorney general decide every board's public status individually?
A: No. The office stated its four-factor test and assumed that the boards and commissions identified in the request met it.

Background and statutory framework

St. Mary Parish used a home-rule charter with a president-council form of government. The Parish Council appointed the five Personnel Board members. Article 5, Section 4-08 of the charter barred those members from elected public office or another public position in the parish.

The opinion quoted La. R.S. 42:1's definition of public office, including membership on a public board or commission established by law. It also cited Louisiana cases for the public-entity criteria. On its stated assumption that the parish bodies met those criteria, it applied the charter prohibition. It did not decide the ethics question about a spouse's service.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 42:1 (definition of public office)
• St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter, Article 5, Section 4-08 (Personnel Board restriction)
• State v. Smith, 357 So.2d 505 (La. 1978) (public-entity criteria citation)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0015

Original opinion text

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

STATE OF LOUISIANA
DEPARmIENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE ArrORNEY GENEpL
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE, LA
70804-9005

Liz MuRRILL
ATTORNEY GENEIL

October 28, 2024
OPINION 24-0015

78 Dual Officeholding
Mr. Eric P. Duplantis
La. R.S. 42:61, etseq.
La. R.S. 42:1
500 Main St.
Franklin, LA 70538
A member of the St. Mary Parish Personnel Board is prohibited from
serving on St. Mary Parish boards and commissions or St. Mary Parish advisory boards pursuant to Article 5, Section 4-08, St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter.
Dear Mr. Duplantis:

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether the St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter prohibits a member of the St. Mary Parish Personnel Board from serving on St. Mary Parish boards and commissions or St. Mary Parish advisory boards.

We understand from your request that St. Mary Parish operates under a home rule charter authorized by La. Const. art. VI, § 51 The charter provides for a president- council form of government.2 The St. Mary Parish Personnel Board was established by the St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter and consists of five members who are appointed by the Parish Council.3 The Charter expressly prohibits the members of the Personnel Board from holding an elected public office or a public position in St. Mary Parish.4 Through your office, the St. Mary Parish Council seeks guidance on the following questions:

I . Is a “public position” within the meaning of the St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter a position held by a person that already serves on one of the parish Boards and Commissions? Relatedly, does a person who serves on the parish advisory board hold a “public position.”5

A: A “public position” is one that meets the criteria established in the jurisprudence as further explained below.

The Charter does not define the term “public position,” and you express concerns as to whether a member of a parish board, parish commission or a parish advisory board

1 Article 1, Section 1-01, St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter.
2 Article 1, Section 1-02, St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter.
Article 5, Section 4-08, St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter.
‘I Article 5, Section 4-08, St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter.

We combine Questions 1 and 2 of the opinion request since the same response answers both questions.

Page 2

OPINION 24-0015
Mr. Eric Duplantis
Page 2

holds a “public position” and would therefore be prohibfted from serving as a member of the Personnel Board.

There is no general definition of “public position” found in the Louisiana Revised Statutes. However, the term “public office” is defined in La. R.S. 42:1 to mean, “any state, district, parish or municipal office, elective or appointive, or any position as member on a board or commission, elective or appointive, when the office or position is established by the constitution or laws of this state.” Moreover, the courts have consistently held that an office is public if the entity in which the office is held is a public entity.6 An entity is public if (1) created by the legislature, (2) its powers were specifically defined by the legislature, (3) the property of the entity belongs to the public, and (4) the entity’s functions are exclusively of a public character and performed solely for the public benefit.

In order to determine if the parish boards, parish commissions, or parish advisory boards of concern are public entities, four factors must be met. For the purposes of this opinion, we will assume that the boards and commissions are (1) created by the St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter, parish ordinance/resolution, the Louisiana Constitution or state statute, (2) the powers are specifically defined, (3) the property belongs to the public, and (4) the functions are of a public character and performed solely for the public benefit. A member of a parish board, parish commission, or parish advisory board, which is public entity as defined the jurisprudence, holds a “public office” or “public position”. We conclude that the Charter unambiguously prohibits service on any of the public boards you mention.

2. In Question 3 of the opinion request, you ask whether the prohibitions extend to the spouse of the prospective appointee.

A: This question is more properly addressed to the Board of Governmental Ethics.

You also express concerns regarding the application of the prohibition found in the Charter to the spouse of a member of the Personnel Board. Spouses are not expressly prohibited from service when the other spouse serves in a public position. To the extent ethics issues are implicated, we refer you to the Board of Ethics. The Board may be contacted at the following address: P.O. Box 4368, Baton Rouge, LA 70821, phone: 225-219-5600.

In conclusion, based on the applicable provisions of law and the information you provided, it is the opinion of this office that a member of the St. Mary Parish Personal Board is prohibited from serving on St. Mary Parish boards and commissions or St.

6 Williams v. City of
Baton Rouge, 2023-0763 (La. App. I Cir. 1/11/24), 383 So.3d 251, 254; Property Ins.
Ass’ri of Louisiana v. Theriot 09-1152 (La. 3/16/10), 31 So.3d 1012, 1014-15; and State v. Smith, 357 So.2d 505 (La. 1978).

Page 3

OPINION 24-0015
Mr. Eric Duplantis
Page 3

Mary Parish advisory boards pursuant to Article 5, Section 4-08, St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter. Spouses are not expressly prohibited by statute solely on the basis of the other spouse’s service in a public positon.

Please note that our expressed opinion is limited to an examination of the state law relating to Dual Officeholding and Employment Law. Further, as stated above, it does not address the potential applicability of the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics.

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,

LIZ MURRILL f2j[ORNEY GEN,gRL
BY: /1)Jdt7J
C’OtM22ftQ,
Madeline S. Carbonette
Assistant Attorney General

LM:MSC