Can a Ville Platte alderman keep a full-time parish job while directing the city housing authority?

Plain-English summary

An Evangeline Parish employee who also served on Ville Platte's Board of Aldermen asked whether she could become executive director of the Ville Platte Housing Authority and keep her existing roles. The attorney general said the answer depended on whether the housing-authority director position was part-time or full-time. The parish job was full-time employment, the alderman seat was an elective office, and the housing director post was an appointive office in a separate political subdivision.

The office said the three roles could be held together if the housing director job was part-time. If that appointment was full-time, the opinion said both the elective-office restriction and the ban on two full-time government positions applied. It expressly left any separate Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics issue to the Board of Ethics.

What this means for you

Ville Platte aldermen and applicants for the authority job

The opinion permitted the combination of an elected alderman seat, full-time Evangeline Parish employment, and a part-time housing-authority directorship. It said a full-time director appointment would violate the dual-officeholding and employment provisions analyzed.

Housing authority commissioners

The opinion classified the authority's executive director as an appointive office selected by its commissioners. Its full-time or part-time status depended on expected working hours, and that classification changed the answer to the applicant's three-role question.

Parish employers

The opinion treated the applicant's Evangeline Parish Section 8 executive-director job as full-time employment. A simultaneous full-time housing-authority directorship would create a second barred full-time government position under the provision discussed.

Common questions

Q: Can the Ville Platte alderman also be a part-time housing-authority director?
A: Yes, in the three-position arrangement described. The attorney general said the dual-officeholding law did not bar it while the housing director position remained part-time.

Q: What if the housing director job is full-time?
A: The opinion said that appointment was prohibited while the applicant held the elected alderman seat and full-time parish job. It cited both the elective-office and multiple-full-time-position restrictions.

Q: Did the opinion decide whether the three positions complied with government ethics rules?
A: No. The office limited its answer to dual officeholding and employment law and referred Ethics Code issues to the Board of Ethics.

Background and statutory framework

The applicant directed Evangeline Parish Police Jury Section 8, served as a Ville Platte alderman, and wanted to direct the city's housing authority. The opinion treated the parish, city, and housing authority as separate political subdivisions. La. R.S. 42:63(D) restricted an elected local officer from simultaneously holding a full-time appointive office, while La. R.S. 42:63(E) barred two full-time government offices or jobs. A part-time housing director post did not trigger those specific prohibitions in the opinion's analysis.

The opinion also suggested that the applicant resign from or reduce the parish job before taking a full-time housing appointment. It did not reconcile that suggestion with its separate conclusion that the alderman seat and a full-time appointive housing role were themselves barred by La. R.S. 42:63(D).

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 42:63(D) (elected office with full-time appointive office)
• La. R.S. 42:63(E) (two full-time government positions)
• La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 14-0167 (earlier parish-employment and alderman-seat opinion cited)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0051

Original opinion text

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

STATE OF LOUISIANA
DERRmrENT OF JUSTICE
OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL
P.O. Box 94005
BATON ROUGE, LA
70804-9005

Liz MuRRILL
ATTORNEY Gr:NERAL

JuIy9, 2024
OPINION 24-0051

Ms. Anna Frank
78 Dual Officeholding

    402 North Latour St.                            La. R.S. 42:61, etseq.                         La. R.S. 40:384, etseq.

VilIe Platte LA 70586
The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law do not prohibit a full-time employee of Evangeline Parish from serving as a member of Board of Alderman of the City of Ville Platte and as the part-time Executive Director of the Ville Platte Housing Authority.
The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law prohibit a full-time employee of Evangeline Parish from serving as the full-time Executive Director of the Ville Platte Housing Authority.
Dear Ms. Frank:

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether a full-time employee of the Evangeline Parish may serve as a member of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Ville Platte and as the Executive Director of the Ville Platte Housing Authority.

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.

Evangeline Parish operates under a police jury form of government. According to the information provided to this office, you hold full-time employment with Evangeline Parish as the Executive Director of the Evangeline Parish Police Jury Section 8, which is classified as “full time” “employment” for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.1

The City of Ville Platte is governed by the Lawrason Act, La. R.S. 33:321 et seq. The
,

City of Ville Platte has adopted a mayor-board of aldermen form of government.2 You indicated that you currently serve as a member of the Board of Alderman of the City of

1 “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).
2 La. R.S. 33:321.

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OPINION 24-0051
Ms. Anna Frank
Page 2

Ville Platte, which is classified an “elective office” for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.3

As stated in your request, you are interested applying for the position of Executive Director the Ville Platte Housing Authority while continuing to serve as the Executive Director of the Evangeline Parish Police Jury Section 8 and as a member of the Board of Alderman for the City of Ville Platte.

The Ville Platte Housing Authority was established by the City of Ville Platte as a political subdivision.4 The Authority is governed by a Board of Commissioners who are appointed by the Mayor of Ville Platte.5 The members of the Board have the authority to select a secretary who shall be the Executive Director of the Authority.6 Because the position is specifically established by the laws of the state and filled by the Board, the position of Executive Director is classified as an “appointive office” for purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.7 Depending on the number of hours worked, the position is classified as either “full time” or “part time” for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.8

Evangeline Parish, the City of Ville Platte, and the Ville Platte Housing Authority are separate political subdivisions for purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.9

The most relevant provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law are La. R.S. 42:63(D) and La. R.S. 42:63(E) which provide, in pertinent part:

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

3 “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). 4 La. R.S. 40:384(16), La. R.S. 40:391 and La. R.S. 40:392. 5 La. R.S. 40:531 (A). 6 La. R.S. 40:539(C)(1). 7 “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 state or by the charter or ordinances of any political subdivision thereof and which is filled by appointment of 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). 8 “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). “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 peace courts, district attorneys, sheriffs, clerks of court, coroners, tax assessors, registrars of voters, and all other elected parochial officials shall be separate political subdivisions. La. R.S. 42:62(9).

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Ms. Anna Frank
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appointive office in the government of this state or in the government of a political subdivision thereof. No such person shall hold at the same time employment in the government of this state, or in the same political subdivision in which he holds an elective office.

E. 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.

La. R.S. 42:63(D) does not prohibit you from serving as the Executive Director of the Evangeline Parish Police Jury Section 8, as a member of the Board of Alderman of the City of Ville Platte, and as the part-time Executive Director of the Ville Platte Housing Authority. However, both La. R.S. 42:63(D) and La. R.S.42:63(E) prohibit you from serving as the full-time Executive Director of the Authority. If you elect to serve as the full-time Executive Director of the Authority, you should resign as a full-time employee of the Evangeline Parish Police Jury Section 8 or change your employment to part-time employment prior to accepting the appointment as Executive Director to avoid violating the provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Employment Law.1°

Please note that our expressed opinion relative to state law is limited to an examination of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law. Further, it does not address the potential applicability of the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics, La. R.S. 42:1 1 01 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: 225-21 9-5600.

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,

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:___
Madeline S. Carbonette
Assistant Attorney General
LM:MSC

10 Our office has previously opined that the provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Employment Law did not prohibit you from holding employment with Evangeline Parish and serving as a member of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Ville Platte. La. Atty. Gen. Op. No. 14-0167.