Can a St. Mary Parish council member work full-time as a doctor for the parish hospital district?

Plain-English summary

Bret Allain asked whether a St. Mary Parish council member could also be a full-time physician for St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. 1. The attorney general said the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law did not prohibit that combination.

The council seat counted as elective office. The physician position, hired by the hospital district's board, counted as full-time employment rather than an appointive office. The parish and the hospital service district were separate political subdivisions. The provision examined barred another elective or full-time appointive office in state or political subdivision government, as well as state employment or employment in the same subdivision as the local elective office. It did not bar this full-time employment in the separate district. The opinion expressly left possible Ethics Code issues unanswered.

What this means for you

Parish council members

The opinion allowed the described council seat and full-time hospital district physician job under the dual-officeholding law. The result depended on the physician role being employment in a separate subdivision, rather than a second elective or full-time appointive office.

Hospital district officials

The office treated the district as a separate political subdivision from St. Mary Parish and the physician role as full-time employment. It did not decide whether separate ethics requirements affected the proposed hire.

Physicians considering public service

The opinion's answer applied to the specific council seat and district employment described. It did not resolve general ethics questions about a council member's relationship with the hospital district.

Common questions

Q: Can a St. Mary Parish council member be a full-time hospital district doctor?
A: The attorney general said yes under the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law for the physician employment described.

Q: Why was full-time work allowed here?
A: The doctor role was employment in a separate hospital service district, not an appointive office or employment in the same subdivision as the council seat.

Q: Did the opinion rule on ethics conflicts involving the hospital district?
A: No. It left possible Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics issues to the state Board of Ethics.

Background and statutory framework

St. Mary Parish's elected council had created the hospital service district, which was governed by commissioners appointed by the council. The district's board wished to hire a full-time physician. La. R.S. 46:1053(B) appeared in the opinion for the district board's appointment structure. The office applied La. R.S. 42:63(D) to the council seat and physician job, finding no bar because the job was employment in a separate political subdivision.

Citations and references

• La. R.S. 46:1053(B) (hospital district board appointment)
• La. R.S. 42:63(D) (dual officeholding and employment restriction)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0062

Original opinion text

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

STATE OF LOUISIANA
DE:1ARTII:x1 OF JUSTICE
OFF[UE oF THE ATTORNEY (;ENIIAL
P.O. Box 94OO
BAToN RoCs;E, LÀ
70804-9005

Liz MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

July 26, 2024
OPINION 24-0062

78 Dual Officeholding
Mr. Bret Allain
1 097 Northwest Blvd. La. R.S. 42:61, etseq. La. R.S. 46:1051, etseq.
Franklin, Louisiana 70538
The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual
Employment Law do not prohibit a member of the St. Mary Parish Council from serving as a full-time physician with the
Dear Mr. Allain: St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. 1.

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether a member of the St.
Mary Parish Council may serve as a full-time physician with the St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. 1.

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 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 and Dual Employment Law.

St. Mary Parish operates under a home rule charter that provides for an elected council form of government.1 The Council is composed of members who are elected from each of the districts located within St. Mary Parish.2 A member of the St. Mary Parish Council holds an “elective office” for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.3

The St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. I was created by the St. Mary Parish Council as a political subdivision of the State pursuant to the provisions of La. R.S.
46:1051 et seq. The Hospital Service District is governed by a Board of Commissioners ,

who are appointed by the Council.4 According to the information provided to this office,

ArtiCle I, Section 1-01 and 1-02, St. Mary Parish Home Rule charter.
2 Article II, Section 2-01, St. Mary Parish Home Rule Charter.

“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).
La. R.S. 46:1053(B).

Page 2

OPINION 24-0062
Mr. Bret Allain
Page 2

the Board desires hire a full-time physician which is classified as “full time” “employment” for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.5

St. Mary Parish and St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. I are separate political subdivisions for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.6

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

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 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.

The prohibition of La. R.S. 42:63(D) does not apply because the elective office and the employment are in separate political subdivisions.

Therefore, based on the applicable provisions of law and the information you have provided, it is the opinion of this office that the provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law do not prohibit a member of the St. Mary Parish Council from serving as a full-time physician with the St. Mary Parish Hospital Service District No. I.

Please note that our expressed opinion relative to state law is limited to an examination of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment provisions. 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: 225-21 9-5600.

5 “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). 6 “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, registrars of voters, and all other elected parochial officials shall be separate political subdivisions. La. R.S. 42:62(9).

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OPINION 24-0062
Mr. Bret Allain
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,

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY: W(j1LOJ9’?2FtLL.’
Madeline S. Carbonette
Assistant Attorney General

LM: MSC