Can a Louisiana parish council member also work for the district attorney's office in the same parish?

Plain-English summary

Becky Chustz, First Assistant District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District, asked the Louisiana AG whether a member of the Iberville Parish Council could simultaneously work for the District Attorney's office. The AG said the answer depends on the specific DA position, but the combination is barred in two situations: when the DA position is an appointive office, or when the parish council funds the DA position's salary.

The analysis runs through three layers of Louisiana's Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law (La. R.S. 42:61 et seq.):

Layer 1: Classifying each role.
- A member of the Iberville Parish Council holds an "elective office" under La. R.S. 42:62(1) because it is established by the home rule charter and filled by vote of citizens.
- DA office positions split into two categories. Under La. R.S. 16:6 (which authorizes DA expense allowances for "stenographers, clerks and secretaries, and salaries of special officers, investigators and other employees"), the AG classifies stenographer, clerk, secretary, special officer, and investigator positions as "appointive offices" under La. R.S. 42:62(2). All other DA employees hold positions of "employment" under La. R.S. 42:62(3).

Layer 2: Different political subdivisions. The Parish of Iberville and the District Attorney's office are separate political subdivisions for dual-officeholding purposes.

Layer 3: Applying the bars.

La. R.S. 42:63(D) prohibits a person holding an elective office in a political subdivision from simultaneously holding "another elective office or full-time appointive office in the government of this state or in the government of a political subdivision thereof." So a council member cannot hold a full-time appointive position in the DA's office (the stenographer, clerk, secretary, special officer, or investigator categories under La. R.S. 16:6).

For non-appointive DA positions (general "employment" categories), La. R.S. 42:63(D) does not, on its face, bar the combination across separate political subdivisions. But La. R.S. 42:64(A)(6) adds an "incompatible offices" bar that operates whenever "[f]unds received by one office or employment are deposited with or turned over to the other office or position." Because La. R.S. 16:6 authorizes parish funding of DA expenses (including employee salaries), any DA employee paid from parish appropriations is incompatible with a council seat. The funding stream creates the conflict.

Bottom line: A parish council member can serve as a DA employee only if (a) the position is not in the appointive-office categories under La. R.S. 16:6 and (b) the position's salary is not funded by the parish council. In a parish where the council funds the DA's office (which is common under La. R.S. 16:6), most employee positions will trigger the funding-stream bar.

The AG limited the opinion to the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law and noted that the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics (La. R.S. 42:1111 et seq.) and the state civil service laws apply separately and may impose additional restrictions.

What this means for you

If you are a parish council member considering DA employment. Run the two filters: is the position one of the named appointive categories (stenographer, clerk, secretary, special officer, investigator)? Does the parish council appropriate the funds that pay the salary? A "no" to both is required before the combination works. If even one yields a "yes," the position is barred.

If you are a district attorney evaluating a candidate who serves on a parish council. Ask the candidate to identify the position by category and check the funding source on the personnel ledger. The funding question turns on whether the parish council appropriates the money under La. R.S. 16:6, not on the bank account from which the check is cut.

If you are a parish council weighing whether to fund a DA position. The funding decision can flip the dual-office analysis for a sitting council member. If the council appropriates funds for a DA position that a council colleague holds, the colleague is in violation of La. R.S. 42:64(A)(6). Either remove the colleague from the DA payroll, transfer the funding to a non-parish source, or have the colleague step down from the council.

If you sit on the parish council and learn mid-term that your DA position is parish-funded. Stop drawing the funded salary, request the parish to transfer your funding to a different source if one is available, or resign one of the two positions. Continuing in both while parish funding flows to your DA salary violates the statute.

If you are advising a parish on its DA expense appropriations under La. R.S. 16:6. The statute permits but does not require parish funding of DA expenses. If maintaining flexibility for council members or other dual-position holders matters, the parish has discretion over how much (if any) of the DA expense allowance to fund.

Common questions

Q: What positions in the DA's office are "appointive offices" under this opinion?
A: The AG follows La. R.S. 16:6's list: stenographer, clerk, secretary, special officer, and investigator. All other DA employees are in the "employment" category. The position title and actual duties control, not how the office labels the role internally.

Q: Does the funding bar trigger only when the parish council is the sole funder?
A: The opinion is not explicit on partial funding. The safer reading of La. R.S. 42:64(A)(6) is that any flow of council-appropriated funds to a DA position the council member holds is enough to trigger the bar. If the parish funds, say, 30 percent of a position's salary, the funding-stream relationship still exists. Consult counsel for a borderline case.

Q: I'm a part-time clerk for the DA. Does this opinion bar my council seat?
A: The La. R.S. 42:63(D) bar is on full-time appointive offices. A part-time clerk position would not be barred by that subsection. But you would still face the La. R.S. 42:64(A)(6) funding-stream incompatibility test if parish council funds your salary. Check the funding source.

Q: Can I hold a council seat plus an Assistant DA position (a lawyer in the DA's office)?
A: Assistant DA is a different analysis because La. R.S. 16:6 lists specific employee categories. Assistant DAs are typically classified as employees of the DA's office. The Code of Governmental Ethics also has additional restrictions on attorneys in this combination. A separate AG opinion or Board of Ethics opinion targeting that specific combination would be the safer source.

Q: Does this apply if I'm a parish council member in one parish and the DA's office is in a different parish?
A: The opinion analyzes a same-parish combination. Cross-parish combinations would be analyzed under the same statutory framework, but the funding-stream bar may not apply if no parish funds flow between the two offices. The political-subdivision analysis would also need to confirm that the council parish and the judicial district are distinct subdivisions, which they usually are.

Background and statutory framework

Constitutional foundation. La. Const. art. X, § 22 authorizes the legislature to enact dual-employment and dual-officeholding laws. La. Const. art. V, § 26 establishes the office of district attorney for each judicial district.

District attorney authority and expense allowances. La. R.S. 16:1 et seq. governs district attorneys. La. R.S. 16:6 authorizes parish police juries (parish governing authorities) to pay from their general fund expense allowances for DA stenographers, clerks, secretaries, special officers, investigators, and other employees, plus stationery, forms, telephones, transportation, travel, postage, hotel, and other expenses "incurred in the discharge of their official duties."

Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law. La. R.S. 42:61 et seq. La. R.S. 42:62 contains the controlling definitions: elective office (subd. 1), appointive office (subd. 2), employment (subd. 3), full time (subd. 4), political subdivision (subd. 9). La. R.S. 42:63(D) bars an elective-office holder from also holding another elective office or a full-time appointive office. La. R.S. 42:64(A)(6) adds an incompatible-offices bar when funds received by one office are deposited or turned over to the other.

Iberville Parish structure. Iberville Parish operates under a home rule charter with a president-council form of government, established under La. Const. art. VI, § 5.

Outside the opinion's scope. State civil service laws, the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics (La. R.S. 42:1111 et seq.) administered by the Louisiana State Board of Ethics, and any Rules of Professional Conduct applicable to attorneys.

Liz Murrill is the Attorney General of Louisiana. Madeline S. Carbonette signed the opinion as Assistant Attorney General.

Citations and references

Constitutional provisions:
- La. Const. art. V, § 26 (district attorney offices)

Statutes:
- La. R.S. 16:1 et seq. (district attorneys)
- La. R.S. 16:6 (parish expense allowance for DA employees)
- 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(2) (appointive office)
- La. R.S. 42:62(3) (employment)
- La. R.S. 42:62(4) (full time)
- La. R.S. 42:63(D) (bar on elective + appointive combinations)
- La. R.S. 42:64(A)(6) (incompatible-offices bar based on funding stream)
- La. R.S. 42:1111 et seq. (Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics, noted outside scope)

Source

• Landing page: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinions
• Original PDF: https://www.ag.state.la.us/Opinion/Download/24-0130

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

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

February 27, 2025

OPINION 24-0130

Ms. Becky Chustz
First Assistant District Attorney
18th Judicial District
P.O. Box 880
Plaquemine, Louisiana 70765

78 Dual Officeholding
La. R.S. 42:61, et seq.
La. R.S. 16:1, et seq.
La. Const. art. 5, § 26

The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law prohibit a member of the Iberville Parish Council from serving as an employee of the District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District if the position is an appointive office or is funded by the Iberville Parish Council.

Dear Ms. Chustz:

Our office received your request for an opinion regarding whether a member of the Iberville Parish Council may serve as an employee of the District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District.

Question: Whether a member of the Iberville Parish Council may serve as an employee of the District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District.

Conclusion: The provisions of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law prohibit a member of the Iberville Parish Council from serving as an employee of the District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District if the position is an appointive office or is funded by the Iberville Parish Council.

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.

Iberville Parish is a local governmental subdivision operating under a home rule charter under the authority of La. Const. art. VI, § 5. The charter provides for a president-council form of government. A member of the Council holds an "elective office" for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.

The District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District, who is an elected official, is authorized to hire employees as necessary. While you stated the position is full time, you did not identify the position. The positions of stenographer, clerk, secretary, special officer and investigator are classified as "appointive offices" for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law. All other employees hold positions of "employment" for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.

The Parish of Iberville and the District Attorney are considered separate political subdivisions of the state for the purposes of the Dual Officeholding and Dual Employment Law.

OPINION 24-0130
Ms. Becky Chustz
Page 2

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.

Louisiana Revised Statute 42:63(D) prohibits holding an elective office and a full-time appointive office. The Council member is prohibited from holding a position classified as an appointive position.

You have concerns that the positions may be incompatible offices because the Parish of Iberville funds certain expenses of the District Attorney's Office in accordance with the provisions of La. R.S. 16:6. If the salary of an employee, whether holding an appointive

OPINION 24-0130
Ms. Becky Chustz
Page 3

office or employment, is funded by Iberville Parish, the positions would also be incompatible offices pursuant to La. R.S. 42:64(A)(6).

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 prohibit a member of the Iberville Parish Council from serving as an employee of the District Attorney for the 18th Judicial District if the position is an appointive office or is funded by the Iberville Parish Council.

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 State of Louisiana civil service laws, rules and regulations. Further, it does not address the potential applicability of the provisions of the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics, 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,

LIZ MURRILL
ATTORNEY GENERAL

BY:
Madeline S. Carbonette
Assistant Attorney General

LM: MSC