| Advisory opinion request as to whether appointed board members of the Shreveport/Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission are required to file annual personal financial disclosure statements pursuant to La. R.S. 42:1124.2.1. |
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The Shreveport/Caddo Metropolitan Planning Commission's (Shreveport/Caddo MPC) was created pursuant to La. R.S. 33:140.6 with its primary responsibility being to conduct public hearings regarding zoning change applications after which members of the Shreveport/Caddo MPC vote on whether to recommend a requested zoning change to the City Council or Parish Commission for final approval. Members of the Shreveport/Caddo MPC vote to recommend its budget to the City Council for approval, but the Shreveport/Caddo MPC does not have authority to spend or disburse any of those funds without first obtaining approval for its budget from the City or Parish Council. The average annual budget for the Shreveport/Caddo MPC is $1.6-1.65 million which is used primarily to pay the salary of the Shreveport/Caddo MPC staff.
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La. R.S. 42:1124.2.1 requires financial disclosure for each member and designee of a board or commission which has the authority to expend, disburse or invest $10,000 or more of funds in a fiscal year on or before May 15th of each year during which the person holds office and the year following termination of the holding of such office.
La. R.S. 42:1124.2.1(D)(1)(a) defines a board or commission as (i) each board, commission, and like entity created by law or executive order that is made a part of the executive branch of state government by the provisions of Title 36 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, or that is placed in an executive branch department or in the office of the governor or lieutenant governor by law or executive order, or that exercises any authority or performs any function of the executive branch of state government; (ii) each board, commission, and like entity created by the constitution, by law, by a political subdivision, except as provided in Subparagraph (b) of this Paragraph, or jointly by two or more political subdivisions as a governing authority of a political subdivision of the state or of a local government.
La. R.S. 42:1124.2.1D(1)(b) states that a "board or commission" shall not mean (i) the governing authority of a parish, (ii) any board or commission or like entity that governs a political subdivision created by a single parish governing authority of a parish with a population of two hundred thousand or less, or any subdistrict of such a political subdivision, (iii) the governing authority of a municipality, (iv) any board or commission or like entity that governs a political subdivision created by a single municipal governing authority of a municipality with a population of twenty-five thousand or less, or any subdistrict of such a political subdivision, (v) a board of directors of a private nonprofit corporation that is not specifically created by law, or (vi) any board or commission that does not have the authority to expend, disburse, or invest more than $50,000 of funds in a fiscal year and whose members are not eligible to receive any compensation, per diem, or reimbursement of expenses for service on the board or commission.
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Adopt the proposed advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Jennifer Land |
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