| Advisory opinion request regarding the propriety of Macon Ridge Community Development Corporation seeking and/or receiving funding from the Louisiana Housing Corporation. |
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Lloyd "Buddy" Spillers assumed his position as a member of the Board of Directors for the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) on April 13, 2016. Mr. Spillers has been employed for many years as the salaried President of Macon Ridge Community Development Corporation (MRCDC), a nonprofit housing provider that has received funding in the past from the LHC and its predecessor, the Louisiana Housing Finance Agency. On October 24, 2016, the Board of MRCDC voted to allow Mr. Spillers to step down from his paid position as President of MRCDC effective October 31, 2016. As of November 1, 2016, Mr. Spillers will no longer serve as President and will only serve as an unpaid volunteer Chairman of the Board. He will be in no way involved in any projects that receive or received funds from the LHC. The MRCDC Board's removal of Mr. Spillers from his paid position as President will ensure that Mr. Spillers is completely segregated from any earned developer fees, and management or ongoing maintenance of the properties built, owned and managed by MRCDC.
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La. R.S. 40:600.90H(1) provides that if any member of the board of directors or any officer or employee of the corporation shall have an interest, either direct or indirect, in any contract to which the corporation is, or is to be, a party, or in any lending institution requesting a loan from or offering to sell insured mortgage loans to the corporation, such interest shall be disclosed to the corporation in writing and shall be set forth in the minutes of the corporation. Furthermore, La. R.S. 40:600.90H(2) provides that notwithstanding the provisions of R.S. 42:1112, no member of the board of directors and no officer or employee having such interest shall participate in any action by the corporation, including but not limited to discussion and voting on any issue bearing on that interest, and the member of the board of directors shall recuse himself from any action taken by the board of directors. Finally, La. R.S. 40:600.90F subjects LHC and its board to the Code of Governmental Ethics only to the extent that it does not conflict with La. R.S. 40:600.90.
La. R.S. 42:1112B(3) prohibits a public servant from participating in a transaction involving his governmental entity in which an person of which he is an officer, director, trustee, partner or employee has a substantial economic interest.
La. R.S. 42:1111E(1) prohibits a public servant and any legal entity, of which the public servant is a director or employee, from receiving any thing of economic value for assisting a person in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction, with the agency of such public servant.
La. R.S. 42:1111C(2)(d) prohibits a public servant and any legal entity in which the public servant exercises control or owns an interest in excess of twenty-five percent from receiving compensation for services rendered to or for any person who has or is seeking to obtain a business, contractual or financial relationship with the public servant's agency.
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Adopt the proposed advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Jennifer Land |
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