| A request for an advisory opinion, submitted by Many Police Department Chief of Police Roger Freeman, as to whether the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics ("Code") would prohibit the hiring of Kyle Cook, while his father, Stanley Cook, continues his employment. |
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Stanley Cook has been employed with the Many Police Department since 2003 as the Patrol Supervisor. Stanley Cook answers directly to the Chief of Police and his job duties include handling training and patrol concerns. Chief Freeman would like to hire Stanley Cook's son, Kyle Cook, as the Assistant Chief of Police, which is an administrative position. Once Kyle Cook is hired as Assistant Chief, neither Kyle Cook nor Stanley Cook will have any supervisory responsibilities over the other.
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La. R.S. 42:1102(3) defines "agency head" to mean the chief executive or administrative officer of an agency or any member of a board or commission who exercises supervision over the agency.
La. R.S. 42:1102(15) defines "participate" to mean to take part in or to have or share responsibility for action of a governmental entity or a proceeding, personally, as a public servant of the governmental entity, through approval, disapproval, decision, recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or the failure to act or perform a duty.
La. R.S. 42:1102(23) defines a "transaction involving the governmental entity" as any proceeding, application, submission, request for a ruling or other determination, contract, claim, case, or other such particular matter which the public servant or former public servant of the governmental entity in question knows or should know: (a) Is, or will be, the subject of action by the governmental entity. (b) Is one to which the governmental entity is or will be a party. (c) Is one in which the governmental entity has a direct interest.
La. R.S. 42:1112(B)(1) states that no public servant shall participate in a transaction involving the governmental entity in which, to his actual knowledge, any member of his immediate family has a substantial economic interest.
La. R.S. 42:1112(C) allows a disqualification plan to be developed in accordance with rules adopted by the Board to remove a public servant from participating in transactions that would otherwise present violations of Section 1112 of the Code.
La. R.S. 42:1119(A) states that no member of the immediate family of an agency head shall be employed in his agency.
La. R.S. 42:1119(C)(2) provides that the provisions of this Section shall not prohibit the continued employment of any public employee nor shall it be construed to hinder, alter, or in any way affect normal promotional advancements for such public employee where a member of public employee's immediate family becomes the agency head of such public employee's agency, provided that such public employee has been employed in the agency for a period of at least one year prior to the member of the public employee's immediate family becoming the agency head.
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Adopt the proposed opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
LaToya D. Jordan |
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