2011-1632 - Laserfiche WebLink

STATE OF LOUISIANA DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE *0 "i �A LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS P.O. BOX 4368 BATON ROUGE, LA 70821 • ,,,a` (225)219-5600 aun" FAX (225)381-7271 1-800-842-6630 vww.ethics.state la us February 1, 2012 Mr. Steven R. Thomas, Chief Defender 11th& 42nd Judicial Districts P.O. Box 1004 Mansfield, LA 71052 Re: Board Docket No. 2011-1632 Dear Mr. Thomas: The Louisiana Board of Ethics, at its January 20, 2012 meeting, considered your request for an advisory opinion regarding whether you are required to pay the utilities at the 11'"/42"`'Judicial District Indigent Defender's Office from your personal salary or whether payment can be made from the 1p"/42nd Judicial District Indigent Defender Fund. In your advisory opinion request you noted BD 2009-951, which stated that District Defender for the 271" Judicial District may not be reimbursed for 2/3 of his office expenses by the District Defender's Office when he owns the building as he would be in violation of Section 1113A. You stated that it was your impression that Mr. Lopez (the District Defender in BD No. 2009-951) also operated a private law practice out of his office for which he received 2/3 of his office expenses for operation of the 27'"Judicial District Defender's Office. In your case the office for the 11`"/42nd Judicial District Indigent Defender fund is also located in a building which you privately own. You and three(3)other full-time employees,spend 100%of your time in the administration and day-to-day operations of said political subdivision. All utilities and telephones, signage, etc. are in the name of the 11`"/42nd Judicial District Defender's Office. No private practice or any other business activity exists in the office other than the Indigent Defender Office. Essentially, the office is 100% District Defender and nothing in the office is dedicated to a private practice. Based on the above-referenced decision you have continued to pay for the utilities and telephones for the office out of your salary. However, it is your contention that the prohibition of Section 1113A is intended to prevent public officials from obtaining favor or profit from their public positions. According to your request a distinction should be drawn between this opinion and the previous opinion because you cannot see how the Section 1113A prohibition should apply to keeping the lights and telephones on in a full-time public defender office through monthly payments to three (3) public utilities: Cleco, AT&T, and Verizon. In conversations with you and Mr.Roger Harris(General Counsel for the Louisiana Public Defender Board), you stated that you have no intentions to negotiate a separate contract with the Louisiana Public Defender Board or the 11th/42n8 Judicial District Indigent Defender Office. You will simply be paying directly from the fund established by La. R.S. 15:168. You stated that you pay all -(N EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER