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STATE OF LOUISIANA ' ........... DEPARTMENT OF STATE CIVIL SERVICE " 06r It LOUISIANA BOARD OF ETHICS P.0. BOX 4368 BATON ROUGE,LA 70821 / (225)219-5600 FAX (225)381-7271 1-800-842-6630 www ethicsnla goy August 20, 2018 Mr. Eric P. Duplantis Assistant District Attorney 16T"Judicial District 500 Main St. Franklin, LA 70538 Re: Ethics Board Docket No. 2018-776 Dear Mr. Duplantis: The Louisiana Board of Ethics, at its August 17, 2018 meeting, considered your request for an advisory opinion regarding whether the Code of Governmental Ethics would prohibit a construction company, Pelican Contractors of Louisiana, LLC, from transacting business with St. Mary Parish when a St. Mary Parish Councilman, Dale Rogers is an employee of Pelican Contractors of Louisiana. You provided two scenarios for consideration. In the first scenario you stated that Dale Rogers was merely an employee with no ownership interest in the construction company and he would receive no commission if the construction company were to transact business with the parish. In the second scenario you stated that the parish councilman owned more than twenty-five (25%) percent of the construction company. The Board concluded and instructed me to inform you, that generally the Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics (Code) would prohibit St. Mary Parish from transacting business with a construction company that employs a St. Mary Parish councilman. La. R.S. 42:1111C(2)(d) prohibits a public servant and a legal entity in which the public servant exercises control or owns an interest in excess of twenty-five percent, from receiving any thing of economic value for services rendered to or for any person during his public service unless such services are neither performed for nor compensated by any person who has or is seeking to have a contractual,business or financial relationship with the public servant's agency. However,you provided information that Dale Rogers is a salaried or wage-earning employee of the construction company,his salary would be unaffected by the contractual relationship between the construction company and St. Mary Parish, and Dale Rogers owns no more than twenty-five percent of the company and is not an officer,director,trustee, or partner of the company. Given those facts,the Board applied the exception in BD82-02D,a copy of which is attached,and concluded that the Code would not prohibit the construction company from transacting business with St. Mary Parish. However,La.R.S.42:1114 requires Mr.Rogers to file an annual statement by May 15TH disclosing the income he received in the prior calendar year from Pelican Contractors of Louisiana. A copy of the form to facilitate this filing is enclosed. AN EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER