| Advisory Opinion request of Ernest Mitchell, Fire Chief for Caddo Parish Fire Dist. 3, regarding the appointment of John Prock as a board member while his son-in-law is employed at Fire District No. 3. |
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The Caddo Parish Fire District No. 3 ("Fire District") was created by resolution of the Caddo Parish Commission and is governed by a Board of Commissioners ("Fire District Board"). The Fire District Board is comprised of five members: two members are appointed by the Caddo Parish Commission, two members are appointed by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen for the Town of Greenwood, and one member, who serves as the chairman, is selected by the other four Fire District Board members. Members serve two-year terms and receive no compensation for their services.
The First District Board will soon have a vacancy. John Prock is a possible appointee on behalf of the Town of Greenwood. Mr. Prock is the father-in-law of Jason McMullen, who has been employed as a firefighter by the Fire District for 27 years.
Fire Chief Mitchell asks whether John Prock may be appointed as a member of the Fire District Board by the Town of Greenwood while his son-in-law, Jason McMullen, is employed by the Fire District.
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La. R.S. 42:1113A(1)(a): No public servant ... or member of such a public servant's immediate family ... shall enter into any contract, subcontract, or other transaction that is under the supervision or jurisdiction of the agency of such public servant.
La. R.S. 42:1102(19): defines "public servant" to include a public employee.
La. R.S. 42:1102(18)(a): defines "public employee" to mean anyone, whether compensated or not, who is (ii) appointed by an elected official when acting in an official
capacity, and the appointment is to a post or position wherein the
appointee is to serve the governmental entity or an agency thereof,
either as a member of an agency, or as an employee thereof, (iii) engaged in the performance of a governmental function, or (iv) under the supervision or authority of an elected official or another employee of the governmental entity.
La. R.S. 42:1102(13): defines "immediate family member" as the term relates to a public servant to mean his children, the spouses of his children, his brothers and their spouses, his sisters and their spouses, his parents, his spouse, and the parents of his spouse.
La. R.S. 42:1102(a): defines "agency" to mean a department, office, division, agency…or other organizational unit of a governmental entity; (vi) for public servants of political subdivisions, it shall mean the agency in which the public servant serves.
La. R.S. 42:1102(23): defines "Transaction involving the governmental entity" to mean 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. A transaction involving the agency of a governmental entity shall have the same meaning with respect to the agency.
La. R.S. 42:1119A: No member of the immediate family of an agency head shall be employed in his agency.
La. R.S. 42:1102(3): defines "agency head" to include any member of a board or commission who exercises supervision over the agency.
La. R.S. 42:1119C(2): provides an exception to the nepotism prohibition: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 employees' 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.
La. R.S. 42:1112B(1): 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. 42:1112D: No appointed member of any board or commission, except as otherwise provided in R.S. 42:1120.4, shall participate or be interested in any transaction involving the agency when a violation of this Part would result.
La. R.S. 42:1120.4: If any appointed member of a board or commission in the discharge of a duty or responsibility of his office or position, would be required to vote on a matter which vote would be a violation of R.S. 42:1112, he shall recuse himself from voting. Additionally, the appointed member shall be prohibited from participating in discussion or debate concerning the matter.
La. R.S. 4:1102(21): defines "substantial economic interest" to mean an economic interest which is of greater benefit to the public servant or other person than to a general class or group of persons.
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Adopt the proposed advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
David Bordelon |
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