| Advisory opinion request from Erik Smith as to whether the post-employment provisions of the
Code of Governmental Ethics (Code) would prohibit him from providing
engineering services to the Department of Transportation and Development (DOTD),
through a consultant who has existing contracts or may attempt to obtain future
contracts, for both design and maintenance services. |
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Mr. Smith has been employed with the DOTD for 27 years. He currently serves as Maintenance and Communications Engineer Manager (an Engineer 7) in the Intelligent Transportation Services (ITS) (Section 56) within DOTD's Engineering and Operations Department. He has been employed in ITS since 2006. His appointing authority is the ITS Director, an Engineer 8.
In his current position, his job duties include:
1. Supervising and overseeing all Systems Engineering (SE), field device maintenance, and data voice, and video support for the statewide ITS program. This includes planning, engineering, and directing contractual resources to deploy and manage the Departments ITS infrastructure.
2. Supervising, overseeing and performing Systems Engineer troubleshooting, installation, and inspection services for ITS maintenance projects statewide. This includes facilitating SE management activities through direct supervision of professional consultant/contractors on all ITS deployed projects.
Developing and maintaining DOTD standard plans and specifications for ITS.
Mr. Smith is currently considering an offer from Intelligent Transportation Systems LLC (ITS LLC). He has also been in discussions with other firms who do similar work (Arcadis).
Intelligent Transportation Systems is a niche subset of the transportation field. Additionally, most ITS-related work in Louisiana utilizes federal dollars and is managed by the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD). As such, any firm who does work in this specific field would likely have LADOTD Contracts. Regarding ITS LLC specifically, the firm is a sub-consultant on multiple contracts with LADOTD managed through the ITS Section (Section 56). ITS LLC does not currently have a direct (Prime) contract with LADOTD. Additionally, ITS LLC has contracts with several public port authorities throughout the state. Mr. Smith understands that he will be precluded from working on any contracts with ITS-Section 56 for a two-year period following termination of his employment per Louisiana's Ethics Laws. Mr. Smith has discussed this with potential employers. ITS LLC intends for his work, during this period, to focus on clients, contracts, and projects not associated with LADOTD's ITS-Section 56. Some of his work may include public clients such as the port authorities. The contracts held by this consulting firm and others are managed by the following LADOTD employees: Lucy Kimbeng (ITS Design and Construction Group), Rosalinda Deville (ITS Integration Group), or Scott Rundell (ITS Tolling Group). These are contracts for which he does not have managerial authority.
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La. R.S. 42:1121A(1) provides no former agency head or elected official shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public service as the head of such agency or as an elected public official serving in such agency, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction, involving that former agency or render any service on a contractual basis to or for such agency.
La. R.S. 42:1121B(1) provides that no former public employee shall, for a period of two years following the termination of his public employment, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction in which such former public employee participated at any time during his public employment and involving the governmental entity by which he was formerly employed, or for a period of two years following termination of his public employment, render any service which such former public employee had rendered to the agency during the term of his public employment on a contractual basis, regardless of the parties to the contract, to, for, or on behalf of the agency with which he was formerly employed.
La. R.S. 42:1102(3) defines one meaning of "agency head" to be an administrative officer of an agency who exercises supervision over the agency.
La. R.S. 42:1102(2)(a) defines "agency" as a department, office, division, agency, commission, board, committee, or other organizational unit of a governmental entity.
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Adopt draft advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Suzanne Mooney |
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