| Advisory Opinion request regarding whether Vincent Latino, Jr., a former employee of DOTD, can perform services for DOTD post-employment. |
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Vincent Latino Jr. retired from the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development on June 15, 2022. At the time of retirement, he held the position of Assistant Secretary of Operation since October 2017. He is now continuing his career in the private sector and inquires what level of conduct with the DOTD would be allowed and/or prohibited.
The main two private sector positions he is seeking would be a client relations/business development type position and/or a management type position.
The essential duties of a client relation/business development position would include:
- Initiating, developing, and maintaining client relations with Louisiana clients, including the DOTD. DOTD clients would be within the Office of Engineering, Office of Planning, Office of Multimodal Commerce and/or Office of Operations.
- Meeting with Louisiana clients to discuss the scope of services and project requirements for future advertisements for engineering and related service projects advertised under La. R.S. 42:285 et seq. DOTD clients would be the Office of Engineering, Office of Planning, Office of Multimodal Commerce and/or the Office of Operations.
- Managing the preparations of proposals, presentations, contracting actions, and invoicing for future projects. The future projects would be managed within the Office of Engineering, Office of Multimodal Commerce and/or Office of Operations.
- Meeting with DOTD Project Managers in the Office of Engineering, Office of Planning, Office of Multimodal Commerce, and/or Office of Operations to discuss the firm's performance on existing contracts and the firm's performance on future contracts.
The essential duties of a management-type position would include:
- Leading, managing, and supervising conflating staff performing engineering and related service contracts for contracts managed by DOTD staff within the Office of Engineering, Office of Planning, Office of Multimodal Commerce, and/or Office of Operations.
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La. R.S. 42:1121A(1) provides that 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 agency or render any service on a contractual basis to or for such agency.
La. R.S. 42:1102(2)(a) "Agency" means a department, office, division, agency, commission, board, committee, or other organizational unit of a governmental entity. For purposes of this Chapter, "agency of the public servant" and "his agency" when used in reference to the agency of a public servant shall mean:
(i) For public servants in the twenty principal departments of the executive branch of state government, the office in which such public servant carries out his primary responsibilities; except that in the case of the secretary, deputy secretary, or undersecretary of any such department and officials carrying out the responsibilities of such department officers it shall mean the department in which he serves; and except that in the case of public servants who are members or employees of a board or commission or who provide staff assistance to a board or commission, it shall mean the board or commission.
La. R.S. 42:1102(3) "Agency head" means 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. 42:1121B(1) General rule for other public employees. 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.
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Adopt the proposed Advisory Opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Mallory Guillot |
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