| Advisory Opinion request from Carroll Snyder, Mayor for the Town of Krotz Springs (Pop. 904) in St. Landry Parish, regarding the Town's purchase of property co-owned by the Mayor and Aldermen Larry Martinez, Jr. |
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Carroll Snyder serves as the Mayor for the Town of Krotz Springs. His current term ends on December 31, 2026. Larry Martinez Jr. serves as a member of the Board of Aldermen for the Town. His current term also ends on December 31, 2026.
Mr. Snyder and Mr. Martinez are co-owners of a piece of immovable property which the Town is interested in purchasing for the purpose of using it as a document storage facility. The appraised value of the property is $37,200.
Mr. Snyder asks whether the Town is prohibited from purchasing the immovable property co-owned by himself and Alderman Martinez. Specifically, he asks whether this transaction may be legally permissible as long as there is compliance with the procedures set forth in La. R.S. 48:2213.
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La. R.S. 42:1113(A)(1)(a): No public servant, excluding any legislator and any appointed member of any board or commission and any member of a governing authority of a parish with a population of ten thousand or less, or member of such a public servant's immediate family, or legal entity in which he has a controlling interest shall bid on or 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 provides the following definitions:
(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: (vi) For public servants of political subdivisions, it shall mean the agency in which the public servant serves, except that for members of any governing authority and for the elected or appointed chief executive of a governmental entity, it shall mean the governmental entity. Public servants of political subdivisions shall include, but shall not be limited to, elected officials and public employees of municipalities, parishes, and other political subdivisions;
(8) "Controlling interest" means any ownership in any legal entity or beneficial interest in a trust, held by or on behalf of an individual or a member of his immediate family, either individually or collectively, which exceeds twenty-five percent of that legal entity.
(9) "Elected official" means any person holding an office in a governmental entity which is filled by the vote of the appropriate electorate. It shall also include any person appointed to fill a vacancy in such offices.
(12) "Governmental entity" means the state or any political subdivision which employs the public employee or employed the former public employee or to which the elected official is elected, as the case may be.
(19) "Public servant" means a public employee or an elected official.
(23) "Transaction involving the governmental entity" means 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.
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Decline to render opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
David Bordelon |
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