| Advisory opinion request regarding whether Kyle Kennington, a member of the Desoto Parish Police Jury, and employed as Senior Vice President of Community Bank of Louisiana, is required to file a disclosure statement pursuant to R.S. 42:1114 while the Police Jury and Bank has a business and financial relationship. |
|
Kyle Kennington is currently employed as the Senior Vice President of Community Bank of Louisiana. Mr. Kennington was elected to the Desoto Parish Police Jury on April 24, 2021 in a special election to fill the unexpired term of Nicholas Gasper. Desoto Parish maintains accounts with Community Bank.
Prior to his election, Mr. Kennington requested an advisory opinion regarding his continued employment with Community Bank if elected to the Police Jury. In Docket No. 2019-561 (attached hereto), Mr. Kennington was advised that his continued employment would not be prohibited by R.S. 42:1111C(2)(d) pursuant to the exception contained in R.S. 39:1233.1. He was advised that if he was elected he would be required to file disclosure statements pursuant to R.S. 39:1233.1 disclosing his recusal from matters coming before the Police Jury involving Community Bank; and, he would be required to file an annual disclosure statement pursuant to R.S. 42:1114 disclosing his compensation received from Community Bank as such compensation is derived from a person that has a contractual, business or other financial relationship with the Police Jury. Mr. Kennington has filed the banking disclosures as required by R.S. 39:1233.1 and his personal financial disclosure statement as required by R.S. 42:1124.2. However, Mr. Kennington has failed to file financial disclosure statements pursuant to R.S. 42:1114 for 2021 and 2022.
New information included in this request regarding the filing of an R.S. 42:1114 disclosure by his wife that was not included in his initial advisory opinion request is that his wife is employed as an Operations Specialist/Auditor with Capital One Bank of which Desoto Parish also maintains accounts with this bank.
|
|
La. R.S. 42:1111C(2)(d) provides that no public servant and no legal entity in which the public servant exercises control or owns an interest in excess of twenty-five percent, shall receive any thing of economic value for or in consideration of services rendered, or to be rendered, to or for any person during his public service unless such services are neither performed for nor compensated by any person from who such public servant would be prohibited by R.S. 42:1115A(1) or (B) from receiving a gift.
La. R.S. 42:1115A(1) provides that no public servant shall solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, any thing of economic value as a gift or gratuity from any person or from any officer, director, agent, or employee of such person, if such public servant knows or reasonably should know that such person has or is seeking to obtain contractual or other business or financial relationships with the public servant's agency.
La. R.S. 39:1233.1 provides that notwithstanding any provision of Chapter 15 of Title 42 of the Revised Statutes of 1950 or any other law to the contrary, any member of a local depositing authority, including the chief executive officer thereof, may serve as an officer, director, or employee, whether compensated or not, of any national or state bank; provided that he shall recuse himself from voting in favor of any such bank and shall disclose the reason for such recusal by filing same into the minutes or record of the local depositing authority and by forwarding a disclosure form to the Board of Ethics. La. R.S. 42:1112B(3) prohibits a public servant from participating in a governmental transaction in which any person of which he is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee has a substantial economic interest.
La. R.S. 42:1114A Other than a legislator, each public servant and each member of his immediate family who derives any thing of economic value, directly, through any transaction involving the agency of such public servant or who derives any thing of economic value of which he may be reasonably expected to know through a person which (1) is regulated by the agency of such public servant, or (2) has bid on or entered into or is in any way financially interested in any contract, subcontract, or any transaction under the supervision or jurisdiction of the agency of such public servant shall disclose the following:
(1) The amount of income or value of any thing of economic value derived; (2) The nature of the business activity; (3) Name and address, and relationship to the public servant, if applicable; and (4) The name and business address of the legal entity, if applicable.
La. R.S. 42:1111C(5)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subparagraph (2)(d) of this Subsection, the spouse of a public servant may continue employment with a person who has or is seeking a contractual or other business or financial relationship with the public servant's agency provided all of the following conditions are met:
(i) The spouse is a salaried or wage-earning employee and has been continuously employed by the person for at least one year prior to the date the compensated employment would have otherwise initially been prohibited.
(ii) The compensation of the spouse is substantially unaffected by a contractual or other business or financial relationship with the public servant's agency.
(iii) Neither the public servant nor the spouse is an owner, officer, director, trustee, or partner in the legal entity which has or is seeking to have the relationship with the public servant's agency.
(iv) The public servant recuses or disqualifies himself from participating in any transaction involving the spouse's employer in accordance with R.S. 42:1112 and related rules and regulations.
(v) Either prior to or within ten business days of the date the compensated employment would otherwise be prohibited, the spouse and the public servant jointly file with the Board of Ethics a written notice containing a brief description of the nature of the contractual, business, or financial relationship with the public servant's agency, the date the spouse was employed by the person, and any other information required by the board.
(vi) The spouse complies with the disclosure requirements in R.S. 42:1114.
|
|
|
Adopt the proposed advisory opinion.
|
|
| Assigned Attorney: |
Tracy Barker |
|
|