| Advisory Opinion Request from Josh Guillory as to whether the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act (the "CFDA") permits a host of a radio show to be a candidate for the Louisiana State Senate. |
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Mr. Guillory currently hosts the "Josh Guillory Show," a local radio show broadcast on KPEL radio discussing national and state political issues (the "Radio Show"). The Radio Show is privately funded and avoids discussing campaign related matters.
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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: (d) Neither performed for nor compensated by 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; conducts operations or activities which are regulated by the public employee's agency; or has substantial economic interests which may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the public employee's official duty.
La. R.S. 18:492A(5) provides that an action objecting to the candidacy of a person who qualified as a candidate shall be based on the grounds that the defendant falsely certified on his notice of candidacy that he does not owe any outstanding fines, fees or penalties pursuant to the CFDA.
La. R.S. 18:1495.5B(4) requires candidates to disclose all contributions received during the reporting period for which the report is being completed.
La. R.S. 18:1483(6)(b)(i) defines "contribution" to include contributions in-kind made for the purpose of supporting, opposing, or otherwise influencing the nomination or election of a person to public office, having an attributable monetary value in excess of twenty-five dollars. Contributions in-kind shall include without limitation: the donation by any person, other than a candidate or a political committee, of the services of paid employees, the value of which services exceeds twenty-five dollars, such value to be the amount paid for such services; the donation of, or the donation of the right to use, any item of tangible property when the same is used or consumed and not exchanged or converted to cash or the equivalent of cash and when the accepting candidate, the chairman of the accepting political committee, or accepting person required to file reports under the CFDA and the campaign treasurer of such recipient, if any, determines that its value or the use value, when only the right of use is given, exceeds twenty-five dollars and such determination shall be prima facie evidence of the correctness of the valuation of the item or of the use value when applicable.
La. R.S. 42:1102(2)(a)(iv) defines "agency" to mean, for public servants in the legislative branch of state government, it shall mean the agency or house of the legislature by which a public employee is employed and the legislative branch in the case of legislators.
La. R.S. 42:1102(19) defines "public servant" to mean a public employee or elected official.
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Adopt proposed advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Charles Reeves |
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