| Advisory Opinion regarding the application of the post-employment provisions to Louis Russell, II, the former Director of the Multifamily Housing Development Department for the Louisiana Housing Corporation. |
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Louis Russell, II retired as the Director of Multifamily Housing
Development with the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) on September 26, 2025.
In that role, he exercised administrative and decision-making authority over
multiple programs including: the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program, the HOME
Investment Partnerships Program (HOME), the National Housing Trust Fund (NHTF), the Tax-Exempt
Bond Program, and the Community Development Block Grant- Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR)
initiatives. His responsibilities included: developing and reviewing policy
documents such as the Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) and program guidelines for
HOME and NHTF; reviewing and approving funding awards and draw requisitions for
project disbursements; providing monthly updates and policy recommendations to
LHC's Board of Directors; and, offering direction, oversight, and training to
program staff and members of the executive team.
Mr.
Russell is seeking to potentially establish a private
firm in which he would be the sole owner. Mr. Russell, through his
company, would like to provide
development, compliance, or funding application services to affordable
housing
developers with projects funded or to be funded by LHC, specifically the
programs which he administered when he served as the Director of MFHD.
Mr. Russell may also, or in the alternative, establish a non-profit of which he would serve as the Executive Director, board member or advisor that would seek funding from LHC.
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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. 42:1121C provides that no legal entity in which a former public
servant is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee shall, for a
period of two years following the termination of his public service, assist
another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in
connection with a transaction in which such public servant at any time
participated during his public service and involving the agency by which he was
formerly employed or in which he formerly held office.
La. R.S. 42:1121D prohibits a former public servant from
sharing in any compensation received by another person for assistance with such
former public servant is prohibited from rendering by Section 1121.
La. R.S.
42:1102(2)(a)(i) defines "agency" to mean a department,
office, division, agency, commission, board, committee, or other organizational
unit of a governmental entity.
La. R.S. 42:1102 (2)(a)(vi) For
public servants of political subdivisions, "agency" 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; sheriffs and their
employees; district attorneys and their employees; coroners and their
employees; and clerks of court and their employees.
La. R.S. 42:1102(3) defines "agency head" to mean 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. 42:1102(12) defines "governmental entity" to mean
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.
La. R.S. 42:1102(15) defines "participate" to mean take part in or to have or share responsibility
for an action of a governmental entity or a proceeding, personally, as a public
servant of the governmental entity, through approval, disapproval, decision,
recommendation, the rendering of advice, investigation, or the failure to act
or perform a duty.
La. R.S. 42:1102(16) defines "person" to mean an individual or
legal entity other than a governmental entity, or an agency thereof.
La. R.S. 42:1102(18)(a) defines "public employee" to mean
anyone, whether compensated or not, who is: (i) An administrative officer or
official of a governmental entity who is not filling an elective office. (ii)
Appointed by any elected official when acting in an official capacity, and the
appointment is to a post or position wherein the appointee is to serve the
governmental entity or an agency thereof, either as a member of an agency, or
as an employee thereof. (iii) Engaged in the performance of a governmental
function. (iv) Under the supervision or authority of an elected official or
another employee of the governmental entity.
La. R.S. 42:1102(19) defines "public servant" means a
public employee or an elected official.
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Adopt the proposed advisory opinion.
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| Assigned Attorney: |
Kathryn Calmes |
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