TITLE 38. PUBLIC CONTRACTS, WORKS AND IMPROVEMENTS

CHAPTER 10. PUBLIC CONTRACTS

PART II. LETTING CONTRACTS

38:2213      Purchase and sale of land by public bodies; disclosure of names of appointed or elected officials with pecuniary interest prior to transaction; voting by members of body with pecuniary interest prohibited

 A. Each public entity shall enter in the official record of the proceedings of such entity at least seven days prior to the purchase or sale of any land by it, the names of any person known by such entity to be:

 (1) An elected official of the state or any of its political subdivisions and having a pecuniary interest in the purchase or sale of such land; or

 (2) An appointed official or employee of the public entity making the purchase or sale and having a pecuniary interest in the purchase or sale of the land.

 B. For purposes of this Section, "pecuniary interest" shall mean any interest in the consideration paid for the land. Provided, however, ownership of five percent or less of the capital stock of a partnership or limited partnership, shall not constitute "pecuniary interest" for purposes of this Section when the owner of such shares does not participate in any activity pertaining to the purchase or sale of the land.

 C. Every elected or appointed official, as defined in this Section, having a pecuniary interest in the purchase or sale of such land and knowing that he has a pecuniary interest shall notify the participating public entity concerning the extent of his pecuniary interest at least five days before the date of the purchase or sale.

 D. Any elected or appointed official, as defined in this Section, who has the power to vote on the decision whether to make such a purchase or sale of land, and who has a pecuniary interest in the purchase or sale of such land shall be prohibited from voting on the transaction. Voting on the sale or purchase of property by an elected or appointed official in violation of this Subsection shall constitute malfeasance in office.

 E. For the purposes of this Section, the purchase of land through expropriation proceeding shall not be construed as a purchase on which an elected or appointed official is prohibited from voting, if his only pecuniary interest is in the title to the property.

 F. For purposes of this Section, the purchase or sale of land shall include, but not be limited to, the purchase or sale of mineral rights, timber rights, and the letting, or acquiring of a leasehold interest, or any other interest in land.

 G. The provisions of this Section shall not be construed in any way as affecting the provisions of  R.S. 42:1111 et seq. relative to governmental ethics, or R.S. 47:2178 et seq. relative to sales of tax adjudicated lands; nor shall the provisions of this Section, or the failure to comply with them, be construed as affecting the merchantability of the title of the subject land.

Acts 1977, No. 103, §1.