Title 42. Public Officers and Employees

Chapter 15. Code of Governmental Ethics

Part III. Administration, Procedure and Enforcement

Subpart A. Administration

42:1134      Powers, duties, and responsibilities of the board

A. (1) The Board of Ethics may adopt, amend, repeal, and enforce rules and regulations in the manner provided by the Administrative Procedure Act¹ to carry out the provisions and purposes of this Chapter and any other law within its jurisdiction.

(2) The board shall provide for procedural rules governing the establishment and implementation of time periods for the dismissal of a complaint, the filing of a formal charge, the notification of the parties of the rendition of a decision, and the assessment of penalties.

(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection or the Administrative Procedure Act, all forms required by R.S. 42:1124, 1124.2, 1124.2.1, 1124.3, and 1124.5 shall be prepared and prescribed by the Board of Ethics as provided in this Paragraph. The board shall submit all such proposed forms to the Senate Committee on Senate and Governmental Affairs and the House Committee on House and Governmental Affairs for review and approval. The approval of each legislative committee shall be required prior to the utilization of a form to satisfy the requirements of R.S. 42:1124, 1124.2, 1124.2.1, 1124.3, or 1124.5. Upon receipt of a proposed form, the legislative committees shall meet, either separately or jointly, within sixty days to consider and act on the proposed form. Approval by either legislative committee, meeting separately, shall require a favorable vote of a majority of the members present and voting, a quorum of the legislative committee being present. Approval by the two legislative committees, meeting jointly, shall require a favorable vote of a majority of the members of each legislative committee present and voting, each committee voting separately, a quorum of the joint legislative committee being present. If the proposed form fails to receive the approval of both legislative committees within sixty days after submission by the supervisory committee, the proposed form shall be withdrawn from consideration.

B. (1) The board shall select an executive secretary who shall perform the necessary administrative and other functions that the board may delegate. The executive secretary shall be a full-time public employee and shall not engage in any employment with any other agency of the state or with a political subdivision or agency thereof or enter into any contract or subcontract with any other agency of the state or with a political subdivision or agency thereof. All investigations, normal staff functions, and legal services shall be conducted by the staff of the Department of State Civil Service under the authority and direction of the board. The board may obtain investigative assistance from any agency.

(2)(a) The board shall select an ethics administrator to serve as general counsel to the board, to provide general office management, and to perform other functions that the board may delegate.

(b) The ethics administrator shall be a full-time public employee and shall not engage in any employment with any other agency of the state or with a political subdivision or agency thereof or enter into any contract or subcontract with any other agency of the state or with a political subdivision or agency thereof. In addition, the ethics administrator shall not engage in outside business activities requiring active participation as determined by the board. For purposes of this Subparagraph, “outside business activities requiring active participation” shall include but not be limited to the practice of any profession for compensation other than in performing his public duties and responsibilities as ethics administrator.

C. The board may conduct private investigations in carrying out the board’s responsibilities and powers under this Chapter and in obtaining information to serve as a basis for recommending additional legislation related to the purposes of this Chapter.

D. The board or a panel thereof may conduct private and public hearings in the discharge of the board’s responsibilities.

E. The board may render advisory opinions with respect to the provisions of this Chapter and any other law within its jurisdiction and rules and regulations issued by the board. To facilitate this process, the board may provide by rule, for a consent agenda of proposed decisions on advisory opinions which shall be researched and prepared by the board’s staff. Such rules shall provide for removing from the consent agenda any proposed advisory opinion which a member objects to considering on the consent agenda. Only those advisory opinions which are based on and consistent with prior opinions rendered by the board or its predecessors or prior decisions made by the board shall be placed on the consent agenda. The board may review and revise any opinion prepared by staff which has been or shall be placed on the consent agenda.

F. The board shall receive reports from agencies and collect information with respect to, and conduct studies of, personal conflicts of interest of public servants within its jurisdiction.

G. The board may consult with appropriate officials with respect to conflict of interest matters affecting more than one public agency.

H. The board may consult with agency heads and with appropriate officers designated by them as to the administration of this Chapter, within the board’s jurisdiction, within their respective agencies and the regulations issued hereunder applicable to their respective agencies.

I. The board shall provide reports and information to the governor, the legislature, and to governing authorities concerning the administration of this Chapter within its jurisdiction and conflict of interest matters generally.

J. The board shall make recommendations to the governor and the legislature for revisions in the Code of Governmental Ethics² and other legislation relating to the conduct of public servants and other persons subject to the provisions of this Chapter who are within its jurisdiction.

K. The board shall do and perform such other acts, duties, and functions as are provided elsewhere in this Chapter as it shall deem appropriate in connection with the provisions of this Chapter within its jurisdiction, except those duties and functions of the Ethics Adjudicatory Board.

L. The board shall establish and implement a policy to provide information and material, in booklet form, by seminar, or by other means to any individual appointed to a public board or commission, that is not a state board or commission, which would inform them of the provisions of the Code of Governmental Ethics which are applicable to such appointed positions. The board may adopt and charge a fee, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, for any material or seminar provided pursuant to this Subsection.

M. The board shall establish a computerized data management system for the collection and dissemination of any material pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter and for the processing of any reports required to be filed with the board pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, Chapter 11 of Title 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950,³ or any other provision of law. On a regular basis, the board shall offer training on the use of this system as well as educational materials detailing the procedures necessary to file such reports electronically.

N. (1) On a regular basis, the board shall conduct educational activities, seminars, and publish appropriate materials which provide instruction and information relative to the subjects of ethics and conflicts of interest concerning the following provisions: the Code of Governmental Ethics; the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act; the provisions of Part III of Chapter 1 of Title 24 relative to lobbying of the legislature; the provisions of Part IV of Chapter 1 of Title 49 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 relative to lobbying of executive branch agencies; the provisions of Chapter 46 of Title 33 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, relative to lobbying local government; the Louisiana Riverboat Economic Development and Gaming Control Act; the Louisiana Economic Development and Gaming Corporation Act; the Louisiana Lottery Corporation Law; the Video Draw Poker Devices Control Law;⁴ and any other matter within the board’s jurisdiction or as provided in this Chapter. Such activities, seminars, and materials shall explain the law in plain language and shall be open or available to public servants in all state and local agencies, persons who do business with such agencies, candidates, lobbyists, and any other interested persons.

(2) The board shall design and make available to all interested persons via the Internet training and educational materials pertaining to the Code of Governmental Ethics; the Campaign Finance Disclosure Act; the provisions of Part III of Chapter 1 of Title 24 relative to lobbying of the legislature; the provisions of Chapter 46 of Title 33 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, relative to lobbying local government; and the provisions of Part IV of Chapter 1 of Title 49 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950 relative to lobbying of executive branch agencies.

O. The board shall publish, both in hard copy format and via the Internet, all public charges, opinions, letters of advice, and decisions of the Board of Ethics and its predecessors, the Board of Ethics for Elected Officials and the Commission on Ethics for Public Employees, concerning all of the laws under the jurisdiction of the board. In addition, the Board of Ethics shall compile and publish, both in hard copy format and via the Internet, an index referencing each such charge, opinion, letter of advice, and decision of the Board of Ethics and its predecessors, the Board of Ethics for Elected Officials and the Commission on Ethics for Public Employees, to the specific citation or citations of law on which the charge, opinion, letter of advice, or decision is based.

Acts 1979, No. 443, § 1, eff. April, 1, 1980. Amended by Acts 1981, No. 59, § 2, eff. June 17, 1981; Acts 1993, No. 909, § 1; Acts 1996, 1st Ex.Sess., No. 64, §§ 6, 10, eff. Jan. 1, 1997; Acts 2004, No. 116, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; Acts 2007, No. 315, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2008; Acts 2007, No. 442, § 1, eff. Aug. 15, 2008; Acts 2010, No. 788, § 1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 608, § 1, eff. June 7, 2012; Acts 2014, No. 857, § 2.

Footnotes

1.  R.S. 49:950 et seq.

2.  R.S. 42:1101 et seq.

3.  R.S. 18:1481 et seq.

4.  Code of Governmental Ethics, see R.S. 42:1101 et seq.; Campaign Finance Disclosure Act, see R.S. 18:1481 et seq.; lobbying provisions, see R.S. 24:50 et seq.; Louisiana Riverboat Economic Development and Gaming Corporation Act, see R.S. 27:41 et seq. (redesignated from R.S. 4:501 et seq.); Louisiana Economic Development and Gaming Corporation Act, see R.S. 27:201 et seq. (redesignated from R.S. 4:601 et seq.); Louisiana Lottery Corporation Law, see R.S. 47:9000 et seq.; Video Draw Poker Devices Control Law, see R.S. 27:301 et seq. (redesignated from 33:4862.1 et seq.)