Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics

Louisiana Revised StatutesTitle 42, Chapter 15

Sections 1101 et seq.

Northwestern State University

Office of Internal Audit

Part I◦ General Provisions

Part II◦ Ethical Standards for Public Servants

Part II-A◦ Unethical Election Practices

Part III◦ Administration, Procedure and Enforcement

Part IV ◦ Miscellaneous Provisions

Chapter 15

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§1101. Declaration of Policy

Article X, Section 21 of Louisiana Constitution

§1102. Definitions

Part IGeneral Provisions

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§1101.B Purpose of the Code of Ethics

◦ Elected officials and public employees be independent and impartial;

◦ Governmental decisions and policy be made in the proper channel of the governmental structure;

◦ Public office and employment not used for private gain other than remuneration provided by law;

◦ There be public confidence in the integrity of government.

Part IGeneral Provisions

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Immediate family as it applies to the Code of Governmental Ethics are the following individuals:

◦ Employee’s spouse◦ Employee’s children◦ Spouses of the employee’s children◦ Employee’s brothers and sisters◦ Spouses of the employee’s brothers and sisters◦ Employee’s parents◦ Parents of the employee’s spouse

Part IDefinition of Immediate Family

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§1111. Payment from Nonpublic Source

§1112. Participation in Certain Transactions Involving the Governmental Entity

§1113. Prohibited Contractual Arrangements

§1114. Financial Disclosure

§1115. Gifts

Part IIEthical Standards for Public Servants

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§1116. Abuse of Office

§1117. Illegal Payments

§1118. Influencing Action by Legislature or Governing Authority

§1119. Nepotism

§1120. Recusal from Voting

Part IIEthical Standards for Public Servants

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§1121. Assistance to Certain Persons After Termination of Public Service

§1122. Continuation in Certain Pension and Other Plans by Public Servants

§1124. Financial Disclosure; Statewide Elected Officials; Certain Public Servants

Part IIEthical Standards for Public Servants

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§1111A.(1)◦ Payments for services to the governmental entity.

No public servant shall receive anything of economic value, other than compensation and benefits from the governmental entity to which he is duly entitled. “

§1111Payment From Nonpublic Sources

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§1123(41)(a)◦ A public servant may accept admission and

reasonable lodging and transportation to an educational or professional development seminar or conference that is designed to enhance the performance of the public servant’s job duties.

§1123(41)Exceptions

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Prohibited sources of income are:

◦ Any person who has or is seeking to obtain a contractual, business, or financial relationship with the public servant’s agency; or

◦ Any person who conducts operations or activities which are regulated by the public employee’s agency; or

◦ Any person who has a substantial economic interest which may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the public employee’s official job duties.

§1111.C(1)Prohibited Sources

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§1112.B◦ “No public servant, except as provided in R.S. 42:1120,

shall participate in a transaction involving the governmental entity in which, to his actual knowledge, any of the following persons has a substantial economic interest:

(1) Any member of his immediate family.

(2) Any person in which he has a substantial economic interest of which he may reasonably be expected to know.

(3) Any person of which he is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee.

§1112Participation in Certain Transactions Involving the Governmental Entity

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§1112.B◦ (4) Any person with whom he is negotiating or has an

arrangement concerning prospective employment.

◦ (5) Any person who is a party to an existing contract with such public servant, or which any legal entity in which the public servant exercises control or owns an interest in excess of 25%, or who owns anything of economic value to such public servant, or to any legal entity in which the public servant exercises control or owns an interest in excess of 25%, and who by reason of thereof is in a position to affect directly economic interests of such public servant.

§1112Participation in Certain Transactions Involving the Governmental Entity

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§1113.A.(1)(a)◦ “No public servant, excluding any legislature and any

appointed member of any board or commission and any member of a governing authority of a parish with a population of ten thousand or less, or member of such a public servant’s immediate family, or legal entity in which he has a controlling interest shall bid on or enter into any contract, subcontract, or other transaction that is under the supervision or jurisdiction of the agency of such public servant.”

§1113Prohibited Contractual Arrangements

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§1114◦ “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 any way financially

interested in any contract, subcontract, or any transaction under the supervision or justification of the agency must disclose specific information.

§1114Financial Disclosure

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§1115.A◦ “No public servant shall solicit or accept, directly or

indirectly, anything 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:

(1) Has or is seeking to obtain contractual or other business or financial relationships with the public servant’s agency, or

(2) Is seeking, for compensation, to influence the passage or defeat of legislation by the public servant’s agency.

§1115Gifts

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§1115.B◦ “No public servant shall solicit or accept, directly or

indirectly, anything 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:

(1) Conducts operations or activities which are regulated by the public employee’s agency.

(2) Has substantial economic interests which may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the public employee’s official duty.

§1115Gifts, continued

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§1115.1.A◦ “No person from whom a public servant is

prohibited by R.S. 42:1111 or 1115(A) from receiving a thing of economic value shall give to such a public servant any food, drink, or refreshment the total value of which exceeds fifty dollars for a single event at which food, drink, or refreshment is given.”

§1115Gifts-Limitations on Food, Drink, &

Refreshment

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§1116.A◦ “No public servant shall use the authority of his office

or position, directly or indirectly, in a manner intended to compel or coerce any person or other public servant to provide himself, any other public servant, or other person with any thing of economic value.

§1116.B◦ “No public servant shall use the authority of his office

or position, directly or indirectly, in a manner intended to compel or coerce any person or other public servant to engage in political activity.”

§1116Abuse of Office

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§1117◦ “No public servant or other person shall give, pay,

loan, transfer, or deliver or offer to give, pay, loan, transfer, or deliver, directly or indirectly, to any public servant or other person anything of economic value which such public servant or other person would be prohibited from receiving by any provision of this Part.”

§1117Illegal Payments

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§1118◦ “No public servant shall solicit or receive any thing of

economic value, directly or indirectly, for, or to be used by him or a member of immediate family principally to aid in, (1) the accomplishment of the passage or defeat of any matter affecting his agency by the legislature, if his agency is a state agency, or by the governing authority, if his agency is an agency of a political subdivision, or (2) the influencing, directly, or indirectly, of the passage or defeat of any matter affecting his agency by the legislature, if his agency is a state agency, or by the governing authority, if his agency is an agency of a political subdivision”

§1118Influencing Action by Legislature or

Governing Authority

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§1119.A ◦ “No member of the immediate family of an

agency head shall be employed in his agency.”

§1119Nepotism

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§1121.B(1)

◦ “General Rule for other public employees. No former public employee shall, for a period of 2 years following the termination of his public employment, assist another person, for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction in which such former public employee participated at any time during his public employment and involving the governmental entity by which he was formerly employed, or for a period of two years following termination of his public employment, render, any service which such former public employee has rendered to the agency during the term of his public employment on a contractual basis, regardless of the parties to the contract, to, for, or on behalf of the agency with which he was formally employed.”

§1121Assistance to Certain Persons After

Termination of Public Office

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§1161.A ◦ Agency heads have a responsibility to report possible Code

violations to the Board.

§1153.A ◦ The Board has the authority to censure an elected official or other

person within its jurisdiction and to impose a fine of not more than $10,000 per violation; it does not have the authority to remove an elected official from office.

§1153.B◦ The Board has the authority to remove, suspend, reduce the pay

or demote a public employee or other person and to impose a fine of not more than $10,000 per violation.

Part IIIEnforcement and Penalties

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§1151.B◦ The Board has the authority to impose restrictions on a

former public servant to prevent appearances before his former agency and to prohibit the negotiation for or entering into business relationships with his former agency

§1152◦ The Board has the authority to rescind contracts, permits,

licenses, without contractual liability to the public, whenever the Board finds that a violation has influenced the making of such contract, permit or license, and that such rescission is in the best interest of the public.

Part IIIEnforcement and Penalties

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§1152◦ The Board may order the payment of penalties if an

investigation reveals that any public servant or other person has violated the Code to his economic advantage and penalties can include the amount of such economic advantage plus one half.

§1155.B◦ The Board is authorized to order the forfeiture of any gifts

or payments made in violation of the code.

Part IIIEnforcement and Penalties

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§1161.F◦ It is a violation of the Code to have one or more employees

on the payroll who are not rendering services for which they are being paid.

§1169◦ It is the violation of the Code for any public servant to be

disciplined or otherwise subjected to acts of reprisal for reporting to his agency head, the Board, or any person of competent authority or jurisdiction, information which he reasonably believes is in violation of any law, order, rule, or regulation within the Board’s jurisdiction or any other alleged acts of impropriety within any governmental entity.

Part IVMiscellaneous Provisions

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§1170.C◦ Commencing on January 1, 2012, each public

servant who was not required to complete education and training…shall receive a minimum of one hour of education and training on the Code of Governmental Ethics during each year of his public employment or term of office, as the case may be.

Part IVMiscellaneous Provisions

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§1170.E(2)◦ If the board discovers that a public servant failed to

complete the training required by this Section, the board shall mail by certified mail a notice of noncompliance informing the person that the training required by this Section shall be completed within thirty business days after receipt of the notice of noncompliance. The notice of noncompliance shall include the deadline for completion of training required by this Section. If the person completes the training prior to the deadline contained in the notice of noncompliance, no penalties shall be assessed against the public servant.

Part IVMiscellaneous Provisions

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The Board of Ethics do not issue opinions on past events.

Opinions requested from the Board of Ethics must be in writing and mailed to the following address:

Louisiana Ethics Administration ProgramP.O. Box 4368

Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70821

Ethics Opinions

Northwestern State UniversityOffice of Internal Audit

LA Revised Statute 42, Chapter 15 http://www.legis.state.la.us/lss/lss.asp?doc=99213 The Louisiana Code of Governmental Ethics Handout

http://www.lpgov.org/events/Orientation%20Conference%202007/Ethics%20Handout.pdf Ethics Publication, Abuse of Office

http://www.ethics.state.la.us/Pub/InfoSheets/AbuseOfOfficeRev2-09.pdf Ethics Publication, Donations http://www.ethics.state.la.us/Pub/InfoSheets/DonationsRev2-09.pdf Ethics Publication, Gifts http://www.ethics.state.la.us/Pub/InfoSheets/GiftsRev2-09.pdf Ethics Publication, Nepotism http://www.ethics.state.la.us/Pub/InfoSheets/NepotismRev2-09.pdf Ethics Publication, Post Employment

http://www.ethics.state.la.us/Pub/InfoSheets/PostEmploymentRev2-09.pdf Ethics Publication, Prohibited Contractual Arrangements

http://www.ethics.state.la.us/Pub/InfoSheets/ProhibitedContractsRev2-09.pdf Ethics Publication, Payments from Nonpublic Sources

http://www.ethics.state.la.us/Pub/InfoSheets/ProhibitedSourcesRev2-09.pdf Ethics Publication, Travel Expenses

http://www.ethics.state.la.us/Pub/InfoSheets/TravelExpensesRev2-09.pdf

Sources

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