§14.  Senate confirmations

A.  Whenever an appointment to public office, whether to a board, commission, committee, or district, or to an executive or other office in the executive branch of state government or in a local governmental entity, and whether to fill an initial or succeeding full term of office or the unexpired portion of a term of office, is made by the governor, the governor shall submit the appointment to the Senate for confirmation.

B.  Whenever an appointment to public office, whether to a board, commission, committee, or district, or to an executive or other office, and whether to fill an initial or succeeding full term of office or the unexpired portion of a term of office is made by a public official other than the governor, the public official making the appointment shall submit the name of the appointee to the Senate for confirmation if the constitution or statute providing for the appointment requires that the appointment be made with advice and consent of the Senate, with consent of the Senate, subject to confirmation by the Senate, or in any other language requiring confirmation by the Senate.

C.  If the legislature is in regular session, any public official making an appointment subject to Senate confirmation shall submit the name of the appointee to the Senate for confirmation within forty-eight hours after the appointment is made.  Failure of the Senate to confirm the appointment prior to the end of the session shall constitute rejection.

D.  If the legislature is not in regular session, the public official making an appointment subject to Senate confirmation may make interim appointments which shall expire at the end of the next regular session unless submitted to and confirmed by the Senate during that session.

E.  When a statute requires confirmation by the Senate of all or a part of a board or commission before the board or commission can begin any official business, and when the appointing public official has submitted the names of the appointees to the Senate for confirmation, the president of the Senate shall call the Senate into a special confirmation meeting not to exceed three days to consider confirmation of only those appointees.  Each appointee confirmed during this special meeting may serve as an interim appointee until the end of the next regular session unless again submitted to and confirmed by the Senate during that session.  The appointment of any appointee not confirmed by the Senate at the special meeting shall expire at the end of the special confirmation meeting and that person shall not be appointed to the same office during any recess of the legislature.

F.  In order for an appointee to be confirmed, the name of the appointee shall be submitted by the appointing public official to the Senate during the next regular session following the appointment and a majority of the elected members of the Senate must vote in favor of confirming the appointee in open session during that regular session.  The Senate can refuse to confirm an appointee by either taking no action at all or by voting not to confirm an appointee in open session.

G.  The appointment of any appointee who is not confirmed by the Senate or who is not submitted to the Senate for confirmation, or who is not reconfirmed pursuant to Subsection K of this Section, notwithstanding the provision of R.S. 42:2, during the regular session shall expire at the end of the regular session and a vacancy shall be immediately created for that position.  The appointee shall not be appointed to the same office during any recess of the legislature.

H.(1)(a) In the event a person is not submitted to or is not confirmed by the Senate, or is submitted to the Senate for reconfirmation but not reconfirmed by the Senate pursuant to Subsection K of this Section, and the person attempts to remain in office after being advised by the Senate, through its president, by certified mail, return receipt requested, of his lack of confirmation or reconfirmation, and acts in his official capacity, any action taken by a public body in which such person participates shall be null and void.  The Senate, through its president, shall notify any person not submitted to the Senate for confirmation or not confirmed by the Senate and any person submitted to the Senate for reconfirmation but not reconfirmed by the Senate no later than thirty days after the Senate considers confirmations.

(b) The Senate, through its president, may bring an action to remove the person from office. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the venue for any such action shall be East Baton Rouge Parish.

(2)(a) In the event a person is not submitted to the Senate for reconfirmation pursuant to Subsection K of this Section and the person attempts to remain in office after being advised by his appointing official by certified mail, return receipt requested, of his failure to be submitted and to be reconfirmed and acts in his official capacity, any action taken by a public body in which such person participates shall be a relative nullity and shall be subject to challenge in district court.  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the venue for any such action shall be East Baton Rouge Parish.

(b)  The appointing official shall notify any person whom he failed to submit to the Senate for reconfirmation or who was not reconfirmed and the office, board, commission, committee, or district to which the person was appointed, no later than thirty days after the Senate considers confirmations.

I.  The provisions of this Section shall not apply to appointments made pursuant to the provisions of Article X, Sections 3, 27, and 43 of the Constitution of Louisiana.

J.(1)  Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no appointee to public office required by law to file a state tax return and who failed to file such return during any year of the five years immediately preceding his appointment to office, shall be confirmed.

(2)  The Department of Revenue shall investigate every person appointed to public office subject to Senate confirmation who has failed to file a state income tax return in any year of the five years immediately preceding the appointment and determine the reason the appointee failed to file.  If an appointee is required by law to file a return in any year and failed to do so, the secretary of the Department of Revenue shall actively pursue the collection of all taxes due from the appointee including implementing procedures set forth in Part III of Chapter 18 of Subtitle II of Title 47 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.

K.  Notwithstanding any other provision of law, all persons who are appointed to a position on a board, commission, committee, or district, which requires Senate confirmation, including persons appointed to a partial term shall be subject to reconfirmation as follows:

(1)(a)  The service of each appointee appointed to a term concurrent with the appointing official or at the pleasure of the appointing official shall expire at the end of the appointing official's term as provided for in Article IV, Section 3 of the Constitution of Louisiana or as otherwise provided for by law.

(b)  The appointee may continue to serve until the end of the second regular session of the Legislature following the beginning of the legislative term at which time the position shall become vacant unless the appointee is reappointed to the position and has been confirmed by the Senate prior to the end of the second legislative session.

(2)(a)  The service of each appointee appointed to a fixed term shall expire at the end of the term to which the appointee was appointed.

(b)  The appointee may continue to serve until the end of the second regular session of the Legislature following the expiration of the term.

Acts 1993, No. 1021, §1; Acts 1995, No. 93, §1; Acts 2008, No. 528, §1; Acts 2014, No. 760, §1, eff. June 19, 2014.