§1132. Board of Ethics
A. Board of Ethics established. There is hereby established in the Department of State Civil Service the Board of Ethics to be domiciled in the city of Baton Rouge.
B. Membership; terms; vacancies; qualifications. (1) The Board of Ethics shall consist of eleven members to be selected as follows:
(a) The governor shall appoint seven members, who shall be representative of the state's population as near as practicable and who shall be subject to Senate confirmation. At least one member shall be appointed from each congressional district. Of those seven, the governor shall appoint at least three members, each of whom shall have been licensed to practice law in this state for at least eight years at the time of his appointment.
(b) Two members shall be elected by the House of Representatives.
(c) Two members shall be elected by the Senate.
(2) The governor shall appoint and the House of Representatives and the Senate shall elect members to the board in accordance with R.S. 42:2.1 as follows:
(a)(i) The presidents, or their designees, of the colleges and universities that are member institutions of the Louisiana Association of Independent Colleges and Universities or its successor shall constitute the nominating committee. The nominating committee shall, within sixty days of a vacancy on the board, submit the names of no fewer than five different eligible nominees for each position or vacancy to the governor, Senate, or House of Representatives, whichever is appropriate. In preparing the list of nominees, the nominating committee shall give due consideration to the demographics of the population of the state, including without limitation geography, gender, and race. A majority vote of the membership of the nominating committee shall be required to nominate persons to positions on the board.
(ii) The governor shall make an appointment and the Senate and the House of Representatives shall elect members no later than sixty days after the receipt of the names of the nominees. If the governor fails to make an appointment in the sixty-day period, the nominee listed first on the list of nominees shall be deemed appointed to fill the vacancy. If the Senate or House of Representatives, whichever is applicable, fails to elect a member from the list of nominees in the sixty-day period, the nominee listed first on the list of nominees shall be deemed elected to fill the vacancy.
(b) A vacancy on the board for any cause shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment and from the same source for the remainder of the original term. If the nominating committee fails to submit eligible nominees in the number, manner, and time required by this Section, the governor, if applicable, shall make the appointment or the Senate or the House of Representatives, whichever is applicable, shall elect a person eligible to serve on the board.
(3)(a) Members of the board shall serve for staggered terms. Initial service shall be as provided in this Section. Thereafter, all terms shall be for five years.
(b) Initial terms shall be as follows:
(i) Three members shall be appointed for a three-year term by the governor.
(ii) Three members shall be appointed for a four-year term by the governor.
(iii) One member shall be appointed for a five-year term by the governor.
(iv) Two members shall be elected for a five-year term by the Senate.
(v) Two members shall be elected for a five-year term by the House of Representatives.
(c) No member may serve more than two consecutive terms.
(4)(a) No former board member may qualify as a candidate for any elected office within six months of the termination of his term on the board.
(b) No elected official shall serve as a member of the board and no former elected official shall serve as a member of the board within six months of the termination of his term.
(c) No public employee, except a person who is a public employee solely because of his service as a member of the board, shall serve as a member of the board and no former public employee shall serve as a member of the board within six months of the termination of his employment. However, any person who is a public employee solely because of his service as an appointed member of any public board or commission shall be eligible for nomination and appointment to the board, but upon taking his oath of office, his membership on any other such board or commission shall immediately terminate.
(d) No person shall be eligible for selection who has been registered as a lobbyist within two calendar years of the date of selection. If any member serving on the board registers as a lobbyist, he shall immediately resign his position on the board.
(e) No member of the board and no officer or employee of the board shall participate or engage in an effort to support or oppose the election of a candidate for political office or to support a particular party or issue in an election; be a member of any national, state, or local committee of any political party or faction; make or solicit contributions for any political party, faction, candidate, or issue; or take active part in the management of the affairs of a political party, faction, candidate, or any political campaign, except to exercise his right as a citizen to express his opinion privately and to cast his vote as he desires.
(f) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, no member of the Board of Ethics shall serve at the same time on any other board or commission, the membership of which is appointed in whole or in part by the governor. If a member of the board is appointed to any such board or commission, he shall immediately resign his position on the board.
(g) No person who is a party to any contract with any agency, entity, or political subdivision of the state shall be eligible for selection. If a member of the board becomes a party to any contract with any agency, entity, or political subdivision of the state, he shall immediately resign his position on the board.
(h) If, at any time after being selected to serve on the board, a member of the board becomes aware that he was ineligible to serve on the board at the time of his selection, he shall immediately resign his position on the board.
(5) No member of the board appointed after March 6, 2008, shall attend a meeting of the board in his official capacity or participate in any capacity as a member of the board, including but not limited to participating in deliberations or voting, until such member is publicly certified by the staff of the board as having completed a training program designed and administered by the staff of the board regarding all of the provisions of law under the jurisdiction of the board.
C. Jurisdiction. The Board of Ethics shall administer and enforce the provisions of this Chapter and the rules, regulations, and orders issued hereunder with respect to public employees and elected officials, including final decisions of the Ethics Adjudicatory Board. In addition, the Board of Ethics, functioning as the Supervisory Committee on Campaign Finance Disclosure, shall administer and enforce the provisions of Chapter 11 of Title 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, and the rules, regulations, and orders issued thereunder. In addition, the Board of Ethics shall administer the provisions of Part IV of Chapter 2 of Title 18 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, relative to elections integrity.
D. Additional Jurisdiction. The Board of Ethics shall administer and enforce the provisions of R.S. 27:63, 96, 226, 261, 316, and 373, Part III of Chapter 1 of Title 24 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, Part IV of Chapter 1 of Title 49 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, Chapter 46 of Title 33 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, and R.S. 47:9072.
Acts 1979, No. 443, §1, eff. April 1, 1980. Amended by Acts 1981, No. 59, §2, eff. June 17, 1981; Acts 1989, No. 45, §2; Acts 1989, No. 721, §1, eff. July 8, 1989 until July 1, 1990; Acts 1991, No. 755, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1992; Acts 1993, No. 965, §3, eff. August 15, 1993; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 64, §6, eff. Jan. 1, 1997; Acts 2001, No. 291, §§1 and 2, eff. June 6, 2001; Acts 2001, No. 482, §1; Acts 2004, No. 116, §1, eff. January 1, 2005; Acts 2006, No. 334, §1, eff. July 1, 2006; Acts 2008, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 10, §1, eff. March 6, 2008; Acts 2010, No. 561, §1; Acts 2010, No. 788, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 608, §1, eff. June 7, 2012; Acts 2012, No. 639, §1; Acts 2022, No. 43, §1.
NOTE: See Acts 2012, No.608, §3, relative to the prospective application of Act.