Ethics Policy

Section 7.1 City of Leesville Personnel Policies and Procedures Manual

All City of Leesville employees will be required to take the State of LA Ethics Training annually. No employee of the City of Leesville shall use or authorize the use of leave time, facilities, equipment, or supplies for private gain or advantage to one’s self or any other private person or group without the permission of the City of Leesville’s City Administrator.  All City of Leesville vehicles and equipment are for official use only.  No person other than a City of Leesville employee may operate a City of Leesville vehicle or piece of machinery.  Drivers must have a valid Louisiana driver’s license and be approved by the City Administrator and Department Head to operate said vehicle or machinery. 

In elections for local offices, City of Leesville employees are not allowed to engage in the following activities:

1. Become a candidate for or campaign for an elective City of Leesville office; 
2.  Directly or indirectly solicit, receive, collect, handle, disburse, or account for assessments, contributions, or other funds for a candidate for City of Leesville office; 
3. Organize, sell tickets to, promote, or actively participate in a fundraising activity of a candidate for City of Leesville office; 
4. Take part in managing the political campaign for a candidate for a City of Leesville office; 
5. Solicits votes in support of or in opposition to a candidate for City of Leesville office; 
6. Act as a clerk, watcher, challenger, or similar officer at the polls on behalf of a candidate for a City of Leesville office; 
7. Drive voters to the polls on behalf of a candidate for a City of Leesville office. 
8. Endorse or oppose a candidate for a City of Leesville office in a political advertisement, broadcast, campaign literature, or similar material; 
9. Address a rally or similar gathering of supporters or opponents of a candidate for a City of Leesville office; 
10. Initiate or circulate a nominating petition or recall petition for a candidate for a City of Leesville office; or 
11. Wear campaign buttons, pins, hats, or other similar attachment, or distribute campaign literature supporting or opposing a candidate for City of Leesville office. 
 

***NOTE*** Nothing in this policy is intended to prohibit any City of Leesville employee from privately expressing his or her political views or from casting his or her vote in all elections. 

III. GENERAL PROHIBITIONS (R.S. 42:1111 - 1121)

NOTE: The following is a synopsis of some of the key provisions of the Code of Governmental Ethics. It is only a summary. For the official text of the provisions described below and for the text of other provisions of the Code,including information relative to exceptions to these general restrictions, refer to the Code at LSA R.S. 42:1101 et seq.

A. 1111A - Receipt of a thing of economic value from a source other than the governmental entity for the performance of official duties and responsibilities.

B. 1111C(1)(a) - Receipt of a thing of economic value for the performance of a service substantially related to public duties or which draws on non-public information.

C. 1111C(2)(d) - Receipt of a thing of economic value by a public servant for services rendered to or for the following:

(1) persons who have or are seeking to obtain a contractual or other business or financial relationship with public servant’s agency;
(2) persons who are regulated by the public servant’s agency; or
(3) persons who have substantial economic interests which may be substantially affected by the performance or nonperformance of the public employee’s official duties.

These same restrictions apply to the public servant’s spouse and to any legal entity in which the public servant exercises control or owns an interest in excess of 25%.

D. 1115 - Solicitation or acceptance of a thing of economic value as a gift from any of the persons listed in C, above; however, the restrictions against the receipt of gifts from persons regulated by a public employee’s agency or from persons who may be substantially affected by his performance or nonperformance or his official duty applies only to “public employees” and not to elected officials. In addition, elected officials are not allowed to solicit or accept anything of economic value from paid lobbyists or their employers.

E. 1115.1 - Giving of food and drink valued at over $50 per single event to a public servant by one of the persons listed in C or A above; however, this restriction does not apply to a gathering held in conjunction with a meeting of a national or regional organization or a statewide organization of government officials or employees, or to a public servant of a post-secondary education attending a private fundraiser for the post-secondary institution.

F. 1111E - Receipt of a thing of economic value for assisting someone with a transaction with the agency of the public servant.

G. 1112 - Participation by a public servant in a transaction involving the governmental entity in which any of the following persons have a substantial economic interest:

(1) the public servant;
(2) any member of his immediate family;
(3) any person in which he has an ownership interest that is greater than the interest of a general class;
(4) any person of which he is an officer, director, trustee, partner, or employee;
(5) any person with whom he is negotiating or has an arrangement concerning prospective employment;
(6) any person who is indebted to him or is a party to an existing contract with him and by reason thereof is in a position to affect directly his economic interests.

An elected official may participate in the debate and discussion of a matter which could violate this provision, but only if he discloses the nature of the conflict on the record of his agency prior to his participation in the debate and discussion, and prior to any vote taken on the matter. The elected official is not allowed to vote on the matter and he must recuse himself. R.S. 42:1120.

Appointed members of boards and commissions may recuse themselves to avoid a violation of Section 1112. Unlike elected officials, they may not participate in the debate or discussion of the matter. They must recuse themselves from all participation. R.S. 42:1112D.

Other public employees who are not sole decision makers can be disqualified from transactions that would violate this prohibition. A mechanism for disqualification is found in the rules promulgated by the Board. R.S. 42:1112C.

H. 1113 - Bidding on, entering into, or being in any way interested in any contract, subcontract or other transaction under the supervision or jurisdiction of the public servant’s agency. This restriction also applies to the immediate family members of the public servant and to legal entities in which the public servant and/or his family members own an interest in excess of 25%.

• Modification of the rule for appointed members of boards and commissions prohibits, not only bidding on or entering into to such contracts, subcontract and transactions, but also being “in any way interested” in them; also, reference to an interest exceeding 25% is changed to reference legal entities in which the public servant or immediate family members have a “substantial economic interest.”

 • Modification applicable to legislators prohibits a legislator, certain executive branch officials, their spouses or legal entities in which either owns an interest from entering into a contract or subcontract with any branch, agency, department or institution of state government, with a few exceptions.

I. 1116 - A public servant’s use of the authority of his office to compel or coerce a person to provide himself or someone else with a thing of economic value that they are not entitled to by law or the use of the authority of his office to compel or coerce a person to engage in political activity. Also, a regulatory employee is prohibited from participating in any way in the sale of goods or services to persons regulated by his agency, if a member of his immediate family or if a business enterprise in which the regulatory employee or members of his immediate family own in excess of 25%, receives or will receive a thing of economic value by virtue of the sale.

J. 1117 - It is prohibited for a public servant or other person make a payment, give, loan, transfer, or deliver or offer to give, loan, transfer or deliver a thing of economic value to a public servant when the public servant is prohibited by the Ethics Code from receiving such a thing of economic value.

 K. 1119 – Nepotism

• Members of the immediate family of an agency head may not be employed in the agency. 
• Members of the immediate family of a member of a governing authority or the chief executive of a governmental entity may not be employed in the governmental entity. The term “governing authority” includes parish councils, police juries, school boards, town councils, boards of aldermen, etc. 
• Note that the application of this restriction is not affected by whether the agency head, chief executive or governing authority member has authority over or actually participates in the hiring decision - such family members are simply ineligible for employment. 
• Exceptions: 
  1. persons employed in violation of this rule continuously since April 1, 1980; 
  2. a person employed for one year prior to their family member becoming an agency head; 
  3. employment of a school teacher who is a member of the immediate family of the superintendent or a school board member as long as the family member is certified to teach. Annual disclosure is required and forms are available from the Ethics Administration Program office. Pursuant to Act 1349 of the 1999 Regular Legislative Session, if the required disclosure is not timely filed, a late fee assessment of $50 per day, with a maximum penalty of $1,500, may be imposed; 
  4. employment as a health care provider, of an immediate family member of a hospital service district board member or of a public trust authority board member as long as the hospital service district or the public trust authority has a population of less than 100,000 and the family member is a licensed physician or a registered nurse. Annual disclosure is required and forms are available from the Ethics Administration Program office. Pursuant to Act 1349 of the 1999 Regular Legislative Session, if the required disclosure is not timely filed, a late fee assessment of $50 per day may be imposed, with a maximum penalty of $1,500, or 
  5. persons employed as volunteer firefighters.

L. 1121- Post Employment

• During the two-year period following the termination of public service as an agency head or elected official, these individuals may not assist another for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with any transaction involving their former agency nor may they render any service on a contractual basis to or for their former agency. 
• During the two-year period following the termination of public service as a board or commission member, these individuals may not contract with, be employed in any capacity by, or be appointed to any position by that board or commission. The Board has interpreted “board or commission” to include a collective body that shares responsibility for its actions. This would include school boards, police juries, boards of aldermen, a group of selectmen, a council, etc. 
• During the two-year period following the termination of public service as a public employee, these individuals may not assist another for compensation, in a transaction, or in an appearance in connection with a transaction involving the agency in which the former public employee participated while employed by the agency nor may the former public employee provide on a contractual basis to his former public employer, any service he provided while employed there.