2018 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 42 - Public Officers and Employees
RS 42:1124.2 - Financial disclosure; certain elected officials; members of certain boards and commissions; ethics administrator
§1124.2. Financial disclosure; certain elected officials; members of certain boards and commissions; ethics administrator
A. Each of the following, except a person who is required to file a financial statement pursuant to R.S. 42:1124, shall annually file a financial statement as provided in this Section:
(1) Each member of the state legislature.
(2) Each person holding a public office who represents a voting district having a population of five thousand or more persons.
(3) Each member of the Board of Ethics and the ethics administrator.
(4) Each member of the State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education.
(5) The superintendent of the Recovery School District.
(6) The executive director of the Louisiana Housing Corporation.
(7) Each member of the Board of Pardons.
B.(1) The financial statement required by this Section shall be filed by May fifteenth of each year during which the person holds an office or position included in Subsection A of this Section and, except as provided in Paragraph (3) of this Subsection, by May fifteenth of the year following the termination of the holding of such office or position. The financial statement shall include the information required by Subsection C of this Section for the preceding calendar year.
(2)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, the financial statement required by this Section may be filed within thirty days after the individual files his federal tax return for the year on which he is reporting, taking into consideration any extensions filed by the individual, provided that he notifies the Board of Ethics prior to the deadline provided in Paragraph (1) of this Subsection of his intention to do so and of the deadline for filing his federal tax return pursuant to the extension filed.
(b) An individual who has notified the Board of Ethics pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph and who does not file his financial statement within thirty days after the expiration of the original extension, shall notify the Board of Ethics of each extension he is granted beyond the original extension and the length of the extension until the required financial statement is filed. An individual shall file each notification required by this Subparagraph within thirty days after the expiration of the prior extension.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, if the holding of the office or position terminates in the month of January, the person shall not be required to file a financial statement pursuant to this Section in the year following the termination of the holding of the office or position if the person files a financial statement by May fifteenth of the year in which the holding of the office or position terminated containing the information required by Subsection C of this Section for the period in which the person held the office or position during that year.
C. The financial statement required by this Section shall be filed on a form prescribed by the Board of Ethics and shall include the following information:
(1) The full name and mailing address of the individual who is required to file.
(2) The full name of the individual's spouse, if any, and the spouse's occupation and principal business address.
(3) The name of the employer, job title, and a brief job description of each full-time or part-time employment position held by the individual or spouse.
(4)(a) The name, address, brief description of, and nature of association with and the amount of interest in each business in which the individual or spouse is a director, officer, owner, partner, member, or trustee, and in which the individual or spouse, either individually or collectively, owns an interest which exceeds ten percent of that business.
(b) The name, address, brief description of, and nature of association with a nonprofit organization in which the individual or spouse is a director or officer.
(5)(a)(i) The name, address, type, and amount of each source of income received by the individual or spouse, or by any business in which the individual or spouse, either individually or collectively, owns an interest which exceeds ten percent of that business, which is received from any of the following:
(aa) The state or any political subdivision as defined in Article VI of the Constitution of Louisiana.
(bb) Services performed for or in connection with a gaming interest as defined in R.S. 18:1505.2(L)(3)(a).
(ii) Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection D of this Section, amounts reported pursuant to this Subparagraph shall be reported by specific amount rather than by category of value.
(b) The name and address of any employer which provides income to the individual or spouse pursuant to the full-time or part-time employment of the individual or spouse, including a brief description of the nature of the services rendered pursuant to such employment and the amount of such income, excluding information required to be reported pursuant to Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph.
(c) The name and address of all businesses which provide income to the individual or spouse, including a brief description of the nature of services rendered for each business or of the reason such income was received, and the aggregate amount of such income, excluding information required to be reported pursuant to Subparagraph (a) or (b) of this Paragraph.
(d) A description of the type of any other income, exceeding one thousand dollars received by the individual or spouse, including a brief description of the nature of the services rendered for the income or the reason such income was received, and the amount of income, excluding information required to be reported pursuant to Subparagraph (a), (b), or (c) of this Paragraph.
(6) A brief description, fair market value or use value as determined by the assessor for purposes of ad valorem taxes, and the location by state and parish or county of each parcel of immovable property in which the individual or spouse, either individually or collectively, has an interest, provided that the value of the interest the individual or spouse, either individually or collectively, has in the parcel of immovable property exceeds two thousand dollars.
(7) The name and a brief description of each investment security having a value exceeding five thousand dollars held by the individual or spouse, excluding variable annuities, variable life insurance, variable universal life insurance, whole life insurance, any other life insurance product, mutual funds, education investment accounts, retirement investment accounts, government bonds, and cash or cash equivalent investments. This Paragraph shall not be deemed to require disclosure of information concerning any property held and administered for any person other than the individual or spouse under a trust, tutorship, curatorship, or other custodial instrument.
(8) A brief description, amount, and date of any purchase or sale by the individual or spouse, in excess of five thousand dollars, of any immovable property and of any personally owned tax credit certificates, stocks, bonds, or commodities futures, including any option to acquire or dispose of any immovable property or of any personally owned tax credit certificates, stocks, bonds, or commodities futures. This Paragraph shall not be deemed to require disclosure of information concerning variable annuities, variable life insurance, variable universal life insurance, whole life insurance, any other life insurance product, mutual funds, education investment accounts, retirement investment accounts, government bonds, cash, or cash equivalent investments.
(9) The name and address of each creditor, and name of each guarantor, if any, to whom the individual or spouse owes any liability which exceeds ten thousand dollars on the last day of the reporting period excluding:
(a) Any loan secured by movable property, if such loan does not exceed the purchase price of the movable property which secures it.
(b) Any liability, secured or unsecured, which is guaranteed by the individual or spouse for a business in which the individual or spouse owns any interest, provided that the liability is in the name of the business and, if the liability is a loan, that the individual or spouse does not use proceeds from the loan for personal use unrelated to the business.
(c) Any loan by a licensed financial institution which loans money in the ordinary course of business.
(d) Any liability resulting from a consumer credit transaction as defined in R.S. 9:3516(13).
(e) Any loan from an immediate family member, unless such family member is a registered lobbyist, or his principal or employer is a registered lobbyist, or he employs or is a principal of a registered lobbyist, or unless such family member has a contract with the state.
(10) A certification that such individual has filed his federal and state income tax returns, or has filed for an extension of time for filing such tax returns.
D. When an amount is required to be disclosed pursuant to this Section, it shall be sufficient to report the amount by the following categories:
(a) Category I, less than $5,000.
(b) Category II, $5,000-$24,999.
(c) Category III, $25,000-$100,000.
(d) Category IV, more than $100,000.
E. The financial statement shall be filed with the Board of Ethics and shall be accompanied by the certification of the individual filing it certifying that the information contained in the financial statement is true and correct to the best of his knowledge, information, and belief. The financial statement shall be a public record, subject to the provisions of Chapter 1 of Title 44 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950.
F.(1) For purposes of this Section, an individual or spouse shall not transfer any asset, interest, or liability required to be disclosed pursuant to this Section to any person or business for the purpose of avoiding disclosure, unless such transfer is irrevocable. A transfer shall not be irrevocable if there exists any contract, letter, counter letter, note, or any other legally enforceable agreement or authority which if exercised or enforced would require or authorize any asset, interest, or liability transferred by an individual or spouse to a person or business to revert back to such individual or spouse.
(2)(a) The sale of property subject to owner financing shall not be a transfer prohibited by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection provided that the income from the sale is disclosed in accordance with the provisions of this Section.
(b) A recorded bond for deed contract shall not be a transfer prohibited by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection.
G. For purposes of this Section, the following words shall have the following meanings:
(1) "Business" shall have the same meaning as provided in R.S. 42:1124.
(2)(a) "Income" for a business shall mean gross income less both of the following:
(i) Costs of goods sold.
(ii) Operating expenses.
(b) "Income" for an individual shall mean taxable income and shall not include any income received pursuant to a life insurance policy.
(3) "Public office" shall have the same meaning as provided in R.S. 18:1483.
(4) Repealed by Acts 2008, No. 472, §3, Jan. 1, 2009.
H. Relative to members of the legislature, the Board of Ethics shall promptly notify the clerical officer of the house of the legislature to which a member is elected of all violations of the provisions of this Section.
I. Nothing in this Section shall require the disclosure or reporting of income derived from child support and alimony payments contained in a court order or from the reporting or disclosure of income derived from disability payments from any source.
Acts 2008, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 1, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2008, No. 162, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2008, No. 472, §§1, 3, eff. Jan. 1, 2009; Acts 2011, No. 333, §2; Acts 2011, No. 408, §2, eff. July 5, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 574, §2, eff. Jan. 1, 2013; Acts 2012, No. 714, §2; Acts 2014, No. 612, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2015; Acts 2014, No. 656, §1; Acts 2016, No. 427, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017.
