Latest news with #LouisianaBoardofEthics
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Louisiana lawmakers weigh shielding their personal information from disclosure
The Louisiana Board of Ethics has hired a new ethics administrator on a temporary basis after facing pushback from state lawmakers. (Wes Muller/Louisiana Illuminator). The Louisiana Senate approved last-minute amendments to a bill that would shield the personal information of state lawmakers, statewide elected officials and public service commissioners from being shared with the public. In its original state, House Bill 681 by Rep. Marcus Bryant, D-New Iberia, would have added retired district attorneys, assistant district attorneys and district attorney investigators to an existing law that shields certain personal information of 'protected individuals' from public disclosure. Existing law currently only lists judges, retired judges, current and retired judicial commissioners and hearing officers as protected individuals. Bryant's bill passed the Senate as amended on a unanimous vote and has to return to the House for approval of those changes. The bill is scheduled for a final vote Wednesday. Tacking on the amendments with no opportunity for public input is troubling to government watchdogs. 'While it's reasonable to protect certain sensitive information about elected officials, quietly adding these provisions to a bill about district attorneys and other judicial officers, without public debate, is not the right way to do it,' Steven Procopio, president of the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, said in an emailed comment. 'Especially when the law threatens violators with jail time' The law shields home addresses, phone numbers, personal email address, Social Security numbers, driver's license numbers, federal tax identification numbers, bank account numbers, credit or debit card numbers, license plate numbers, marital records and date of birth. An official's church, the school or daycare of their child attends and the employment location of their spouse, children or dependents would also be shielded. The existing law creates a process for protected individuals to have their personal information taken down from public view and allows for them to sue if their request is not followed. Violators can be charged with a misdemeanor and could face jail time. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
29-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Louisiana lawmakers put some limits back in place on gifts to public officials
Rep. Beau Beaullieu has updated his proposal to change state ethics laws concerning gifts to public officials. (Allison Allsop/Louisiana Illuminator) Louisiana lawmakers are no longer looking to broadly lift restrictions on gifts to elected officials and public employees while doing their jobs, but they appear intent on discouraging ethics investigations. Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-Iberia, removed language from House Bill 674 that would have allowed public servants to receive $200 worth of gifts annually. This would have applied to all local and state government employees, from a local police officer to the governor. Instead, Beaullieu has rewritten the legislation to keep a portion of a current limitation on government worker gifts in place. Now, gifts that aren't food would be mostly restricted to $200 worth of flowers or a charitable donation to express sympathy for a family death. New allowances for 'seasonal' food and beverages remain in the legislation, however. Under current law, most public officials are not supposed to receive food and drink as gifts unless it's at a party or reception. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX Under existing rules, they have to consume the food in person at the event where it is given. The edible gift can cost no more than $79 per person, a cutoff the Louisiana Board of Ethics adjusts every year based on the Consumer Price Index. Beaullieu's updated proposal would allow elected leaders and public employees to take seasonal or holiday foods as gifts for a religious or state holiday, even outside of a party or reception. The cap on food gifts would also be $79 per person per holiday or whatever new price the ethics board adopts in future years. Besides the gift policy changes, Beaullieu's bill contains several ethics law modifications that would make it much harder for the state ethics board to investigate and charge people with misconduct. The ethics board oversees enforcement of campaign finance laws and the state ethics code for public employees, elected officials and lobbyists. Anyone from a public school teacher to the governor can be subject of one of its investigations. The adjustments Beaullieu proposes would require more members of the ethics board to vote in favor of pursuing an investigation and give the board far less time to decide whether a person should be charged with ethical wrongdoing. People accused of ethics violations would also have more ability to push back on the allegations under Beaullieu's bill. If the legislation were to pass, the new standards that would have to be met in order for the ethics board to launch an investigation would be very difficult to achieve. For example, the ethics board would have to be confident that wrongdoing had occurred in order to sign off on any preliminary probe into the alleged misconduct. Ethics Administrator David Bordelon said earlier this month the process Beaullieu seeks would 'skew' the process in favor of the public servant accused of wrongdoing. He also took issue with a new restriction Beaullieu proposed Tuesday on ethical investigations and charges. The state representative added language to his bill prohibiting the ethics board from launching an investigation based on information it received through an advisory opinion request. The board is frequently asked to explain how ethics laws apply in specific situations through advisory opinions. It issues at least a few of these public letters monthly providing feedback. 'If someone submits an advisory opinion request that indicates a violation has already occurred, it should be within the board's prerogative to initiate an investigation of that,' Bordelon told senators at a committee hearing Tuesday. Beaullieu said he is trying to overhaul state ethics investigations because many elected officials feel the board has been too aggressive when pursuing allegations. The state's preeminent state government watchdog, the Public Affairs Research Council of Louisiana, has come out strongly against the bill. 'This is designed to make sure we don't have ethics investigations,' Steven Procopio, the organization's president, said of the proposed changes. The legislation is backed by Gov. Jeff Landry, who has had several personal conflicts with the ethics board over his nine years in statewide office. In 2023, the board charged Landry in 2023 with the ethics violation of failing to disclose flights he took on a political donor's private plane to Hawaii for an attorneys general conference. That dispute is ongoing because the governor and board members have not reached an agreement on what Landry's punishment for the violation should be. Stephen Gelé, the attorney representing Landry in this ethics dispute, also helped write Beaullieu's legislation to overhaul the state's ethics laws. The Louisiana Senate and Governmental Affairs Committee approved the bill Tuesday with no objections. An earlier version of the proposal also passed the Louisiana House unanimously, but both the Senate and the House will have to approve the amended version before it can become law. It must pass by the Louisiana Legislature's session adjournment June 12. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
Yahoo
24-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Landry pushes change to allow Louisiana Racing Commission director to still own racehorses
Louisiana's Racing Commission hired an executive director that partially owns race horses. (Canva image) Gov. Jeff Landry is backing a law change that would allow an appointed director of the Louisiana Racing Commission to continue owning racehorses, even though the director oversees their licensing as part of his government job. The proposed exception is included in House Bill 397, a sweeping piece of legislation that would also make dozens of changes to Louisiana's ethics code for elected officials and public employees. Stephen Landry became the commission's top staffer in 2024 after the governor appointed new members to its board. At the time, Stephen Landry, who is not related to the governor, had a partial ownership stake in two racehorses. Stephen Landry did not return a call made to his office Thursday. The commission is responsible for regulating horse racing and betting in Louisiana. It issues licenses to racetracks, training centers, off-track betting operations and racehorse owners like Stephen Landry. Commissioners can also suspend and withdraw racehorse owners' licenses it previously granted. The Louisiana Board of Ethics told Stephen Landry last year in an advisory opinion that state law is 'silent' on whether he can own racehorses while serving as the commission's executive director. State employees are prohibited from doing business with the agencies where they work, however. Using that logic, the ethics board told Stephen Landry he would not be able to apply for a racehorse owner's license when he needs a renewal in 2026 if he still serves as the commission's executive director. The change the governor is pushing would remove that barrier for Stephen Landry. Landry proactively sought the ethics board's opinion about his horse ownership after the Paulick Report, a horse racing news outlet, raised concerns about him taking the commission director's job. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE 'How's he supposed to investigate and recommend to his commissioners potential changes to the state's breeders' incentive program objectively?' editor-in-chief Natalie Voss wrote about Stephen Landry in a 2024 commentary. 'What's he going to do if he's alerted [a co-owner of his horse] has a possible rule violation being investigated by the staff? How would he deal with an appeal of a disqualification coming from one of his active (or recent) ownership partners?' 'The Association of Racing Commissioners International model rules expressly prohibit this, both for employees of a commission (like the executive director) or for employees under the executive director,' Voss added. The racing commission's chairman, Ed Koehl, told Stephen Landry when he took the executive director position that he could own horses without any fear of conflict, Stephen Landry's attorney, Dane Ciolino, wrote in a letter to the ethics board. The commission, and not the executive director, votes on whether to grant or withdraw an ownership license, Ciolino said. Under a law approved last year, all 13 state racing commissioners who decide on ownership licensing can own racehorses that compete in Louisiana. Previously, only three of the 13 commissioners were allowed to own racehorses. This year's ethics bill, sponsored by Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R- New Iberia, reiterates that Louisiana Racing Commission members, in addition to the executive director, can own horses that race in Louisiana. Beaullieu's proposal cleared its first legislative hurdle Wednesday when it passed the Louisiana House and Governmental Affairs Committee. It's goes next before the full House of Representatives. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
12-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Louisiana ethics board agrees to keep governor's staff information private in spite of law
The addresses of Gov. Jeff Landry's staff will remain private despite a state law requiring their disclosure. (Photo by Greg LaRose/Louisiana Illuminator) The home addresses of Gov. Jeff Landry's executive staff will be kept out of public records, despite a state law that requires the information to be disclosed. The Louisiana Board of Ethics voted 11-1 Friday to keep their addresses secret. Its members agreed with Attorney General Liz Murrill's view that the disclosure conflicts with the right to privacy contained in the state constitution, her office said. 'Public employees have a reasonable expectation of privacy in their home addresses,' Assistant Attorney General Amanda LaGroue wrote in an advisory opinion sent to the board. LaGroue works for Murrill at the Department of Justice. The board's vote won't result in much substantive change. SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE Staff for the ethics board had already complied with a request from the governor's office to redact the staff's home addresses. They blacked out the residency information on personal financial disclosure forms filed by Landry's chief of staff Kyle Ruckert, policy director Millard Mulé, general counsel Angelique Freel, deputy chief of staff Andrée Miller and legislative director Lance Maxwell. Board members had questioned in January whether its staff had taken that action prematurely. Alfred 'Butch' Speer suggested the redactions could amount to a 'criminal act' because the board does not have the authority to alter the public documents. A state statute requires people who hold these five specific jobs in the governor's office to file publicly-available financial disclosure forms annually that include their 'full name and residence address.' The law was approved in 2008 during a rewrite of Louisiana's ethics laws that was supposed to promote government transparency and reduce corruption. Speer and fellow Ethics Board member La Koshia Roberts said in previous board meetings that the law tied their hands, and the board could not keep the staff addresses confidential even if they wanted to do so. The Louisiana Legislature would have to pass a new law if they wanted the addresses to stay private, they maintained. But Murrill's office said the 2008 law can be ignored. The five members of the governor's office not only have a right to privacy, but legislators had already voted to keep addresses of all state employees contained in their personnel files out of the public eye. 'The public's interest in a home address is vastly outweighed by the employee's personal interest in protecting his or her privacy,' LaGroue wrote. The vote in favor of Landry's staff comes a month after the Republican governor gained more influence over the ethics board. Landry pushed a new law that lets him put more appointees on the board and pick them directly. Previously, governors have had to select their ethics board members from a list of nominees private college leaders submit. The governor has also promoted other secrecy measures since he took office in 2024. He has approved laws that allow him to keep more records about his travel and the governor's mansion private. Landry's new ethics board appointees weren't the only members to vote to keep the governor's staff addresses a secret. Six other members also voted in their favor. Roberts, a Louisiana House of Representatives appointee, voted against the request. Speer was absent from Friday's meeting and did not vote. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
