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 fifteen members to be selected as follows:
(a) The governor shall appoint nine 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, and the governor shall give due consideration to the demographics of the population of the state, including without limitation geography, gender, and race. Of those nine, the governor shall appoint at least five 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) Three members shall be elected by the House of Representatives, who shall give due consideration to the demographics of the population of the state, including without limitation geography, gender, and race.
(c) Three members shall be elected by the Senate, who shall give due consideration to the demographics of the population of the state, including without limitation geography, gender, and race.
(d) A vacancy on the board for any cause shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment for the remainder of the original term.
(e) To the extent practicable, in making appointments pursuant to this Subsection, the governor shall appoint and the House of Representatives and the Senate shall elect members to the board so that the overall makeup of the board consists of at least five retired judges, five other retired elected officials, and five persons who have never served in an elected public office.
(2) Repealed by Acts 2024, No. 591, §2.
(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(b) Repealed by Acts 2024, No. 591, §2.
(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.