Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, is one of several legislators upset with the Louisiana Board of Ethics. (Photo by Allison Allsop/Louisiana Illuminator)
Louisiana legislators threatened to subpoena and remove members of the state ethics board Wednesday in an intensification of the fight over enforcement of the state ethics code .
Members of the Louisiana House and Governmental Affairs Committee lashed out at the ethics board for not heeding legislative requests to hold off on hiring a new administrator until January. At that point, Gov. Jeff Landry gains more control of the board through a new set of appointees.
“I think this is a situation where we should have some action to remove board members,” Rep. Candace Newell, D-New Orleans, said during a public hearing Wednesday at the State Capitol. “There should be some kind of punishments for them.”
Two state senators are suing the ethics board over the same issue and got a judge to issue a restraining order to temporarily block members from filling its administration position. Yet House committee members want to go farther.
“With regards to removing board members, do you think that is a legislative item? A gubernatorial deal? Who would be in charge of removing board members if they’re found to be doing something unlawful?” committee chairman Rep. Beau Beaullieu, R-New Iberia, asked current ethics administrator Kathleen Allen at Wednesday’s hearing.