[StBernard] Nominating committee requests attorney general opinion on terms of east and west bank levee authorities

[Westley Annis]

Nominating committee requests attorney general opinion on terms of east and
west bank levee authorities

The independent committee that submits nominations to the governor for
membership on the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and
-West voted Wednesday to ask Attorney General Buddy Caldwell for guidance on
the lengths of terms on two members of each authority and on the terms of
service for future authority members.

The committee took two votes on the motion, one each by members who nominate
names for the east and west authorities. Both were approved, with one
committee member abstaining in each case.

The committee already has scheduled meetings for late August and early
September to consider the next round of appointments, based on openings that
occur July 1, according to their own records.

When Caldwell may issue an opinion responding to their request, which could
change whose terms are coming to an end, is unclear.

The confusion surrounding the terms of service stem from differences between
the way the committee marks the terms of office based on its understanding
of the law creating the authorities and decisions by Gov. Bobby Jindal to
request different term lengths in letters instructing Secretary of State Tom
Schedler to issue commissions for the new authority members.

Paul Dauphin of Harvey, president of Pierre Principle Communications, was
recommended to Gov. Bobby Jindal for reappointment to a second four-year
term on the West Bank authority on Sept. 30, 2013, and Jindal announced his
reappointment on Oct. 16.

But documents released by the nominating committee in advance of Wednesday's
special meeting indicate that Jindal instructed Secretary of State Tom
Schedler to shorten Dauphin's term to end this July 1.

Jindal also instructed Schedler to give a four-year term to Kerwin Julien
Sr., a civil engineer from Algiers that Jindal appointed on May 9. However,
Julien was taking the place of an authority member whose term ended on July
1.

In the draft of a letter to be sent to Caldwell, committee chairman Jay
Lapeyre said the West Bank authority "recently received an amended notice
regarding Dauphin's term of office; that correspondence reflects a term of
office from 2010-2014."

That notice was an undated letter signed by Jindal to Secretary of State Tom
Schedler that requested Schedler to issue a commission to Dauphin for a term
that would end on July 1, 2014.

"Please commission the following GOVERNOR's appointment: AMENDED:TERM," the
letter said, then listed Dauphin's name and said he was appointed on April
14, 2010 to a term expiring on July 1 of this year.

"However, the nominating committee had originally voted to recommend Dauphin
for reappointment to a term ending in 2017," Lapeyre's letter said. It cited
a letter from Lapeyre to Jindal on Sept. 30, 2013, that said the committee
recommended appointing Dauphin "to serve another four-year term," and
pointing out that Dauphin's earlier term expired on July 1, 2013.

Julien, meanwhile, was appointed in May 2014 to complete the term of Gerardo
Viera, which would have expired on July 1. Viera had resigned from the
authority.

"Rather than appointing Julian to finish the prior appointee's term and
having him apply for re-appointment ... Julian was provided a new four-year
term ending in 2018," the letter said.

The roles of the governor, levee authorities and the nominating committee
are all spelled out in the law that set up the authorities. But the
interpretation of  language of the law by the governor and the authorities
requires the attorney general's opinion, according to Lapeyre's letter.

According to the state law, it is the boards of the two authorities that are
required to notify the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of
a vacancy, and the CPRA must then advertise the vacancies. That triggers the
nominating committee's participation. It reviews candidates for each vacancy
who respond to the vacancy notice and vote on who to recommend to the
governor for each vacancy. The governor is required to appoint the nominee
or nominees submitted by the authority for each vacancy.

"The committee shall submit its nominations for each vacancy to the governor
for consideration no later than ninety days after the occurrence of the
vacancy," says Revised Statute 38:330.1.  "The governor shall appoint one of
the nominees submitted by the committee."

Lapeyre originally requested an opinion about the nominating and appointment
process in May, when questions were first raised about the terms of two east
bank authority members.

The nominating committee's records indicate that the terms of Southeast
Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East members C. Paul Kemp and Jefferson
Angers, both of Baton Rouge, will expire July 1.

But the east bank levee authority maintains the terms of its two members
don't expire until July 2015 for Kemp and July 2017 for Angers. That would
mean Jindal wouldn't get a chance to reappoint Kemp or to appoint someone
else in his place until next year. Jindal's term ends in early 2016, so he
would not be in office by the time Angers terms end -- according to the
authority's position. 

Kemp is a marine scientist, Angers is the president of the Center for
Coastal Conservation. Jindal appointed both, and they took the place of
commissioners who had resigned.

Caldwell's staff said Lapeyre's request must be preceded by a formal vote by
the committee, triggering Wednesday's special meeting.

Kemp is a supporter of a controversial environmental damages lawsuit filed
by the east bank authority against 97 oil, gas and pipeline companies, while
Angers opposes the suit. Angers was appointed after the suit was filed, and
Jindal ahs made clear that he is seeking to appoint replacements for
supports of the east bank lawsuit. East Bank authority members last week
split 4-4 on a motion to kill the suit, with one member who supported the
suit in the past not attending the meeting.

Based on the votes of Angers and three other recent Jindal appointments on
that motion, replacing Kemp would provide Jindal with enough votes to kill
the suit.