HLS 15RS-3935 ENGROSSED
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 127
BY REPRESENTATIVE STUART BISHOP
JUDGES: Requests the Louisiana Supreme Court to make financial disclosure reports
available for viewing on the internet
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the Louisiana Supreme Court to allow the public to review personal
3 financial disclosure reports of judges filed with the office of the judicial
4 administrator by making the reports available for viewing on the internet.
5 WHEREAS, in 2008, the Louisiana Legislature enacted personal financial disclosure
6requirements for each person holding statewide elected office, the secretary of each state
7agency, the Public Service Commission Executive Secretary, the State Civil Service
8Director, the Superintendent of Education, the Commissioner of Higher Education, president
9of each public postsecondary education system, the Commissioner of Administration, senior
10staff of the Office of the Governor, members of the Louisiana Legislature, members of the
11Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, the Superintendent of the Recovery School
12District, members of the Ethics Adjudicatory Board, members of the Board of Ethics, the
13administrator of the Ethics Administration, the executive director of the Louisiana Housing
14Corporation, members of the Board of Pardons, local elected officials representing a voting
15district with a population above or below 5,000, members of the State Civil Service
16Commission, members of the Board of Commissioners of the Louisiana Stadium and
17Exposition District, each member of the governing authority or management board of a
18charter school, and each member or designees of members of a board or commission that has
19the authority to expend, disburse, or invest ten thousand dollars or more of funds in a fiscal
20year; and
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HR NO. 127
1 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Legislature has statutorily mandated that personal
2financial disclosure reports filed by these officials be made available on a website by the
3Board of Ethics "to enhance the public's ability to gather information easily regarding the
4conduct of elected officials, public employees, and other persons regulated by the board";
5and
6 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Ethics Administration complies with state law and
7maintains a website with thousands of personal financial disclosure statements available for
8public viewing, including a searchable database; and
9 WHEREAS, Louisiana has been nationally recognized for the adoption of personal
10financial disclosure laws for legislators, receiving the number one ranking in the country
11with an "A" grade by the Center for Public Integrity for legislative financial disclosure
12requirements; and
13 WHEREAS, the Louisiana State Senate passed Senate Resolution No. 6 in the First
14Extraordinary Session in 2008, urging and requesting the Louisiana Supreme Court to adopt
15the same financial disclosure standards for judges that are applicable to other elected
16officials in the Code of Governmental Ethics; and
17 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Supreme Court subsequently adopted Rule XXXIX to
18require all elected judges, except justices of the peace, to annually file a financial statement
19with the office of the judicial administrator of the Louisiana Supreme Court that is
20substantially similar to the requirements in statute for legislative personal financial
21disclosure statements; and
22 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Supreme Court maintains a website that includes Rule
23XXXIX, the blank financial statement form required by Rule XXXIX, and a list of persons
24who have failed to file, failed to timely file, failed to provide omitted information, or failed
25to provide accurate information as required by Rule XXXIX; and
26 WHEREAS, Rule XXXIX specifies that the financial statements required by the
27Louisiana Supreme Court are a matter of public record and are subject to public inspection
28and copying; and
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HR NO. 127
1 WHEREAS, members of the public are unable to view the financial statements of
2elected judges across Louisiana, without making a formal records request to the Louisiana
3Supreme Court in New Orleans; and
4 WHEREAS, the purpose of financial disclosure of elected officials is to promote
5public access and oversight, discourage potential conflicts of interest, and enhance public
6confidence in the integrity of state government, including the judiciary; and
7 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Supreme Court maintains the authority to redact any
8sensitive information necessary for the safety of judges prior to publication; and
9 WHEREAS, it would greatly benefit the public interest and the integrity of the
10judiciary for the Louisiana Supreme Court to enhance the public's ability to gather
11information easily regarding the conduct of the judiciary.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
13Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Supreme Court to allow
14the public to review disclosure reports filed with the office of the judicial administrator by
15making the reports available for viewing on the internet.
16 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
17chief justice of the Louisiana Supreme Court.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 127 Engrossed 2015 Regular Session Stuart Bishop
Requests the Louisiana Supreme Court to allow the public to review personal financial
disclosure reports of judges filed with the office of the judicial administrator by making the
reports available for viewing on the internet.
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