White, BESE “Special Counsel” Subject toAttorney General Approval
If I learned anything from the July 01, 2014 BESE meeting, it is that Louisiana State Superintendent John White has latched onto the word clarity. Not that he offers any. Just that he spewed the word numerous times in the meeting.
What is “clear” is that White is situating a lawsuit against Governor Bobby Jindal. To do that, he will need to retain special counsel.
On July 02, 2014, the Times-Picayune published an article stating that White might need to get Jindal’s approval to “hire” special counsel.
In this post, I would like to offer a little–ahem–clarity on the Times-Picayune article.
If White, Louisiana State Board of Elementary and Secondary Education (BESE) President Chas Roemer, and their BESE-majority entourage want to “retain special counsel” as per BESE member James Garvey’s motion at the July 01, 2014, BESE meeting, based upon the Louisiana Code RS 42:263, the attorney general will need to approve such action even if the retained counsel offers to do so pro bono:
§263. Resolution requesting special counselA. No parish governing authority, levee board except as provided in Subsection B hereof, parish school board, city school board, or other local or state board shall retain or employ any special attorney or counsel to represent it in any special matter or pay any compensation for any legal services whatever unless a real necessity exists, made to appear by a resolution thereof stating fully the reasons for the action and the compensation to be paid. The resolution then shall be subject to the approval of the attorney general and, if approved by him, shall be spread upon the minutes of the body and published in the official journal of the parish.
It seems that the BESE board was aware of this; BESE member Jane Smith reported as much to me when we spoke on the evening of July 01, 2014, regarding Garvey’s motion. According to the “services” as defined in the Louisiana Procurement Code (LPC), BESE’s retaining special counsel does not fall under the jurisdiction of White, BESE “Special Counsel” Subject to Attorney General Approval | deutsch29: