Live broadcasts of Louisiana ethics board meetings proposed

by Julie O’Donoghue, Louisiana Illuminator
March 7, 2025

The Louisiana Board of Ethics would have to broadcast its meetings under legislation filed by a state lawmaker who has had several disputes with the board over his missed deadlines and unpaid fines.

State Rep. Steven Jackson, D-Shreveport, filed House Bill 21 to require the ethics board to broadcast or stream online its public meetings. The board would also have to keep the recordings available in a public archive for at least two years.

The board usually convenes monthly for two consecutive days. Elected officials, political consultants and government workers appear before the board at the meetings asking for relief from fines or to push back on the board’s other rulings.

At those same meetings, the board can also vote on whether elected officials and government employees violated anti-corruption and campaign finance laws.

In recent months, legislators have complained the board meetings, while open to the public to attend in person, aren’t transparent because they aren’t available through a broadcast or online streaming.

In contrast, every committee meeting and floor vote of the Louisiana Legislature can be watched in real time and are kept in a video archive on the legislature’s website. A few other state boards, such as the Public Service Commission and Board of Elementary and Secondary Education, also stream their meetings on the internet.

People can also receive an audio recording of ethics board meetings through a public records request made, though no live stream or video recording is available.

Prior to becoming a state legislator, Jackson had five years of angry exchanges with ethics board staff over fines he had accrued while running for public office. He had to pay over $10,000 in penalties after improperly submitting 12 campaign finance and personal financial disclosure reports.

During his first year in the statehouse last year, Jackson passed two laws that reduce ethics board filing requirements and cut the fines the board can assess to lobbyists. He also sponsored a legislative study of Louisiana’s campaign finance laws that is supposed to wrap up by the end of this month.

Jackson could not be reached for comment Friday. The legislative session where his bill will be up for discussion starts April 14.

Louisiana Illuminator is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Louisiana Illuminator maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Greg LaRose for questions: info@lailluminator.com.

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