Louisiana elected officials had until Friday to file financial disclosure forms for the first time since new ethics laws were passed last year, though most legislators filed for extensions.
Lawmakers, mayors, city council members and others from around the state must fill out the forms and get them to the Louisiana Board of Ethics. The forms provide information — but few details — about their income, properties and debts. The public can view financial information about their elected officials at the Board of Ethics’ Web site, though only a handful had been scanned and available for viewing by late Friday.
Under the law passed last year, House and Senate members are classified in a way that allows them to file an extension if they also got an income tax extension from the Internal Revenue Service. Frank Simoneaux, chairman of the ethics board, was also among those who filed for an extension.
Kathleen Allen, top attorney for the ethics board, said those who get extensions have one month to file after the date they file their federal tax forms. If the form isn’t submitted by then, fines of $100 per day could be imposed on lawmakers and others in the “Tier 2” category.
Gov. Bobby Jindal and the state’s six other statewide elected officials are classified as “Tier 1,” and are ineligible for extensions. Jindal’s press office said the governor’s form had been submitted to the Ethics Board, but it was not yet available on the Web site Friday.
None of the other statewide officials’ forms were available on the site Friday.—-Contact The Daily Reveille news staff at [email protected]