Gov. Jeff Landry picked three former elected officials and two retired state judges last week to serve on the reconfigured Louisiana Board of Ethics that expands from 11 to 15 seats this month.  One is Winn Parish native Mike Smith.

Two of the governor’s members are former state lawmakers. Former state Sen. Kenneth “Mike” Smith Sr., D-Winnfield, served in the Legislature from 1996 to 2008, and former state Rep. Rickey Nowlin, R-Natchitoches, served from 2008-12. 

“I just pray the Lord can use me to serve,” Smith told the Journal.                                                                  

Landry pushed for dramatic changes to the ethics board last year that gave the governor far more influence over the body.  He increased the size of the board and upped his own appointees from seven to nine. The Louisiana House and Senate also get one additional nominee each, for a total of six seats. 

For the first time, the governor and legislators are also allowed to appoint people directly to the board. Previous governors and lawmakers were only able to pick ethics board members off of lists of nominees selected by the leaders of Louisiana’s private colleges and universities.

The Board of Ethics administers and enforces the provisions of the Code of Governmental Ethics and the rules and regulations with respect to public employees and elected officials, including final decisions of the Ethics Adjudicatory Board.