SLS 12RS-5219 ORIGINAL
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Regular Session, 2012
SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 158
BY SENATOR APPEL
LEGIS POWERS/FUNCTIONS. To urge and request the Louisiana State Law Institute to
study Louisiana's lien laws.
A RESOLUTION1
To urge and request the Louisiana State Law Institute to study Louisiana's lien laws.2
WHEREAS, a lien is a form of security interest granted over an item of property to3
secure the payment of a debt or performance of another obligation; and4
WHEREAS, liens are used routinely by numerous business entities, including5
owners, contractors and sub-contractors, vendors, lenders and land title companies; and6
WHEREAS, the proper recording, prioritizing and perfection of liens as well as the7
recording of other documents and their ranking in relation to each other is critical to the8
conducting of commerce and business activity and growth in this state; and9
WHEREAS, Louisiana's lien law as a whole has not recently been comprehensively10
reviewed or updated; and11
WHEREAS, Louisiana's law currently contains more than 600 references to liens,12
scattered across various sections of Louisiana's Civil Code, Code of Civil Procedure and13
Revised Statutes.14
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby15
urge and request the Louisiana State Law Institute to study and review the placement and16
structure of Louisiana's lien law, including the documents that are required to be recorded,17
the types of liens currently provided for in Louisiana law, the placement of such provisions,18 SR NO. 158
SLS 12RS-5219 ORIGINAL
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and the manner in which Louisiana law currently requires that liens be recorded, perfected1
and prioritized, and further to develop recommendations to provide continuity within2
Louisiana's lien law and to simplify and better organize Louisiana's lien law to be consistent3
and understandable.4
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as part of its study the Louisiana State Law5
Institute shall compare proposed modifications to Louisiana's lien law to the lien laws of6
other states in an effort to ascertain the best possible expression of law as related to national7
trends and business practices.8
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana State Law Institute shall report9
its findings and recommendations to the Louisiana Legislature on or before February 1,10
2013.11
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the12
director of the Louisiana State Law Institute.13
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Julie J. Baxter.
DIGEST
Appel SR No.
Requests the La. State Law Institute to study the structure of Louisiana's lien law, including
the types of liens currently provided for in Louisiana law, the placement of such provisions,
and the manner in which Louisiana law currently requires that its liens be recorded,
perfected and prioritized, and to recommend ways to simplify Louisiana's lien law.
Requires report on or before February 1, 2013.