HLS 21RS-1221 ENGROSSED
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 59
BY REPRESENTATIVES MAGEE, BROWN, BRYANT, GARY CARTER, ROBBY
CARTER, COUSSAN, DAVIS, DUPLESSIS, FRIEMAN, GREEN, JAMES,
JEFFERSON, JENKINS, MIKE JOHNSON, JORDAN, LACOMBE, LANDRY,
LARVADAIN, MACK, MARINO, MIGUEZ, GREGORY MILLER,
MUSCARELLO, NELSON, NEWELL, PRESSLY, SEABAUGH, STEFANSKI,
AND VILLIO AND SENATORS CONNICK, FOIL, JACKSON, LAMBERT,
MORRIS, PETERSON, AND SMITH
COURTS/SUPREME COURT: Urges the Supreme Court of La. to approve CLE credit for
full-time legislative staff attorneys
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request the Supreme Court of Louisiana to take appropriate action to allow full-
3 time legislative staff who are attorneys to also receive the eight hours of continuing
4 legal education (CLE) credit each year given to representatives, senators, and chief
5 clerical officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives for service in the
6 Louisiana Legislature as provided by Regulation 3.15 of Rule XXX of Part H of the
7 Rules of the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
8 WHEREAS, R.S. 37:211 provides that the Louisiana State Bar Association is created
9and regulated under the rule-making power of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, pursuant to
10a memorial addressed to the court by the legislature in Act 54 of 1940; and
11 WHEREAS, Rule 3 of Rule XXX of Part H of the Rules of the Supreme Court of
12Louisiana requires every attorney licensed to practice law (member) to attend, or complete
13an approved substitute for attendance, a minimum of twelve and one-half hours of approved
14CLE each calendar year; and
15 WHEREAS, of the twelve and one-half hours of CLE required annually, not less than
16one of such hours shall address legal ethics and not less than one of such hours shall address
17professionalism; and
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HCR NO. 59
1 WHEREAS, Regulation 3.15 of Rule 3 of Rule XXX of Part H of the Rules of the
2Supreme Court of Louisiana provides that eight hours of CLE credit each year will be given
3to a member who is the governor or a member of the Louisiana Legislature, or a member
4who serves as secretary of the Senate or clerk of the House of Representatives of the
5Louisiana Legislature; and
6 WHEREAS, legislators receive eight hours of credit for attending the regular session
7of the legislature and for attending extraordinary sessions of the legislature which may be
8convened at other times by the governor and shall be convened by the presiding officers of
9both houses upon written petition of a majority of the elected members of each house; and
10 WHEREAS, attorneys working full-time for the legislature are an integral part of the
11state's legislative process. Among several other duties, attorneys of the legislative staff work
12throughout the year to research and draft legislation, assist in conducting meetings to
13facilitate the legislative process, and brief the legislators with the legal knowledge necessary
14to adequately debate pending legislation; and
15 WHEREAS, while each legislator focuses on his particular legislation, attorneys of
16the legislative staff work alongside all of the legislators and draft legislation covering all
17subject matters; and
18 WHEREAS, attorneys of the legislative staff work to ensure legislation is clear,
19concise, and sound to provide for good governance; and
20 WHEREAS, the number of full-time legislative attorneys for both the House and
21Senate is less than fifty compared to the nearly nineteen thousand licensed attorneys in the
22state; and
23 WHEREAS, considering the fact that the attorneys of the legislative staff conduct
24the research and draft the legislation that ultimately becomes the laws of this state, the
25attorneys should be given CLE credit for their knowledge and work.
26 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
27urge and request the Supreme Court of Louisiana to take appropriate action to allow full-
28time legislative staff who are attorneys to also receive the eight hours of CLE credit each
29year given to representatives, senators, and chief clerical officers of the Senate and the
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HCR NO. 59
1House of Representatives for service in the Louisiana Legislature as provided by Regulation
23.15 of Rule XXX of Part H of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HCR 59 Engrossed 2021 Regular Session Magee
Urges the Supreme Court of La. to approve CLE credit for full-time legislative staff
attorneys.
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