ENROLLED
2021 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 59
BY REPRESENTATIVES MAGEE, ADAMS, BROWN, BRYANT, GARY CARTER,
ROBBY CARTER, CORMIER, COUSSAN, COX, DAVIS, DUPLESSIS,
EMERSON, FREEMAN, FREIBERG, FRIEMAN, GAROFALO, GREEN, JAMES,
JEFFERSON, JENKINS, MIKE JOHNSON, TRAVIS JOHNSON, JONES,
JORDAN, KERNER, LACOMBE, LANDRY, LARVADAIN, LYONS, MACK,
MARCELLE, MARINO, MIGUEZ, GREGORY MILLER, MINCEY,
MUSCARELLO, NELSON, NEWELL, PRESSLY, SEABAUGH, SELDERS, ST.
BLANC, STEFANSKI, VILLIO, AND WHITE AND SENATORS CONNICK,
FIELDS, FOIL, HARRIS, JACKSON, LAMBERT, LUNEAU, MCMATH,
ROBERT MILLS, MORRIS, PEACOCK, PETERSON, AND SMITH
A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
To urge and request the Supreme Court of Louisiana to take appropriate action to allow full-
time legislative staff who are attorneys to also receive the eight hours of continuing
legal education (CLE) credit each year given to representatives, senators, and chief
clerical officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives for service in the
Louisiana Legislature as provided by Regulation 3.15 of Rule XXX of Part H of the
Rules of the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
WHEREAS, R.S. 37:211 provides that the Louisiana State Bar Association is created
and regulated under the rule-making power of the Supreme Court of Louisiana, pursuant to
a memorial addressed to the court by the legislature in Act 54 of 1940; and
WHEREAS, Rule 3 of Rule XXX of Part H of the Rules of the Supreme Court of
Louisiana requires every attorney licensed to practice law (member) to attend, or complete
an approved substitute for attendance, a minimum of twelve and one-half hours of approved
CLE each calendar year; and
WHEREAS, of the twelve and one-half hours of CLE required annually, not less than
one of such hours shall address legal ethics and not less than one of such hours shall address
professionalism; and
WHEREAS, Regulation 3.15 of Rule 3 of Rule XXX of Part H of the Rules of the
Supreme Court of Louisiana provides that eight hours of CLE credit each year will be given
to a member who is the governor or a member of the Louisiana Legislature, or a member
who serves as secretary of the Senate or clerk of the House of Representatives of the
Louisiana Legislature; and
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WHEREAS, legislators receive eight hours of credit for attending the regular session
of the legislature and for attending extraordinary sessions of the legislature which may be
convened at other times by the governor and shall be convened by the presiding officers of
both houses upon written petition of a majority of the elected members of each house; and
WHEREAS, attorneys working full-time for the legislature are an integral part of the
state's legislative process. Among several other duties, attorneys of the legislative staff work
throughout the year to research and draft legislation, assist in conducting meetings to
facilitate the legislative process, and brief the legislators with the legal knowledge necessary
to adequately debate pending legislation; and
WHEREAS, while each legislator focuses on his particular legislation, attorneys of
the legislative staff work alongside all of the legislators and draft legislation covering all
subject matters; and
WHEREAS, attorneys of the legislative staff work to ensure legislation is clear,
concise, and sound to provide for good governance; and
WHEREAS, the number of full-time legislative attorneys for both the House and
Senate is less than fifty compared to the nearly nineteen thousand licensed attorneys in the
state; and
WHEREAS, considering the fact that the attorneys of the legislative staff conduct
the research and draft the legislation that ultimately becomes the laws of this state, the
attorneys should be given CLE credit for their knowledge and work.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
urge and request the Supreme Court of Louisiana to take appropriate action to allow full-
time legislative staff who are attorneys to also receive the eight hours of CLE credit each
year given to representatives, senators, and chief clerical officers of the Senate and the
House of Representatives for service in the Louisiana Legislature as provided by Regulation
3.15 of Rule XXX of Part H of the Rules of the Supreme Court of Louisiana.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
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