HLS 25RS-87 ORIGINAL
2025 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 1
BY REPRESENTATIVES BEAULLIEU AND DEVILLIER
COMMENDATIONS: Commends Patricia Lowrey-Dufour on her retirement as the senior
legislative analyst for the House Committee on House and Governmental Affairs
with House Legislative Services
1 A RESOLUTION
2To commend Patricia Lowrey-Dufour upon her retirement as the senior legislative analyst
3 for the House Committee on House and Governmental Affairs with House
4 Legislative Services.
5 WHEREAS, in September of 2024, Patricia Lowrey-Dufour retired as the senior
6legislative analyst for the House Committee on House and Governmental Affairs with House
7Legislative Services (HLS), and it is appropriate to commend her for nearly four decades of
8excellence in public service; and
9 WHEREAS, the daughter of Joe and Mary Vernon Lowrey and a native of Sabine
10Parish, Trish was valedictorian of her class at Many High School and is a proud alumna of
11Louisiana State University; and
12 WHEREAS, it was in 1985, while still a college student, when Trish began her long
13and highly productive career as a legislative staffer, serving as a legislative aide in the
14Senate and working in the legislative bureau; she also staffed Governor Buddy Roemer's
15transition team while she was a student and later served as the intern for the Governmental
16Affairs Division of HLS; she then served as a redistricting assistant in the office of former
17HLS Director (and House Clerk) David R. Poynter before returning to what became her
18longtime home on the seventh floor of the capitol as a full-time analyst with the House
19Committee on House and Governmental Affairs; and
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HR NO. 1
1 WHEREAS, under the House rules, the subject matter assigned to this committee
2covers a tremendous amount of ground and requires an expansive depth and breadth of
3knowledge – civil service, elections, governmental ethics, the apportionment of elected
4officials and governing bodies, the creation of all legislative committees, the affairs of the
5House, legislative rules and procedures, expenditures of funds by the legislature,
6governmental reorganization, intergovernmental relations between the state and the United
7States or other states, the capitol building and other capitol complex buildings, and
8employees of the House, to name a few; and
9 WHEREAS, in part due to the committee's subject matter jurisdiction, and
10particularly in terms of redistricting, Trish worked more closely with each individual
11member than perhaps any other staffer; she had an encyclopedic knowledge of House
12districts and the communities that members represent; she drew the maps, and she knew the
13boundaries, the precincts, and the unique characteristics of constituents; at times she seemed
14to know every back road of every parish, having either traveled there on the job or
15painstakingly placed each one on a district map; this takes more than cartography skills – it
16is complex and nuanced, both legally and politically, and she artfully and capably handled
17these challenges every redistricting season for decades; and
18 WHEREAS, there are words used to describe people like "unique" and "singular" but
19seldom has there been a person who embodies this sentiment more fully than Trish – she
20simply is one of a kind – and it is nearly impossible to conceive of the state capitol without
21her deep well of knowledge and her steady and steadying presence; and
22 WHEREAS, in addition to her superb service to legislators, Trish served as a mentor
23to other House staffers and as the exemplar of excellence in legislative staffing; she
24demonstrated all of the ideals for which House staffers strive: she had a deep appreciation
25for the principle of representative democracy; she was committed to maintaining the strength
26of the legislature as a co-equal branch of government; she set the highest standard of conduct
27in her objectivity; she met the most pressure-filled moments with unfailing calmness and
28kindness; and echoing through the halls of every floor of the capitol when the most obscure
29question was raised was the eternal refrain, "Let's ask Trish"; and
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HR NO. 1
1 WHEREAS, one of Trish's most important roles was her service as the holder of the
2institutional memory of the House, having served under Speakers Dimos, Alario, Downer,
3DeWitt, Salter, Tucker, Kleckley, Barras, Schexnayder, and DeVillier; she witnessed and
4played a role in untold moments of great significance in the history of this state; her memory
5was the ultimate resource not only for how things were done, but why; and
6 WHEREAS, throughout the course of her long career, Trish had many offers and
7invitations to pursue other ventures, but she remained loyal and faithful to the "People's
8House" because she believed in it; she stood by it through the best and the most challenging
9of times; members may have stood in the spotlight, but often they did so on a foundation that
10she helped to lay for them with her guidance and expertise and by always telling them the
11truth; and
12 WHEREAS, in addition to her many professional achievements inside this building,
13Trish is devoted to her loving circle of family and friends, and it is the hope of the members
14that she is enjoying the freedom granted by retirement to gather with them, to wander
15through the farmer's market, to play with her granddaughter Zeaux, to celebrate family
16birthdays and other important milestones, to ride her bike, to cheer on her favorite teams, to
17practice yoga and tai chi, to advocate for causes close to her heart, and to cultivate her
18beloved garden; and
19 WHEREAS, Trish's former division director, E. Anne Dunn, captures the essence of
20her public service with these words: "The retirement of Patricia Lowrey-Dufour from the
21staff of the House of Representatives is a milestone in the history of the institution. Her
22departure will be a significant loss to the House, the legislature, and the people of Louisiana.
23For so many years she has been a true mainstay in developing and formulating policy in a
24wide range of areas, while being the go-to person for information about and improvement
25in the legislative process"; and
26 WHEREAS, Patricia Lowrey-Dufour's contributions to the Louisiana Legislature
27cannot be overstated, and she is recognized by every member and staffer for the special place
28she occupies in the chronicles of the history of the state; and
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HR NO. 1
1 WHEREAS, it is impossible to capture all that Trish means to this body in one
2document, but House members hope that this serves as a record of profound admiration,
3appreciation, and respect for someone who is truly a once-in-a-generation talent; and
4 WHEREAS, it is fitting to take proper notice of Patricia Lowrey-Dufour, an
5extraordinary public servant, and to express the pride of the people of the state in this most
6distinguished daughter of Louisiana.
7 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
8Legislature of Louisiana does hereby commend Patricia Lowrey-Dufour for nearly four
9decades of dedicated and incredibly effective service upon her retirement as the senior
10legislative analyst for the House Committee on House and Governmental Affairs with House
11Legislative Services; does hereby record how she set the ultimate standard in legislative
12staffing as a public servant; and does hereby express to her enduring appreciation for the
13pride, honor, and joy she will forever bring to the House, to the legislature, and to the state
14of 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)]
HR 1 Original 2025 Regular Session Beaullieu
Commends Patricia Lowrey-Dufour upon her retirement as the senior legislative analyst for
the House Committee on House and Governmental Affairs with House Legislative Services.
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