Legislature Report has moved

As of today, the Legislature Report and Supreme Court Report have been consolidated into one weblog. For archive purposes, you can still search the archives here, but all new posts regarding the Louisiana Legislature can now be found here:

www.la-legal.com

Please change your bookmarks to reflect this new address.

posted by Steve at 4:04 PM  

 
Legislature Report to consolidate

Coming soon: The Supreme Court Report, the Legislature Report, and La-Legal Annotated will soon be consolidating into one feature. The court, legislative and legal news portions will be in separate categories so the viewer can choose whatever topic is most interesting.

Hopefully, all categories will be interesting.

posted by Steve at 3:58 PM  

 
Legislature quiz

As we discussed in prior posts, Louisiana now has dual state jellies: sugar cane jelly and mayhaw jelly.

Other exciting "official" things passed in 2003 were:

1) The official state meat pie.
2) The official "Uncle Earl's Hog Day Trials".
3) The official state vegetable plant (not to be confused with the official state vegetable).
4) The official flag of Vietnam.

Now for our test on other official State of Louisiana things. See how many of these you can answer and we'll post the answers in a couple of days.

1. The state flower of Louisiana is _________.
2. Louisiana day is on ________.
3. The state bird is ________.
4. The state tree is _________.
5. The official state colors are ___, ______, and ______. (Hint: not so fast LSU fans).
6. The Louisiana state fossil is __________.
7. The state gemstone is ________.
8. _________ is the state insect. (No, it isn't the mosquito).
9. The state dog is __________.
10. The state crustacean is ____________. (Yes, it is exactly what you think it is.)
11. The state reptile is _____________. (Ditto).
12. The state drink is ____________. (Hint: it isn't beer).
13. The state wildflower is ___________.
14. True or false: The state pledge of allegiance is: "I pledge allegiance to the flag of the State of Louisiana and to the motto for which it stands: A state, under God, united in purpose and ideals, confidant that justice shall prevail for all of those abiding here."

Never mind about the state mammal, amphibian, freshwater fish, and musical instrument.

Thanks to Professor Alsten Johnson who summarizes these tidbits each year in his speech to the Baton Rouge Bar Association.



posted by Steve at 1:07 PM  

 
Much needed change to tutorship laws

Code of Civil Procedure Article 4061.1 was added to enable natural tutors to sue on behalf of their minor children. Prior to this change, a natural tutor had to qualify and be appointed tutor and the failure to take this step could result in the dismissal of cases filed on behalf of the minor. The article does not apply to shared custody cases. Act 155
[Status: passed, effective date: 8/15/03]

posted by Steve at 3:23 PM  

 
New law facilitates buying and selling minority property interests

R.S. 9:1113 is new law that provides a procedure to allow majority holders of interests in immovable property to buy out minority holders. The new law also provides time limits and the manner of valuing and distributing sales proceeds.

Basically, if the minority owners own less than 15% (the owners can pool their ownership), they can petition the court for sale to the majority holders at a price to be determined by a court appointed appraiser. The majority holders can only purchase a fractional interest that is pro-rate equal to their existing interest. The right to purchase is in the nature of an option and expires after 30 days. After the time limit, any co-owner loses his right to buy his pro-rata share. Act 156
[Status: passed and in effect]

posted by Steve at 3:10 PM  

 
New forced heirship change worst legislation of the session

In what will probably turn out to be a major headache for estate planners, the Legislature passed Act 1207 that includes a new definition for a class of forced heirs. This new class includes people who at the time of the death of the parent have a genetic or inherited condition that "may render them incapable of caring for their persons or administering their estates in the future."

This condition must exist "according to medical documentation." What kind of documentation? Prepared by a doctor? Prepared by anyone? Can it be a reference in a hospital record or medical chart? Does the documentation have to exist at the time of death? Does it matter whether the child actually becomes disabled is just the "may" enough to consider the person "permanently incapacitated?"

This legislation was not thought through from a practical aspect. It will cause law suits, title problems and uncertainty for years as to what it means. [Status: passed, effective date: 8/15/03]

posted by Steve at 1:04 PM  

 
Effective date of new legislation

The effective date of most new legislation passed this summer is August 15, 2003.

In the next week, as we approach the effective date, we will start recapping and commenting on all the important legislation that made it through the Legislature, across the Governor's desk, and into law.

posted by Steve at 4:33 PM  

 
Employment contract non-compete enlarged

Amendments to current law allow an employment contract to prohibit competition not only for sellers of a business, but any "other interested party in the transaction." The change also makes clear that a former employee who becomes employed by a competing business, not just the owner of a competing business, can be covered under a non-compete agreement. [Status: passed and sent for signature ] HB 1770

posted by Steve at 10:48 AM  

 
Medical malpractice act extended

Changes in the law provide for the hiring of attorneys to represent the Patient's Compensation Fund. The changes also specifically authorizes the Board to intervene in medical malpractice cases. [Status: passed and sent to the Governor ] HB 1377

posted by Steve at 10:40 AM  

 
Viatical settlements

Comprehensive new law controls viatical settlements (selling the right to receive life insurance proceeds). The law controls everything from licensing to allowed methods of advertising. A viatical settlement cannot be entered into within two years of obtaining life policy, but there are many exceptions, including being diagnosed with a terminal illness. [Status: passed and signed ] ACT 343

posted by Steve at 1:50 PM  

 
Acupuncturist assistants

Amendment to current law requires that an acupuncturist's assistant must work under the supervision of a physician. Prior law required physical supervision and that the physician be certified as an acupuncturist. The physical part is deleted as is the requirement that the physician be certified.[Status: passed and signed ] ACT 62

posted by Steve at 7:09 PM  

 
Battle of the state jellies ends in tie

It was not enough to have a state jelly. A slug-fest erupted in the Legislature that resulted in not just one, but two state jellies. The official jellies for the State of Louisiana are mayhaw jelly and sugar cane jelly. It is comforting to know the Legislature was able to work this out. [Status: passed and signed ] ACT 76

posted by Steve at 6:57 PM