§202. Council; membership; terms; vacancies; meetings

            A. The governing body of the Louisiana State Law Institute shall be a council composed of ex officio members and elected members. The ex officio members shall be:

            (1) One justice of the Supreme Court of Louisiana selected by the justices thereof.

            (2) One judge of the intermediate Louisiana courts of appeal selected by the judges thereof.

            (3) Two judges of the Louisiana district courts selected by the District Judges Association.

            (4) One federal judge residing in Louisiana selected by the federal judges residing in Louisiana.

            (5) The attorney general of the state of Louisiana.

            (6) The executive counsel to the governor.

            (7) The chairman of each judiciary committee of the Senate, the chairman of the House Civil Law and Procedure Committee, the chairman of the House Administration of Criminal Justice Committee, and the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, or an attorney appointed by any of the above named chairmen who is a member of any of the foregoing committees, one additional member of the House of Representatives appointed by the speaker, and one additional member of the Senate appointed by the president of the Senate.

            (8) The president of the Louisiana State Bar Association.

            (9) The chairman of the Young Lawyers Section of the Louisiana State Bar Association.

            (10) The dean of the Louisiana State University Law School.

            (11) The dean of the Loyola University School of Law.

            (12) The dean of the Southern University Law School.

            (13) The dean of the Tulane University School of Law.

            (14) The officers of the Louisiana State Law Institute.

            (15) Any Louisiana members on the Council of the American Law Institute.

            (16) Any Louisiana members of the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association.

            (17) Any Louisiana members of the House of Delegates of the American Bar Association.

            (18) Any Louisiana members of the Board of Governors of the National Bar Association.

            (19) A Louisiana member of the National Bar Association to be appointed by the president of the organization.

            (20) Two Louisiana members of the National Bar Association to be appointed by the president of the Louisiana Judicial Council of the National Bar Association.

            (21) The president of the state chapter of the Louis A. Martinet Society or his designee.

            (22) The state public defender or his designee.

            (23) Two judges who are members of the Louisiana Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges appointed by the president of the Louisiana Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges or their designees. One of the judges shall be a judge of a court having exclusive family or family and juvenile jurisdiction, and the other shall be a judge of a court having exclusive juvenile or family and juvenile jurisdiction.

            (24) The executive director of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association.

            (25) The president of the Louisiana District Attorneys Association or a district attorney designated by the president.

            (26) One judge who is a member of the Louisiana City Court Judges Association appointed by the president of the Louisiana City Court Judges Association or his designee.

            B. The elected membership shall consist of thirty-one members, as follows: three shall be elected from the members of the faculty of the Louisiana State University Law School; three from the members of the faculty of the Loyola University School of Law; three from the members of the faculty of the Southern University Law School; three from the members of the faculty of the Tulane University School of Law; and nineteen from among the practicing attorneys of the state of Louisiana.

            C. The terms of office of the members of the judiciary who are ex-officio members of the Council shall be four years. The other ex-officio members shall hold their positions during their respective terms of office.

            D. The terms of office of the elected members of the Council shall be four years. The terms of office of the first elected members having been fixed and determined under Acts 166 of 1938 and 195 of 1942, their successors shall continue to be elected for terms of four years under such rules as the Council may adopt. The elected members of the Council shall be eligible for re-election.

            E. Vacancies in the elected membership created by death, resignation or otherwise than by the expiration of the terms of office shall be filled by the Council under such rules as it may adopt. Vacancies occurring through the expiration of the terms of office shall be filled by election by the Council under such rules as it may adopt.

            F.(1) All meetings of the Council shall be held at a meeting space located in a public building and open to the public for the purposes of the meeting. The institute shall select meeting space that is available without charge or at a reduced cost. At least half of the Council meetings held each year shall be in Baton Rouge.

            (2) Public entities are authorized and encouraged to make meeting space available to the institute without charge or at a reduced cost.

            (3) For meetings held in Baton Rouge, preference shall be given to meeting at Louisiana State University unless, after reasonable inquiry by the institute, another meeting space at a public building elsewhere in Baton Rouge is available at a lower cost.

            G.(1) Meetings of the institute shall be subject to the Open Meetings Law and the Public Records Law.

            (2)(a) Notwithstanding Paragraph (1) of this Subsection or provisions of the Open Meetings Law to the contrary, committees and subcommittees of the institute may conduct periodic meetings via electronic means provided that all of the following requirements are met:

            (i) No later than twenty-four hours prior to the meeting, the institute shall provide the notice and agenda for the meeting, which shall include information regarding how members of the public may participate in the meeting and submit comments regarding matters on the agenda. The notice and agenda shall be posted on the website of the institute and emailed to any member of the public or the news media who requests notice of the committee or subcommittee's meetings.

            (ii) The institute shall provide a mechanism to receive public comment electronically both prior to and during the meeting. The institute shall properly identify and acknowledge all public comments during the meeting and shall maintain those comments in its record of the meeting.

            (iii) The institute shall ensure that each person participating in the meeting is properly identified and that all parts of the meeting, excluding any matter discussed in executive session, are clear and audible to all participants in the meeting, including the public.

            (iv) A committee or subcommittee shall not conduct successive meetings via electronic means.

            (b) The provisions of Subparagraph (a) of this Paragraph shall not limit the conduct of meetings via electronic means during a gubernatorially proclaimed or declared disaster or emergency in the manner provided by R.S. 42:17.1.

            (c) The institute may adopt rules, regulations, and procedures to allow the public to participate in a meeting via electronic means.

            (d) For purposes of this Paragraph, the following words and phrases shall have the following meanings:

            (i) "Meeting via electronic means" shall mean a meeting occurring via teleconference or video conference.

            (ii) "Teleconference" shall mean a method of communication that enables persons in different locations to participate in a meeting and to hear and otherwise communicate with each other.

            (iii) "Video conference" shall mean a method of communication that enables persons in different locations to participate in a meeting and to see, hear, and otherwise communicate with each other.

            Amended by Acts 1952, No. 126, §1; Acts 1954, No. 53, §1; Acts 1971, No. 161, §1; Acts 1976, No. 673, §1; Acts 1999, No. 238, §1; Acts 1999, No. 1318, §1; Acts 2010, No. 620, §1; Acts 2012, No. 188, §1; Acts 2016, No. 428, §1; Acts 2016, No. 536, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2017; Acts 2018, No. 220, §1, eff. May 15, 2018; Acts 2022, No. 613, §1, eff. June 18, 2022.