How Family and Divorce Law is Made in Louisiana

It can be of some remote interest of how exactly the process of enacting family and divorce law is in Louisiana.  Most people and lawyers simply want to know what the law is and then how it applies to their case.  But, the process can be interesting just to know that the process is not random and the laws are typically thoroughly thought through.  Also, for an attorney, it can be important when the law has changed to show the change in the law and whether it does or does not have retroactive effect.
The Louisiana Law Institute is the primary administrative body in charge of advising the Louisiana Legislature on what laws it should pass.  Member so the Law Institute are appointed by the legislature.  It is not clear to this author at least whether there are formal procedures that the institute must use, but it is difficult to imagine that there are not well-established procedures in place to make sure that the laws that they are recommending are not thoroughly vetted.
In any event, one of the members of the family law section of the Law Institute, Katie Spaht, wrote that the procedure that they used to make changes in the law was as follows: the first consideration is to figure out the policy changes that members of the section think will be a worthwhile addition or modification to existing law.  This can be a lengthy and difficult process.  Then, these new proposed laws are sent to a researcher in order that they can be compared with other laws in order to minimize contradictions within the law, etc.  Thereafter the laws first go to the family law section to be voted upon, and if approved they then are voted on by the Institute’s main body.  Upon approval, these new or improved laws are then sent to the legislature for its approval.
While thorough, this process can be extremely time-consuming.  The recommendations of the family law section in 1981, for instance, took six years to come into effect.  While it is good that such changes are properly thought through as they can have a large impact on people’s lives, it makes it difficult for the practitioner to understand what the law is during the period between when the section of the Law Institute makes its recommendations and the time the legislature actually makes the amendments to family and divorce law.
The reason for this is that it takes a lawyer extra time to figure out if something is to have retroactive effect.  Because of the chasm separating the years, it is entirely reasonable for a lawyer to expect to have family and divorce law cases where it is necessary to sort through the law in order to understand what the law was pending a change.  It is unclear to this author at least whether such a slow process is necessary to ensure accuracy and to properly reflect both will of the legislature and the Law Institute or whether any benefit to a slow process is outweighed by the need to have clarity in the law.
Will Beaumont is a divorce lawyer in Metairie & New Orleans.  This article is strictly informational and not legal advice.