LICENSING: Provides relative to the Louisiana Auctioneers Licensing Board
Summary
HB 207 revises the law governing the Louisiana Auctioneers Licensing Board. The bill keeps the board at seven members, with five auctioneer members and two consumer members from the public at large, all appointed by the governor, but removes the prior requirement that auctioneer members be selected one from each Public Service Commission district. It also adds a qualification that the auctioneer members must be current licensed auctioneers in good standing who have held a license for at least five consecutive years.
The bill retains existing rules that board appointees must be U.S. citizens, Louisiana residents, and at least 30 years old, and that the governor designates the chair while the board elects a vice chair annually. It also changes the board’s domicile language to East Baton Rouge Parish and specifies that the board is to be sued there. An applicability clause limits the new appointment requirements to members appointed on or after the act’s effective date.
Impact
HB 207 amends R.S. 37:3111(B) and (C), changing the composition and qualification rules for the Louisiana Auctioneers Licensing Board and clarifying its legal domicile and venue for suit. The practical effect is to shift appointment criteria away from geographic representation by Public Service Commission district and toward professional experience and licensure status, while preserving consumer representation and gubernatorial appointment authority. It also updates the board’s domicile/venue provisions to East Baton Rouge Parish and applies the new appointment standards prospectively to future appointees.
Sentiment
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial. It passed the House unanimously, 91-0, and there is no recorded committee transcript indicating opposition or extended debate. The final action shows it was signed by the Governor as Act 138, suggesting the measure moved through the process with little resistance.
Contention
The main policy change in the bill is the removal of the requirement that auctioneer board members come from each Public Service Commission district, which could reduce geographic representation in favor of professional qualification. Another point of adjustment was the board’s legal domicile and where it may be sued, which was clarified in committee amendments to make East Baton Rouge Parish the mandatory venue. The committee also restored the two consumer members from the public at large, indicating some attention to preserving public representation on the board while refining the appointment structure.
Provides relative to the boards of commissioners for the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-East and the Southeast Louisiana Flood Protection Authority-West Bank