Eric LaFleur

K. Eric LaFleur (born March 28, 1964 in Ville Platte, Louisiana), is a Democratic member of the Louisiana State Senate, first elected in 2007. Earlier he was a member of the Louisiana House of Representatives from District 38 (Evangeline and St. Landry parishes) from 2000 through 2007. He was first elected without opposition to an open seat vacated by Dirk Deville. He was then re-elected four years later in 2003 with 81% of the vote.

Personal life

Eric LaFleur is the son of Dwight LaFleur, a lifelong resident of Ville Platte, a retired merchant and former Air Force fighter pilot. His mother, Flo Brown LaFleur, was reared on a rice farm in Chataignier, Louisiana, and worked as a registered nurse. Eric LaFleur is the fourth of five children in the LaFleur family. His wife, the former Julie D. Morein, was born and reared just outside of the city limits of Ville Platte. Her father is a farmer and her mother a teacher. She graduated from L.S.U. magna cum laude and earned her Master’s Degree from the University of South Alabama. She is employed as a Physician’s Assistant at Cabrini Hospital in Alexandria, Louisiana. The couple resides in Ville Platte with their three children, Atticus Yves La Fleur born in 2008, Amélie Estelle La Fleur born in 2010, and Alistair Wallace La Fleur born in 2011.

LaFleur is a partner in the law firm of Mahtook & LaFleur. The firm consists of ten attorneys with offices in Ville Platte, Opelousas, Lafayette, and Houston, Texas. He graduated from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, having earned a bachelor of arts in French, economics, and history. He earned his law degree from Tulane University in New Orleans in 1991. His legal practice focuses primarily on transactional work: residential, commercial and public finance. He is a Red Book listed bond attorney. LaFleur also serves as the President and Chief Financial Officer for a medium sized health care company which employs over 100 people and provides primary and ancillary health care services to long term care and long term acute care patients. Before entering private practice, LaFleur served as a felony prosecutor under District Attorney Harry Connick in New Orleans and for the Louisiana Department of Justice under former Attorney General of Louisiana Richard Ieyoub. During his years as prosecutor, LaFleur handled in excess of 1,000 felony cases including 50 plus jury trials.

Louisiana Legislature

LaFleur won the Senate seat on November 17, 2007, when he defeated in a runoff contest, Donald Newton, a Democrat from Bunkie. Newton's grandfather, Donald E. Hines, a Bunkie physician and the Democratic Senate President from 2004 to 2008, retired from the legislature.^[1]

District 28 includes virtually all of the parishes of Evangeline, Allen, and Avoyelles, along with parts of St. Landry and Acadia. Senator LaFleur currently serves as a member of the following senate committees: Finance, Judiciary B, Insurance, and Education in which he serves as Vice-Chairman. He is also a member of the joint House and Senate Budget Committee which meets regularly throughout the year. LaFleur was also selected by the Independent Insurance Agents and Brokers of Louisiana to serve as their representative on the board of directors of Louisiana Citizens Insurance Company, a quasi public insurance company serving as the provider of last resort for homeowner's insurance in Louisiana. He serves as chairman of the company litigation committee. LaFleur serves as the president of the Louisiana section of French speaking legislators Assemblée Parliamentaire de la Francophonie.

Issues

Recent legislation spearheaded and passed by LaFleur included the "Castle" doctrine legislation, House Bill 1097 backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA), that provided civil immunity to victims of crime who lawfully use deadly force to protect themselves and their families against a violent attack. A companion bill House Bill 89, also by Representative LaFleur, and supported by the NRA created presumptions in law for the use of force against intruders in your home, car or place of business and explicitly states in law that you have no “duty to retreat” from criminal attack if you are in a place where you have a legal right to be.

He also promoted and passed ethics reform legislation prohibiting fundraisers during legislative sessions and the application of ethics reporting rules for those people lobbying or trying to influence non-elected executive level employees. In 2007, he and fellow Representatives, Michael Jackson and Don Cazayoux, filed additional ethics reform measures requiring income disclosure for members of the Louisiana House of Representatives. Their bill, House bill 723, provided for the most comprehensive ethics reform package in recent Louisiana legislative history. In sum, the bill would have "[r]equire[d] legislators and candidates for the state legislature to disclose certain income.” While the comprehensive legislation failed to pass, it helped shape the gubernatorial campaign in 2007 as both candidates Bobby Jindal and Walter Boasso adopted it into their campaigns. La Fleur was the author of other bills restricting executive branch lobbying, prohibiting political fundraising activities during session, and requiring legislative oversight and accountability from the governing boards of state retirement systems.

LaFleur is a strong proponent for the preservation of the French language and Cajun and Crèole culture in Louisiana. La Fleur filed legislation to reconstitute the board of the CODOFIL and provided that board with new missions and objectives, including the development of at least one French immersion school in each of the 23 parishes that make up Acadiana on or before 2016. He promoted the adoption of an incentive programs for the development of new or the expansion of existing immersion schools. The Louisiana Board of Elementary and Secondary Education adopted an incentive program at LaFleur's urging in 2011. The program became known as Renaissance Louisiane, adopted from a similar program used in Manitoba. La Fleur serves as president of the French-speaking section of the state legislature.

LaFleur opposes abortion and gun control and enjoyed the endorsement of the Louisiana Association of Business and Industry in his last two elections.LaFleur speaks French, plays saxophone in the band Déjà Vu, and is currently training for his private pilot license. LaFleur enjoys duck and dove hunting and is runner, logging approximately 15 miles per week.

References

External links

• Louisiana State Senate - Eric LaFleur official government website
• Project Vote Smart - Senator Kenneth Eric LaFleur (LA) profile
• Follow the Money - Eric LaFleur
  • 2007 State Senate campaign contributions
  • 2005 2003 1999 State House campaign contributions