Eric LaFleur (born March 28, 1964, in Ville Platte,

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

) is an American attorney and politician. A Democrat, LaFleur is a former member of the

Louisiana State Senate The Louisiana State Senate (; ) is the upper house of Louisiana’s legislature. Senators serve four-year terms and participate in various committees. Composition The Louisiana State Senate has 39 members elected from single-member districts ...

for the 28th district, serving from 2008 until 2020. Earlier he was a member of the

Louisiana House of Representatives The Louisiana House of Representatives (; ) is the lower house in the Louisiana State Legislature, the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. This chamber is composed of 105 representatives, each of whom represents approximately 4 ...

for District 38 ( Evangeline and St. Landry parishes) from 2000 to 2008. He was first elected without opposition to an open seat vacated by Dirk Deville. He was re-elected four years later in 2003 with 81 percent of the vote.

Personal life

LaFleur is the son of Dwight LaFleur, a lifelong resident of Ville Platte. He was formerly a merchant and served as an

Air Force An air force in the broadest sense is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an army aviati ...

fighter pilot. His mother, the former Flo Brown, was reared on a

rice Rice is a cereal grain and in its Domestication, domesticated form is the staple food of over half of the world's population, particularly in Asia and Africa. Rice is the seed of the grass species ''Oryza sativa'' (Asian rice)—or, much l ...

farm in Chatgaignier, Louisiana, and became a registered nurse. LaFleur attended local schools. He graduated from Louisiana State University in

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

, having earned a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

with three majors, French, Economics, and History. He earned his J.D. degree from Tulane University Law School in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

in 1991. LaFleur married Julie D. Morein, who was born and reared just outside Ville Platte. Her father is a farmer and her mother a teacher. She graduated from

Louisiana State University Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as Louisiana State University (LSU), is an American Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louis ...

''magna cum laude'' and earned her master's degree from the University of South Alabama at Mobile,

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

. She is a physician's assistant at St. Frances Cabrini Hospital in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

, Louisiana. Additionally, she is a Louisiana licensed Nursing Home Administrator. The couple resides in Ville Platte with their three children: Atticus, Amélie, and Alistair.

Career

LaFleur is a managing partner in the law firm o
LaFleur & Laborde
The firm has offices in New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Ville Platte, and Lafayette, Louisiana. His legal practice is split between transactional work, namely, residential, commercial and public finance, and general civil litigation. He is
Red Book
listed bond attorney. LaFleur also serves as the president and chief financial officer for a health care company; it employs over one hundred (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 In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, county prosecutor, state attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or solicitor is the chief prosecutor or chief law enforcement officer represen ...

Harry Connick in New Orleans and for the Louisiana Department of Justice under former

Attorney General of Louisiana The office of attorney general of Louisiana () has existed since the colonial period. Under Article IV, Section 8 of the Constitution of Louisiana, the attorney general is elected statewide for a four-year term and is the chief legal officer of t ...

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 physician and the Democratic Senate President from 2004 to 2008, retired from the legislature. District 28 includes virtually all of the parishes of Evangeline, Allen, and Avoyelles, along with parts of St. Landry and Acadia. Senator LaFleur served as Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee and the Joint Legislative Committee on the Budget. In addition, he served as a member of the Judiciary B and Insurance Committees. LaFleur was 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's litigation committee, and as the president of the Louisiana section of French speaking legislators known as the Assemblée parlementaire de la francophonie.

Issues

Recent legislation spearheaded and passed by LaFleur included th
"Castle" doctrine legislation, ''House Bill 1097''
backed by the

National Rifle Association The National Rifle Association of America (NRA) is a gun rights advocacy group based in the United States. Founded in 1871 to advance rifle marksmanship, the modern NRA has become a prominent Gun politics in the United States, gun rights ...

(NRA), that provided civil immunity to victims of crime who lawfully use deadly force to protect themselves and their families against a violent attack. He 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. House Bill 723, provided for the most comprehensive ethics reform package in recent Louisiana legislative history. In sum, the bill would have " quire 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. LaFleur 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 Creole culture in Louisiana. LaFleur filed legislation to reconstitute the board of th
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 Manitoba is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population ...

. LaFleur opposes abortion and gun control, and was endorsed by th
Louisiana Association of Business and Industry
in his last two elections. In January 2016, Senate President John Alario of Westwego appointed LaFleur chairman of the pivotal Senate Finance Committee.

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
200520031999
State House campaign contributions {{DEFAULTSORT:Lafleur, Eric 1964 births Living people Louisiana lawyers Democratic Party Louisiana state senators Louisiana State University alumni Democratic Party members of the Louisiana House of Representatives People from Ville Platte, Louisiana Tulane University Law School alumni 21st-century members of the Louisiana State Legislature