§ 25:341 — Establishment and location; purpose; board of directors; appointment; compensation

§341. Establishment and location; purpose; board of directors; appointment; compensation
of members; terms; oaths
A. The Louisiana State Museum is established as a complex of facilities under the
management and supervision of the office of the state museum of the Department of Culture,
Recreation and Tourism.
B. The Louisiana State Museum shall be a historical, cultural, and educational
institution whose primary purpose shall be to collect, preserve, and present, as an educational
resource, objects of art, documents, artifacts, and the like that reflect the history, art, and
culture of Louisiana.
C. The Board of Directors of the Louisiana State Museum, hereafter in this Chapter
referred to as the board, is hereby created in the Department of Culture, Recreation and
Tourism.
D. The board shall be composed of members as provided in Subsection E of this
Section. Each appointed member of the board shall have a knowledge of and interest in art,
history, and cultural restoration. Further, each member nominee shall have experience in at
least one of the following subject areas: marketing, law, historic preservation, museum
sciences, finance, accounting, business administration, fundraising for nonprofits, facility
management, community or consumer advocacy, or other pertinent disciplines.
E.(1) The following members of the board shall serve as ex officio members:
(a) The governor, or his designee.
(b) The lieutenant governor, or his designee.
(c) The president of the Senate, or his designee.
(d) The speaker of the House of Representatives, or his designee.
(2) Beginning January 15, 2029, each of the following members of the board shall
be appointed by the lieutenant governor from a list of names submitted by a nominating
entity as follows:
(a) One member selected from a list of three names nominated by the Friends of the
Cabildo.
(b) One member selected from a list of three names nominated by the Louisiana
Historical Society.
(c) One member selected from a list of three names nominated by the Louisiana
Historical Association.
(d) One member selected from a list of three names nominated by the Wedell-Williams Memorial Foundation, Inc.
(e) One member selected from a list of three names nominated by the Louisiana
Museum Foundation.
(f) One member selected from a list of three names nominated by the Friends of the
Edward Douglass White Historic Site.
(g) One member selected from a list of three names nominated by the Louisiana
Sports Hall of Fame Foundation in collaboration with Friends of the Louisiana Sports Hall
of Fame and Northwest Louisiana History Museum.
(h) One member selected from a list of three names nominated by the Louisiana Civil
Rights Museum Advisory Board in collaboration with the Friends of the Louisiana Civil
Rights Museum.
(i) One member selected from a list of three names nominated by the Friends of
Capitol Park Museum.
(j) One member selected from a list of three names nominated by the Vieux Carre
Commission.
(3) Seven members shall be appointed by the lieutenant governor from the state at
large in such manner as to provide that membership on the board will reflect the ethnic and
cultural diversity of the population of the state and encourage statewide representation on the
board.
(4)(a) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (2) of this Subsection, should any
entity fail to make all or any of the nominations required in Paragraph (2) of this Subsection
within thirty days of its receipt of a request for nominations from the appointing authority,
the lieutenant governor may make an appointment for that nominating entity's seat on the
board from the state at large.
(b) A nominee whose name is submitted by more than one entity concurrently shall
automatically be disqualified from consideration so long as the nominee remains on multiple
lists. The lieutenant governor shall notify the offending nominating entities of the duplicate
nominees in writing and each such nominating entity shall have fifteen days from receipt of
such notice to resubmit a list of names for consideration. Should an entity fail to submit an
un-duplicated list of four names timely, the lieutenant governor may make the appointment
for that nominating entity's seat on the board from the state at large.
F.(1) Each appointment by the lieutenant governor shall be submitted to the Senate
for confirmation.
(2)(a) For members appointed pursuant to Paragraph (E)(2) or (3) of this Section, the
term of office shall be four years after initial terms as provided in Subparagraph (b) of this
Paragraph.
(b) Four members shall serve an initial term of one year; four members shall serve
an initial term of two years; four members shall serve an initial term of three years; four
members shall serve an initial term of four years, as determined by lot at the first meeting of
the board held in calendar year 2029.
G.(1)(a) When a vacancy on the board occurs among the members appointed
pursuant to the provisions of Paragraph (E)(2) of this Section, the entity that nominated the
member shall submit to the lieutenant governor a list of three nominees to fill the vacancy.
The lieutenant governor shall fill the vacancy by appointment from among the nominees and
the appointment shall be for the remainder of the term.
(b) In the event there is more than one position vacant on the board concurrently, a
nominee whose name is submitted by more than one entity shall automatically be
disqualified from consideration so long as the nominee remains on multiple lists. The
lieutenant governor shall notify the offending nominating entities of the duplicate nominees
in writing and each such nominating entity shall have fifteen days from receipt of such notice
to resubmit a list of names for consideration. Should an entity fail to submit an un-duplicated
list of three names timely, the lieutenant governor may make the appointment for that
nominating entity's seat on the board from the state at large.
(c) Should a vacancy occur before January 15, 2029, in one of the two positions on
the board that represent the Friends of the Cabildo, the Louisiana Museum Foundation, or
the Friends of the Capitol Park Museum, the lieutenant governor shall not appoint a member
to fill that vacancy provided that the other position that represents the Friends of the Cabildo,
the Louisiana Museum Foundation, or the Friends of the Capitol Park is occupied.
(2) Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (1) of this Subsection, should any
entity fail to make any or all nominations required by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection within
thirty days after the vacancy occurs, the lieutenant governor may make an appointment for
that nominating entity's seat on the board from the state at large.
(3) When a vacancy occurs among the at-large members appointed pursuant to the
provisions of Paragraph (E)(3) of this Section, then the lieutenant governor shall appoint a
person to fill the vacancy within thirty days of the vacancy. The member appointed to fill a
vacancy shall serve the remainder of the unexpired term.
H. The members of the board shall serve without compensation, but they shall
receive their actual expenses incurred in attending any meeting of the board.
I. Each member of the board shall take and subscribe to the oath of office required
of state officials.

Legislative History

Acts 1983, No. 687, §4; Acts 1987, No. 416, §1; Acts 1990, No. 726, §1; Acts 1991, No. 9, §§1 and 3, eff. June 6, 1991; Acts 1997, No. 318, §1, eff. June 18, 1997; Acts 2003, No. 1205, §1, eff. July 3, 2003; Acts 2007, No. 53, §1, eff. June 30, 2007; Acts 2008, No. 908, §1; Acts 2014, No. 832, §6; Acts 2015, No. 263, §1, eff. Jan. 12, 2016; Acts 2020, No. 257, §1; Acts 2025, No. 450, §1.