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Lawmakers ask Law Institute to study how 'foreign' is used in Louisiana law
Summary
Representative Domingue presented HCR 31 asking the Louisiana State Law Institute to examine the varied legal meanings of the word "foreign" across statutes—from routine corporate designations to national‑security contexts—and recommend consistent definitions.
The committee reported House Concurrent Resolution 31, which asks the Louisiana State Law Institute to study how the term "foreign" is used throughout state law and whether a clearer, modern definition is needed.
Representative Domingue told the committee, "That word is foreign," and described how the term appears "hundreds of times in our law yet carries vastly different meanings depending on where you look." He said the ambiguity forces regulators to treat the same word differently in technical corporate contexts and in national‑security or critical‑infrastructure contexts. "We are seeing instances where the lack of precise definitions creates a sort of double vision for our regulators," Domingue said, urging the Law Institute to distinguish between "foreign neighbor and foreign threat."
The resolution was moved and reported favorably without objection.
The measure asks the Law Institute to deliver a study and any recommended statutory language to clarify usages of "foreign" so courts, regulators and businesses share a consistent understanding.
