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THIS PAGE
OFFERS A SEARCHABLE DATABASE BELOW
During the 1987
legislature, a bill was filed backed by the Security
board that sought to license private investigators
and put them under the control of the Security
Board. Fees under the bill were outrageous and
insurance requirements were so high that most
investigators would have been put out of business.
A
group of private investigators decided that the best
course to fight that bill was to form an association
and rally the support of other investigators to
fight that bill. So in April 5, 1987, Gary
Hyatt, Randy Hyatt, Martin Powell and Cecil Paris
held the first meeting of the Louisiana Private
Investigators Association in Moss Bluff, Louisiana.
Officers for the association were elected as
follows:
Gary A. Hyatt, President
Cecil Paris, Vice-President
Martin Powell, Secretary
Randy Hyatt, Treasurer.
LPIA, with only 17 members, defeated the bill and
decided to fight fire with fire. In the fall of
1988, Gary Hyatt, Julius "Buddy" Bombet and John
Becton met in Lafayette, Louisiana and wrote a
proposed bill creating the Louisiana State Board of
Private Investigator Examiners.
In
the 1988 Legislature, the bill was filed by
Representative Chris John of Crowley, Louisiana. It
was later killed by heavy lobbying from the security
industry.
In
1989, they continued to build contacts in both the
House and Senate. The bill was introduced again and
made it out of committee, but was later killed on
the floor by the security industry. Ex-Governor
Edwin Edwards, who was running for this fourth term,
was contacted and his support was obtained in
assisting in 1990. The bill moved along well, but
fell short because of continued heavy lobbying by
the security industry. However in 1992, the bill
passed and became law.
Governor Edwin Edwards appointed the following LPIA
members to the first Board: Julius "Buddy" Bombet as
Chairman, Calvin "Pete" Trahan as Vice-Chairman,
Gary A. Hyatt, Joseph A. Oster, Robert Eubanks and
Penny Mire.
From the beginning, the Louisiana Private
Investigators Association has played a large part in
the way that the board members were appointed, but
over time, their membership has dwindled to less
than 100 members now; a far cry from representing
the majority of the investigators in the state,
currently over 1300 licensed individuals. Our
position is that they are no longer a viable force
relative to the individuals of the average
investigator, perhaps due to some internal conflicts
within their organization and a lack of overall
membership participation.
The
Scandals page offers a great deal of history in
terms of some of the problems that have come to pass
through the mismanagement of the industry.
Early board members struggled with the purpose of
the board and spent funds to travel outside the
state to lobby for national issues, until it was
brought to their attention that their purpose was
solely to LICENSE INDIVIDUALS and PROTECT THE
CITIZENS OF LOUISIANA. As a citizen, my
interests are not served by the LSBPIE lobby efforts
on the national front.
More history will be placed here as the site grows!
BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS REPORT
This link will take you to
the Boards and Commissions website where you can
select and view various budget submissions.
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