The Lawrason Act is an 1898 measure of the

Louisiana State Legislature The Louisiana State Legislature (french: Législature d'État de Louisiane) is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It is a bicameral body, comprising the lower house, the Louisiana House of Representatives with 105 repres ...

which permits municipalities in the state to incorporate into towns or cities without specific clearance from the legislature. It is named for the attorney Samuel McCutcheon Lawrason, who was a state senator from St. Francisville, the seat of

West Feliciana Parish West Feliciana Parish (French: ''Paroisse de Feliciana Ouest''; Spanish: ''Parroquia de West Feliciana'') is a civil parish located in the U.S. state of Louisiana. At the 2010 census, the population was 15,625, and 15,310 at the 2020 census. ...

for two nonconsecutive terms, 1896-1900 and 1920-1924. The Lawrason Act was used, for instance, on April 4, 1951, in Newellton in

Tensas Parish Tensas Parish (french: Paroisse des Tensas) is a parish located in the northeastern section of the State of Louisiana; its eastern border is the Mississippi River. As of the 2010 census, the population was 5,252. It is the least populated paris ...

to upgrade the community from a village to a town. In 1912, the Lawrason Act established a city commission government for

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandri ...

. The mayor under that system served as the Commissioner of Public Health and Safety (Police, Fire, Sanitation). There were separate Commissioners of Streets and Parks and Finance and Utilities, all elected citywide. The last to hold those positions, which ended in 1977, were Mayor John K. Snyder, Malcolm Hebert, and Arnold Jack Rosenthal, respectively. The commission form ended with a new mayor-council charter in 1977.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lawrason Act 1898 in American law Louisiana law 1898 in Louisiana