General Circular No. 001376

To: Heads of State Agencies and Human Resource Directors

Subject: Proclamation of Acadian Day

Issue Date: November 10, 1999

There is quoted below for your information and guidance a proclamation issued on November 8, 1999 by the Honorable M.J. "Mike" Foster, Jr., Governor of Louisiana.

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WHEREAS, pursuant to R.S. 1:55(A)(1), Thanksgiving Day, Thursday, November 25, 1999, is a legal holiday and a day of rest in the state of Louisiana;

WHEREAS, R.S. 1:55(B)(3) empowers the governor to authorize, by executive proclamation, the observance within the state of other holidays and half-holidays;

WHEREAS, R.S. 1:55(B)(3) provides that whenever "the governor declares the fourth Friday in November a holiday, such holiday shall be designated as Acadian Day" commemorating "the arrival in Louisiana of the Acadian people from the French colony, Acadia, following the ceding of that colony to England in 1713, and in recognition of the fact that much of the early economic and political development of Louisiana is directly attributable to the industry of the Acadian people, through the cultivation of land, the utilization of Louisiana's natural resources, and the interest of the Acadian people in political self-determination and American democracy;" and

WHEREAS, the citizens of the state of Louisiana will benefit from an additional legal holiday during a time period when families traditionally gather together to remember their blessings and promote family values;

NOW THEREFORE I, M.J. "MIKE" FOSTER, JR., Governor of the state of Louisiana, by virtue of the authority vested by the Constitution and laws of the state of Louisiana, do hereby order and direct as follows:

SECTION 1: Friday, November 26, 1999, is declared Acadian Day in the state of Louisiana. It shall be observed as a legal holiday and a day of rest.

SECTION 2: Insofar as practicable the appointing authorities and/or heads of all institutions, offices and departments of the state (hereafter "appointing authority") shall permit the officers and employees under their control to observe Acadian Day as a day of rest. Nonetheless, an appointing authority shall have discretion to require said officers or employees to work on Acadian Day when, in the appointing authority's judgment, it is required for the efficient administration of a state facility, the operation of which is necessary and indispensable to the citizens of this state.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have

set my hand officially and caused to

be affixed the Great Seal of the state

of Louisiana, at the Capitol, in the

city of Baton Rouge, on this 8^th day

of November, 1999.

Secretary of State

Sincerely,

Allen H. Reynolds

Director