BATON ROUGE — Lawmakers on a House panel here Tuesday agreed to study the possibility of establishing a Southern University Law Center campus in Shreveport, but a measure for Louisiana Tech University to take over LSUS was taken off of the board.

State Rep. Cedric Glover, R-Shreveport, carried both House Concurrent Resolution 24 asking the Board of Regents to study the viability of a law school and House Bill 470 to merge Tech and LSUS.

Members of the House Education Committee were receptive to the possibility of establishing a law school, approving the measure without opposition.

But Glover, foreseeing the inevitable fate of his Tech-LSUS bill, voluntarily deferred that measure.

Southern Law Center Chancellor John Pierre offered his "full support" of the law school study.

"The vision of the Southern University System is to increase its footprint throughout Louisiana," he said. "This is an opportunity to increase the footprint in a much-needed venue."

Glover said the Caddo Parish Commission has committed up to $100,000 toward conducting the study, showing that "we have skin in the game."

"For most of my adult life I've heard a great deal of interest in northern Louisiana and specifically Shreveport about the possibility of having a law school," said Glover, who is also former mayor of the city.

Glover said he believes northwestern Louisiana is one of the largest geographic regions in the South that isn't served by a law school.

He and Pierre envision a non-traditional setting perhaps in downtown Shreveport, where Southern already has a presence.

They said the law school could serve students at night and on weekends and perhaps in some circumstances virtually.

"We can be on the cutting edge of legal education delivery," Pierre said.

As for a Tech takeover of LSUS, Glover said he continues to believe LSU has neglected its Shreveport campus, "but I know how this vote is going to go."

Before Glover shelved his bill, he said, "I'm not here wearing an LSU jersey. I'm not here wearing a Louisiana Tech jersey. I'm here wearing a Shreveport jersey."

He also noted the question of LSU's commitment to LSUS has been an issue from as far back as 1968, where he showed a headline from a Times' story that read "LSU-S poorly treated."

Glover also noted a 1994 study that suggested a merger with Tech and a similar effort seven years ago that also failed.

LSU opposes any such merger.

Before the Legislative Session began LSU President King Alexander said LSUS is one of the fastest growing universities in the state.

"Chancellor (Larrry) Clark and his faculty and staff are doing great things, and we are very proud of the impact they have on the region," Alexander said in the statement. "We have never been more committed to LSUS and the Shreveport-Bossier community, and they have the full backing of the entire LSU family.”

Greg Hilburn covers state politics for the USA TODAY Network of Louisiana. Follow him on Twitter @GregHilburn1