BILLS LRTA IS MONITORING

Thank you for sending letters of opposition regarding Senate Bill 7. We will see the effects of your efforts at the upcoming Senate Retirement Committee meeting. However, there is still no meeting date. Please stay tuned. We will send meeting details once it is officially scheduled with the Retirement Committee.

Environment, Social, Governance (ESG)

Senate Bill 7 by Senator Valarie Hodges

This bill would impose new requirements and restrictions on companies that contract with Louisiana’s state and statewide retirement systems to manage the systems’ assets or provide proxy voting services.

Explicitly applies fiduciary duties to proxy voting and requires that any contractor who casts shareholder proxy votes related to retirement system assets commits to following certain proxy voting guidelines.

Additional Payments toward UAL/Companion Legislation

Two bills that mimic parts of legislation passed in the November 2024 Third Extraordinary Session have been filed that together would pay off a significant amount of retirement debt and make permanent the salary increase teachers and support staff are receiving this school year:

House Bill 473 by Representative Julie Emerson

This bill and a proposed constitutional amendment would apply the balance in three educational trust funds to make a one-time payment to erase a portion of the retirement debt owed to TRSL, also known as the unfunded accrued liability (UAL).

House Bill 466 (amended) by Representative Josh Carlson

This bill is a companion bill to HB 473 and would direct the savings realized from the reduced employer contribution rate for TRSL-participating employers, if enacted through the constitutional amendment, to make permanent salary increases for teachers ($2,000) and school personnel ($1,000) beginning in the 2027-2028 school year. HB 466 includes provisions for state funding if the realized savings for any school district from HB 473 is insufficient to cover the raises. It also establishes specific purposes school systems must use any realized savings that exceeds what is needed to fund the pay increases.

Supplemental Payment toward UAL

House Bill 460 (amended) by Representative Jack McFarland

This bill would make a supplemental appropriation of $79.5 million to the unfunded accrued liability (UAL) from a portion of the FY 2023-24 surplus funds in the state treasury as required by the state Constitution.

Repeal of Mineral Revenue Dedication to UAL

House Bill 678 (formerly 472), by Representative Julie Emerson

This bill is a proposed constitutional amendment, and House Bill 599, enabling legislation, both by Representative Emerson, would remove the constitutional dedication of certain mineral revenues to pay down TRSL’s IUAL and remove related statutory provisions. As amended, HB 678 also calls for the repeal of mineral dedications to the TRSL UAL

Citizenship/Immigration Verification and Public Benefits

House Bill 307 (amended) by Representative Chance Keith Henry

This bill  Requires individuals requesting public assistance who are not United States citizens be reported to United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Return To Work (RTW)

House Bill 20 by Representative Pat Moore

This bill would increase the earnings limit from 25% to 50% of a retiree’s final average compensation (FAC), for those retirees who retired on/after July 1, 2020 and select RTW Option 1 (no benefit suspension) when returning to work. As in current law, the retiree’s benefit would be reduced when the earnings limit is reached.

Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) & TRSL Membership

House Bill 24 by Representative Tony Bacala

This bill would make changes to the terms of the optional retirement plan (ORP), a defined contribution plan available to unclassified faculty and staff in higher education.