Legislative Update: 10/1/2020

The Louisiana legislature called itself into special session on Monday, September 28. The session must end by October 27. The primary purposes for the session are to address the state unemployment trust fund and to work on Hurricane Laura recovery efforts.

A bill related to return-to-work retirees was filed in the House.

House Bill 36 (Rep. Bacala) would authorize the re-employment of retirees from the four state retirement systems during a declared state of emergency without suspension or reduction of benefits if the following conditions occur:
The re-employment occurs during a state of emergency declared by the governor, and
The employer certifies in writing to the retirement system that employment of the retiree is critical to the effectiveness of the employer’s response to the emergency.

This bill was referred to the House Retirement Committee. LRTA will monitor this legislation and will keep you updated when the committee meets. LRTA will also continue to monitor the session for any fiscal considerations that could affect retirement or our benefit plan.

We will remain vigilant as conditions change through the pandemic. The LRTA staff works continuously to represent you and to protect your retirement benefits.

Regards,
Rodney R. Watson
LRTA Executive Director