HLS 20RS-195 REENGROSSED
2020 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 15
BY REPRESENTATIVE COUSSAN
RETIREMENT/LOCAL: Provides for membership of certain new hires of the Lafayette
City-Parish Consolidated Government in the Parochial Employees' Retirement
System of Louisiana
1 AN ACT
2To amend and reenact R.S. 11:1753(C) and 1923(C), relative to the Municipal Employees'
3 Retirement System of Louisiana and the Parochial Employees' Retirement System
4 of Louisiana; to provide with respect to membership of certain employees in
5 Lafayette; and to provide for related matters.
6 Notice of intention to introduce this Act has been published
7 as provided by Article III, Section 13 and Article X, Section
8 29(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana.
9Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
10 Section 1. R.S. 11:1753(C) and 1923(C) are hereby amended and reenacted to read
11as follows:
12 §1753. Membership of employees after consolidation; Terrebonne Parish; Lafayette
13 Parish
14 * * *
15 C.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, including
16 Subsection A of this Section, any employee first employed on or after November 1,
17 2010, and prior to November 1, 2020, by any department created by the Home Rule
18 Charter for the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government, other than
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HB NO. 15
1 employees first employed by the police and fire departments who are enrolled in the
2 Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System or the Firefighters' Retirement
3 System, and any employee first employed on or after November 1, 2010, by the City
4 Court of Lafayette, inclusive of the office of marshal, but exclusive of the judges of
5 the city court, shall, as a condition of employment, become members of the
6 Municipal Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana if they otherwise satisfy the
7 membership eligibility requirements therefor.
8 (2)(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any
9 employee first employed on or after November 1, 2020, by any department created
10 by the Home Rule Charter for the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government,
11 other than employees first employed by the police and fire departments who are
12 enrolled in the Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System or the Firefighters'
13 Retirement System, and any employee first employed on or after November 1, 2020,
14 by the City Court of Lafayette, inclusive of the office of marshal but exclusive of the
15 judges of the city court, shall, as a condition of employment, become a member of
16 the Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana if he otherwise satisfies
17 the membership eligibility requirements therefor.
18 (b) If any position with the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government
19 covered by this system on June 30, 2020 is eliminated from system coverage after
20 October 31, 2020, then the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government shall
21 remit that portion of the unfunded accrued liability existing on June thirtieth
22 immediately prior to the date of elimination which is attributable to the eliminated
23 position.
24 (c) The amount due shall be determined by the actuary employed by the
25 system using the entry age normal funding method and shall be paid in a lump sum
26 or amortized over ten years in equal monthly payments with interest at the system's
27 actuarial valuation rate in the same manner as regular payroll payments to the
28 system, at the option of the employer. The cost of this calculation shall be paid by
29 the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government.
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HB NO. 15
1 (d) Should the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government fail to make
2 a payment timely, the amount due shall be collected in the same manner as
3 authorized by Subsection E of this Section and R.S. 11:1864.
4 * * *
5 §1923. Membership of employees after consolidation; Terrebonne Parish; Lafayette
6 Parish
7 * * *
8 C.(1) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, including
9 Subsection A of this Section, any employee first employed on or after November 1,
10 2010, and prior to November 1, 2020, by any department created by the Home Rule
11 Charter for the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government, other than
12 employees hired by the police and fire departments who are enrolled in the
13 Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System or the Firefighters' Retirement
14 System, and any employee first employed on or after November 1, 2010, by the City
15 Court of Lafayette, inclusive of the office of marshal, but exclusive of the judges of
16 the city court, shall, as a condition of employment, become members of the
17 Municipal Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana if they otherwise satisfy the
18 membership eligibility requirements therefor.
19 (2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, any
20 employee first employed on or after November 1, 2020, by any department created
21 by the Home Rule Charter for the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government,
22 other than employees hired by the police and fire departments who are enrolled in
23 the Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System or the Firefighters' Retirement
24 System, and any employee first employed on or after November 1, 2020, by the City
25 Court of Lafayette, inclusive of the office of marshal but exclusive of the judges of
26 the city court, shall, as a condition of employment, become a member of the
27 Parochial Employees' Retirement System of Louisiana if he otherwise satisfies the
28 membership eligibility requirements therefor.
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HB NO. 15
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 15 Reengrossed 2020 Regular Session Coussan
Abstract: Relative to the Municipal Employees' Retirement System (MERS) and the
Parochial Employees' Retirement System (PERS), provides that certain employees
of the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government (LCG), first employed on or
after Nov. 1, 2020, shall no longer be members of MERS but shall instead be
members of PERS.
Present law, relative to MERS, provides that employees of participating incorporated cities,
towns, or villages in La. shall be members of MERS.
Present law, relative to PERS, provides that any permanent employee of a parish shall be a
member of PERS.
Present law, relative to both MERS and PERS, provides that if the governing authorities of
a municipality and a parish consolidate into one government, those members who were
members of MERS at the time of consolidation shall remain members of MERS. Those
people employed after such consolidation shall become members of PERS.
Present law provides that notwithstanding present law, any employee of the LCG first
employed on or after Nov. 1, 2010, who is in a department created by the LCG Home Rule
Charter, except for police and firefighters, shall become a member of PERS. Present law
also includes certain employees of the city court.
Proposed law, applicable to the same groups of Lafayette employees, provides that those
hired on or after Nov. 1, 2020, shall become members of PERS instead of MERS.
Proposed law requires the LCG to remit payments to cover the unfunded accrued liability
for each position covered by MERS on June 30, 2020, that is eliminated from system
coverage after Oct. 30, 2020.
(Amends R.S. 11:1753(C) and 1923(C))
Summary of Amendments Adopted by House
The House Floor Amendments to the engrossed bill:
1. Require the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government to remit payments
to cover the unfunded accrued liability associated with each position covered by
MERS that is eliminated from system coverage after Oct. 30, 2020.
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