RÉSUMÉ DIGEST HB 256 2021 Regular Session Tarver Present law authorizes teachers and other school board employees to allow the school board to withhold dues for an organization of teachers or other school employees from their paychecks. Proposed law would have required each employee to authorize such withholdings annually. Present law does not apply to a school board operating under the terms of a collective bargaining agreement applicable to teachers employed by the board. Proposed law would have repealed present law. (Proposed to add R.S. 17:438(E); proposed to repeal R.S. 17:438(D)) VETO MESSAGE: The bill will limit the ability of certain school boards to enter into exclusive contracts, thus limiting the ability of those Boards to manage their business in the manner they see fit. There is long-standing jurisprudence that a local school board has the right to enter into exclusive contracts with organizations in order to effectively and efficiently accomplish its objectives and purposes. This bill would most certainly violate Article 1, §23 of the Louisiana Constitution and unconstitutionally impair existing contracts between school boards and other parties. If enacted into law, House Bill 256 could lead to costly and time consuming litigation. This bill does not serve the best interest of the state, school boards, or students.