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)]
CONFERENCE COMMITTEE REP ORT DIGEST
HB 43 2024 Regular Session Bacala
Keyword and oneliner of the instrument as it left the House
RETIREMENT/MUNICIPAL POL: Provides relative to contributions to and the administration of
the Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System
Report adopts Senate amendments to:
1. Add deadlines for application for survivor benefits.
2. Extend DROP participation.
3. Remove proposed law regarding delinquent payments.
4. Amend proposed law relative to mandatory reporting of employees by municipalities.
Digest of the bill as proposed by the Conference Committee
Proposed law requires MPERS employers to submit to the retirement system a fully completed
membership enrollment form, a copy of the birth certificate and Social Security card for each
member it employs and his beneficiaries within 90 days after employment.
Present law requires an employee to have a physical examination and further requires that the
examination and the execution of any waivers of preexisting conditions or history be received by the
system within six months after employment.
Proposed law changes the deadline for submitting the physical examination to the system to 90 days
after employment.
Present law provides for the payment of benefits to a survivor of a contributing member who dies
before retirement or a survivor of a disability retiree who dies. Provides survivor benefits are
payable upon application to MPERS and become effective on the day following the member's death. Proposed law retains present law if the application for survivor benefits is received by Sept. 20,
2024, or 120 days following the member's death, whichever is later. If this deadline is not met, the
benefits become effective when a complete application is received and payable no later than the first
month following 30 days from the date that a complete application is received.
Present law provides for the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) under which a retiree
continues to be employed, for a period of not more than three years, during which he defers receipt
of his retirement benefit.
Proposed law increases maximum DROP participation to five years.
Present law provides that the MPERS system is governed by a board of trustees comprised of 15
members. Board membership includes seven active contributing members, four of whom shall be
police chiefs and three of whom shall not be chiefs.
Proposed law provides that if such a member of the board with no more than two years left in his
term becomes a retiree of the system or is no longer a police chief, he shall continue to serve as a
member of the board until the expiration of the term for which he was elected.
Proposed law requires a municipality that employed a police officer or chief within the previous five
fiscal years to submit reports to the system as follows:
(1)Reports shall be submitted annually by the 15th day of July.
(2)The reports shall include the amount of earnable compensation per employee and shall
separately report state supplemental pay and the amount of compensation paid for overtime.
The report shall include other information prescribed by the board.
(3)If a report is in error as to the earnable compensation of any member and such an error results
in an overpayment of benefits by the system, the municipality shall reimburse the system for
the overpayments within 30 days after notification of the discovery of the error or
overpayment.
Proposed law requires a mandatory reporter that employed no employee during the previous and
current fiscal year to only submit electronically to the system an annual contributions report and
certify such no later than the 15th of July of the following fiscal year.
Effective July 1, 2024.
(Amends R.S. 11:2214(A)(2)(a) and (d)(ii), 2220(B)(2)(e), 2221(C) and (I)(1)(intro. para.),
2225(A)(3)(a), 2225.4(A)(1) and (B)(1), 2227(A) and (B)(1), 2241.4(A)(3), and 2242.4(3))