Louisiana 2024 2024 Regular Session

Louisiana House Bill HB43 Comm Sub / Analysis

                    RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 673 (HB 43) 2024 Regular Session	Bacala
Existing law requires any employee, as defined in existing law, to become a member of the
Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System (MPERS) as a condition of his
employment.
New law requires employers to submit to MPERS 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.
Existing law requires an employee to have a physical examination.
Prior law required that the examination and the execution of any waivers of preexisting
conditions or history be received by the system within 6 months after employment.
New law changes the deadline for submitting the physical examination to 90 days after
employment.
Existing law provides survivor benefits are payable upon application to MPERS and become
effective on the day following the member's death.
New law requires the application for survivor benefits be received by Sept. 20, 2024, or 120
days following the member's death, whichever is later.  New law provides that 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.
Existing law provides for the Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) under which a retiree
continues to be employed for a period during which he defers receipt of his retirement
benefit.
Prior law provided a maximum DROP participation of three years.
New law increases maximum participation to five years.
Existing 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.
New 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.
New 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)Requires monthly reports unless the reporter employed no employees during the
previous and current fiscal year, in which case reports shall be submitted annually.
(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 also 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.
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))