HOUSE NOTES

Louisiana House of Representatives Communications Office 2013 Regular Session Week Eight, May 31, 2013

With one week to go in the 2013 Regular Legislation Session, lawmakers still face the difficult task of balancing the 20132014 state budget. As of May 31, the governor has signed 75 bills into law. This week, Facility Planning officials advised the House Committee on Appropriations on the progress of the University Medical Center construction project in New Orleans, one of the largest construction projects the state has ever undertaken. State Police gave the House Select Committee on Homeland Security an update this week on the hazardous clean-up activities at the October 15, 2012, explosion site near Doyline. Louisiana State Police Emergency Services Technicians have safely secured more than 100,000 pounds of highly-explosive M6 propellant, and transferred an additional 100,000 pounds of flammable solid material and 130,000 pounds of Tritonal from a bunker operated by Explo Systems to safe storage locations. The following are brief highlights of some of the issues considered this week that generated public interest. JOINT RULE * The House approved House Concurrent Resolution 14, which would

require passage of the annual Minimum Foundation Program formula by a favorable vote of at least the majority of the elected members of each chamber---53 in the House and 20 in the Senate. TECH COLLEGES MERGER * Senate Bill 45, which has completed the legislative process, would consolidate the Capitol Area Technical College System with the Baton Rouge Community College System. The legislation provides for the transfer of all funds, obligations, property, programs, facilities, and functions related to all campuses of the Capital Area Technical College to the Baton Rouge Community College. LA COMMUNITY AND TECHNICAL COLLEGES SYSTEM CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS * Senate Bill 204, which passed the House by a vote of 88-11, would allow the Louisiana Community and Technical Colleges System to borrow $251,610,500 for 28 specific construction projects on LCTC campuses around the state. Before state funding is issued, each project would require the availability of private matching funds of at least 12%. The bonds would be issued outside of the capital outlay process and not be subject to legislative approval.

The project cost limitations stated in the bill can be increased by a 15% contingency allowance plus other costs of issuance and interest. Finally, a nonprofit corporation would be established to manage construction projects. CLASS III FIREARM TRANSFER PERMITS * House Bill 277, which has completed the legislative process, would repeal provisions in state law that require the Department of Public Safety to issue possession and transfer permits for Class III firearms, including machine guns, grenade launchers, flame throwers and bazookas. HB277 also would prohibit the possession and purchase of firearms that have not been registered or transferred under provisions of federal law. WEAPONS/HANDGUNS * House Bill 6, which exempts law enforcement officers from the crime of carrying a firearm or dangerous weapon on school property, has completed the legislative process. NOLA FIREFIGHTERS PENSION FUND This week, the Senate approved four House bills affecting the Firefighters Pension and Relief Fund of New Orleans (NOFF). The following measures would change how retirement benefits are calculated and provide for NOFF board and legislative oversight: House Bill 41 establishes board membership, terms of office and voting limitations. House Bill 42 provides for the final average compensation for members of the New Orleans Firefighters' Pension and Relief Fund.

House Bill 50 provides for a phasedin increase of the employee contribution rate for NOFF from 6% to 10% beginning January 1, 2014, and removes the exemption from employee contributions for members with 20 or more years of service. House Bill 51 changes the number of years used to calculate final average compensation for NOFF members who retire on or after July1 from four years to five years. LOUISIANA ASSESSOR'S RETIREMENT FUND * House Bill 39, which has completed the legislative process, creates a new tier of benefits in the Louisiana Assessor's Retirement Fund (ASSR) for members who are first employed October 1, 2013. Under the provisions of HB39, an ASSR member may retire at age 60 with 12 years of service; and at age 55 with 30 years of service. Members employed October 1, 2013, would receive a monthly retirement benefit based on the following formulas: 1.) With less than 30 years of service: 3% x Final Compensation x Years of Service; and 2.) With at least 30 years of service: 3 1/3% x Final Compensation x Years of Service Finally, transferred service with an accrual rate less than 3 1/3% shall not be used to meet the requirement of 30 or more years of service unless the member has upgraded such transferred service. HAZARDOUS DUTY SERVICES PLAN * Under the provisions of House Bill 65, pending Senate Retirement, a retiree from the Hazardous Duty Service Plan with transferred service who retired on or before June 30, 2013, will receive premium supplements beginning July 1, 2013. Premiums shall be increased by an amount sufficient to pay for any increase in the employer's premiums

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resulting from his retirement. The increase shall be deducted from the retiree's monthly benefit and remitted to the Office of Group Benefits. OGB would offset the employer's premium payments by such amount. INACTIVE BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS * House Bill 156 would abolish the following 13 entities and their functions: the Academic Advisory Council, Commission on Mens Health & Welfare, the Emergency Medical Services for Children Advisory Council, the Funding Review Panel, the Louisiana Information Technology Advisory Board and Technology Advisory Group, the Louisiana Sustainable Local Food Policy Council, the Methadone Maintenance Program Needs Assessment Task Force, the Mullet Task Force, the Post Employment Benefits Trust Fund and its Board of Trustees, the Reptile & Amphibian Task Force, and the Uniform Grading Scale Task Force. In addition, HB156 abolishes the following entities, but transfers their functions to another entity for continuation: the Ambulance Standards Committee with only certification functions transferred to the Dept. of Health & Hospitals; and the LA Bio-Fuel Panel with all functions transferred to the Commissioner of Agriculture and Forestry. Further, HB156 requires that the Division of Administration receive and post certain information from the boards/commissions on its web site by Feb. 1 of each year. Finally, HB156 provides for the evaluation of boards, commissions and like entities that fail to comply with deadlines. House Bill 156 has completed the legislative process and is on its way to the governor's desk.

TESTING EXCEPTION * Senate Bill 127 , approved unanimously by the House, provides that a student with disabilities who is not pursuing a regular diploma would not be required to take the American College Test (ACT), unless the student's parent or legal guardian requests, in writing, that the ACT be administered to the student. The proposed law prohibits the nonparticipation by a student with disabilities to be factored into the calculation of any performance score or performance letter grade assigned to any school or school system. DOMESTIC ABUSE BATTERY * Senate Bill 70, which has completed the legislative process, provides that domestic abuse battery committed by burning of the victim that results in serious bodily injury constitutes a crime of violence. Under this proposal, the crime of domestic abuse battery by burning provides a mandatory penalty of five to 50 years imprisonment at hard labor, without benefit of probation, parole or suspension of sentence. MEDICAID TRANSPARENCY * Senate Bill 55, which has completed the legislative process, would require the Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH) to monitor and submit an annual report to the legislature on Louisiana Medicaid Bayou Health and the Louisiana Behavioral Health Partnership and Coordinated System of Care programs. The Department of Health and Hospitals would be required to make available to the public all informational bulletins, health plan advisories and guidance published by the department concerning the Louisiana Medicaid Bayou Health program by publishing and posting such information on

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the DHH website. Additionally, DHH shall make available to the public on the department's website all Medicaid state plan amendments and any related correspondence within 24 hours of submission to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. A l l formal responses by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding any state plan amendment shall be made available to the public, as well, on the department's website within 24 hours of receipt of the correspondence by the department. SMOKE-FREE POLICIES * The House gave unanimous support to Senate Bill 36, which would require public post secondary education institutions to develop smoke free policies for its campuses, and would not prohibit a tobacco-free policy on campus. The proposed law would become effective August 1, 2014.

DIABETES AND OBESITY ACTION PLANS * Senate Bill 35, which passed the House 92-0, would require the Department of Health and Hospitals to submit two annual health action plans a diabetes action plan and an obesity action plan to the Senate Committee on Health and Welfare and the House Committee on Health and Welfare by February 1 of each year. SB35 requires both plans to include the financial impact of diabetes and obesity; assessments of diabetes and obesity prevention programs; the level of coordination and activities between DHH and its contracted partners and other diabetes/obesity stakeholders; and plans for the prevention of diabetes and obesity.

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