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House advances linked measures to pay down TRSL debt, shore up teacher pay
Summary
Lawmakers advanced a coordinated package of measures — a statutory bill and a companion constitutional amendment — to apply trust-fund monies toward TRSL’s unfunded liability and to fund teacher pay raises if voters approve the amendment.
Members discussed a package of measures intended to improve the fiscal position of the Teacher Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL) and to fund teacher pay increases.
Representative Carlson described the statutory component of the plan, which would require school districts to use savings realized from changes in TRSL funding to provide a $2,000 permanent pay increase for teachers and a $1,000 increase for support staff if the companion constitutional amendment received voter approval. Carlson told the chamber the statutory bill is the component that would take effect if voters approve the proposed amendment.
Representative Emerson sponsored the companion constitutional measure, which would authorize using monies currently held in the Education Quality Trust Fund (and related subaccounts) to reduce TRSL’s unfunded accrued liability (UAL). Emerson and Carlson said the plan would move approximately $2 billion into the budgetstabilization/education trust structure to reduce the TRSL debt and thereby free recurring dollars for teacher pay. Carlson said the statutory bill is tied to the constitutional question and would require districts to use those savings for pay raises.
Members from charter‑heavy systems asked how charter teacher pay would be handled; Carlson said increases intended for all teachers could be funded through the Minimum Foundation Program (MFP) appropriation process for districts that do not realize the same TRSL savings. Members also asked for detail about the remaining UAL after the proposed $2 billion payment; Emerson said the payment would reduce but not eliminate the UAL and that the state would still have a remaining liability.
Floor action recorded the House adopting technical amendments and voting on the constitutional and statutory measures. The transcripts show final recorded passage votes for the constitutional component and related statutory measures (roll calls reported in the transcript for HB 4-73 and for the statutory companion HB 4-66 and related instruments), and the clerk recorded the votes as passed with large majorities (for example, 93–0 on one statutory component and similar tallies reported). The sponsors said the measures would be implemented in consultation with the Department of Education and TRSL.
