Senate Retirement Committee reports multiple bills favorably, including COLA funding changes

The Senate Committee on Retirement on March 10 reported a slate of retirement-related bills favorably, advancing measures that would adjust cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) funding and timing for several systems, update statutory language and reduce trustee education requirements.

Margaret Michel, director of the Louisiana State Police Retirement System, told the committee that Senate Bill 10 would repeal a remaining provision that redirected certain actuarial gains to debt payment rather than COLA funding now that the experience account has been retired. "This is the last piece of that law," Michel said, describing the bill as aligning gains and losses on an equal playing field going forward.

Michel also discussed Senate Bill 11, which would raise the direct COLA funding rate for the State Police system to move from an expected COLA frequency of roughly every five to seven years at 2.5% funding toward about every three to five years at a 3.5% funding level. "This would allow for the cadence of COLAs to be in line with the other state systems," she said. The department and the colonel support the change.

Senate Bill 12, described as a statutory cleanup, removes outdated references to the Civil Service Commission and aligns language to the State Police Commission; the committee accepted technical amendments and moved the measure forward.

Senate Bill 16, developed with the Louisiana Association of Public Employees Retirement Systems (LAPERS), would reduce mandatory trustee education from 16 to 12 hours to help smaller boards meet training requirements.

Senate Bill 19 would rename and redesign the retired-state-employees prestige license plate for the Retired State Employees Association (RSEA). Jimmy Anthony, administrative director of RSEA, said previous design options were not workable and noted the Department’s plate-design system is undergoing an upgrade that may delay implementation. Frank Gilbert, who handles legislative affairs for RSEA, said his organization can provide seed funds to produce the prototype and urged the committee to move the bill forward.

Senate Bill 17, introduced by Senator Talbot and explained by Kathy Burke, director of the Registrar of Voters Employees Retirement System, would prefund COLAs from a funding deposit account rather than from excess earnings, retain a 3% maximum COLA and allow supplemental "A plus B" COLAs in some circumstances. Laura Gail Sullivan, counsel for retirement systems, and actuaries discussed how the bill moves COLA governance into the chapter for the Registrar of Voters system and clarifies timing and calculation details.

Each of the listed bills was reported favorably by the committee with no recorded objections in the transcript; staff noted an updated digest will be prepared for one item. The committee adjourned after the items were reported.

What happens next: Reported bills will be placed on the Senate calendar for floor consideration; sponsors said they will present the measures at that time.