Committee advances bill to reset municipal police retirement relations

House Bill 45 drew bipartisan, stakeholder‑backed support in the Senate Committee on Retirement on May 5 as an effort to resolve ongoing friction and litigation between municipalities and the Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System.

The sponsor said HB 45 addresses retention bonuses, recognizes out‑of‑state police service for recruitment, provides benefits for three officers killed in the line of duty prior to full enrollment, fixes a DROP system glitch, and adjusts accrual rates to better align with sheriff systems. Amendment 30‑85 was offered to allow officers who continued working after an earlier DROP period to pick up two years of DROP at an actuarially appropriate rate; the committee adopted the amendment without opposition.

Richard Williams, interim director of the Louisiana Municipal Association, said the bill "goes a huge way towards resolving a lot of the issues between the mayors and the police chiefs on the retirement." Jason DeMarco, deputy chief and Empress board member, praised the negotiations as a path to cooperative implementation.

Chairman Price read witness cards that included chiefs of police and union support; with a motion by Senator Henskin the committee moved HB 45 as amended forward to the next stage with no recorded opposition.

The measure was reported favorable by the committee and will proceed toward further review and referrals as required under chamber rules.