Area legislators’ bills focus on education, budget

Local legislators pre-filed bills show a focus on education issues and ways to save the state money in the midst of its budget problems.
State Rep. Beryl Amedee, R-Gray; Rep. Sam Jones, D-Franklin; and Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin; pre-filed a total of 26 bills for the regular legislative session.
Jones educational-focused bills include HB 416, which is a constitutional amendment that provides for the election of a president for each school district and for the appointment of the local superintendent with school board approval.
The state’s school board system is “basically a 19th century system” in which members “perform both executive and legislative functions,” Jones said.
This bill would give the school president only two functions, which would be to fill a vacant superintendent position and to submit a budget to the school board, Jones said.
HB 443 is a companion bill to HB 416 and would provide for each local public school district to have a president elected by the qualified electors of the district.
Amedee filed HB 367 to make TOPS “a secondary payer” for students who have other “needs-based” funding, she said. TOPS would only pay if needs-based funds didn’t cover all of a student’s tuition, Amedee said. The bill would go into effect for the 2019-20 school year.
This bill would be a possible way to reduce the TOPS budget and “cover more students,” Amedee said.
Allain is bringing a bill to try to un-dedicate funds to make up for state budget shortfalls. He filed SB 201, which is a constitutional amendment revising the circumstances that would allow the state to reduce constitutionally protected expenditures and dedications to eliminate a projected deficit.
The state already has certain “triggers” that allow the governor and Legislature to use up to 5 percent constitutionally-protected funds for other purposes, Allain said.
Those triggers haven’t been met even with the “tremendous deficit” legislators are currently facing, Allain said. SB 201 would make the triggers “more reasonable,” he said.
Amedee has other bills also aimed at helping the state’s finances.
HB 422 establishes the Payments Toward State Debt Fund as a special treasury fund. This bill would allow individuals to make contributions to the state to pay off some of the state’s debt, she said.
HB 461 requires copayments for Medicaid-covered physician visits and non-emergency services delivered in hospital emergency rooms.
The bill would make people reconsider whether they really need to go to the emergency room or if they could wait until the next morning or business day to see a regular doctor, Amedee said.
In addition to education and budget-related bills, Jones is bringing back legislation that former Gov. Bobby Jindal vetoed in 2015 in the form of HB 32.
It would authorize a benefit increase to certain retirees and beneficiaries of state retirement systems.
The bill allows up to 1.5 percent for Louisiana State Employees’ Retirement System and Teachers Retirement System of Louisiana and an up to 2 percent for Louisiana School Employees’ Retirement System and State Police Retirement System.
Jindal vetoed Jones’ cost-of-living adjustment after the bill passed during the 2015 session. The money has been just sitting in an account dedicated to retired state employees for an entire year, Jones said.
Jones’ other bills include the following.
HB 21 requires certain amortization periods for certain state retirement system debts and authorizes re-amortization of certain debts in certain circumstances.
HB 33 provides for payment of cost-of-living adjustments to retirees and beneficiaries of state retirement systems without legislative approval in certain circumstances.
HB 37 provides relative to the board of trustees of the Municipal Employees’ Retirement System.
HB 64 provides relative to the content of reports submitted by state and statewide retirement systems to the legislative retirement committees.
HB 342 is a constitutional amendment authorizing the Legislature to pass local laws providing relative to the St. Mary Parish School Board.
HB 343 provides relative to the composition of the St. Mary Parish School Board and to the election of its members. This bill would make align the school board seats with the parish council seats, Jones said.
HB 389 extends the territorial jurisdiction of the City Court of the town of Franklin.
HB 605 requires the advance payment of sales tax by certain dealers and authorizes a credit or refund in certain circumstances, according to the Legislature’s website.
HB 660 exempts the State Library of Louisiana from certain requirements relative the employment of blind persons.
HB 689 provides relative to the city court for Morgan City and requires 30 percent of funds collected by the city court of Morgan City for indigent defense services to be deposited into a special fund.
HB 697 authorizes the secretary of the Department of Revenue to waive penalties under certain conditions.
Allain’s other bills include the following.
SB 26 provides relative to servitudes of natural drainage. The bill clarifies servitudes of drainage, Allain said.
SB 48 authorizes the St. Mary Parish Council, the town of Berwick and Recreation District 3 to enter into a contract assigning to the town the obligation to provide service in the area of the district annexed by the town.
SB 165 requires landowner notification when an operator transfers an oil or gas well.
SB 237 provides relative to the State Uniform Construction Code.
Amedee’s remaining bills include the following.
HB 86 requires posting of the state child abuse hotline number in all public schools.
HB 87 removes requirement that certain students in approved home study programs provide documentation of immunization against meningococcal disease.
Amedee said the bill is a “technical correction” on the home study application form. Students are already required to submit the status of all of their immunizations, anyway, Amedee said.
Amedee’s HB 421 prohibits the state from waiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents absent legislative authorization.
HB 765 includes victims of sexual assault within the housing protections afforded to victims of domestic violence.