Regular Session News #18: Senate passes Social Security resolutions; House to consider PBI funding bill next week
May 26, 2023
This week, the following resolutions received final passage in the Senate:- House Concurrent Resolution 67 (Rep. M. Johnson) requests that Congress take actions necessary to review the Government Pension Offset (GPO) and Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) Social Security benefit reductions and eliminate or reduce them by supporting H.R. 82 and S. 597 of the 118th Congress and all similar federal legislation.
- House Concurrent Resolution 69 (Rep. M. Johnson) urges and requests the House and Senate Retirement Committees to study and make recommendations regarding benefit options for future state employees to avoid penalties associated with the GPO and WEP Social Security benefit reductions. TRSL and other state and statewide retirement systems would be asked to participate.
- House Concurrent Resolution 70 (Rep. Beaullieu) requests the State Treasurer and the directors of the state and statewide retirement systems report on investments, investment funds, investment advisors, and other companies used by the treasurer or systems that meet certain criteria.
All three have been signed by the Speaker of the House and the Senate President. They will now be enrolled with the Secretary of State.
Other News:
Senate Bill 201 (Sen. Hewitt) was reported favorably as amended by the House & Governmental Affairs Committee. The heavily amended bill would require the adoption of rules and procedures by certain public bodies to allow electronic or alternative access to members of the public with an Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-recognized disability if requested. It also allows certain public bodies to allow a limited number of public meetings for its participants via electronic means. SB 201 now awaits final passage by the full House.
Additionally, the full House considered two pieces of legislation:
- House Bill 47 (Rep. Nelson), a proposed constitutional amendment, failed to receive the required two-thirds vote of the full House for final passage of that chamber. HB 47 would have required a minimum of 25% of nonrecurring state revenue to be appropriated to the unfunded accrued liabilities (UALs) of the four state retirement systems for teachers, state employees, school employees, and state police, beginning FY 2024-25.
- The full House passed House Concurrent Resolution 110 (Rep. Miguez). HCR 110 urges and requests state and statewide retirement systems to avoid the influence of environmental, social, and governance policies when making investment decisions. The resolution moved to the Senate and was referred to the Senate Judiciary A Committee and is scheduled for consideration at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, May 30 (agenda).
Next Week:
It is anticipated that Senate Bill 18 (Sen. Price/co-sponsored by Senate President Cortez) will be considered by the full House next week. SB 18 would establish a new model for providing permanent benefit increases (PBIs) to retirees and beneficiaries of the four state retirement systems for teachers, state employees, school employees, and state police. For details on the provisions of SB 18, please read our May 2 Legislative Update.
TRSL will keep you informed about the status of bills being monitored throughout the session. You can view all meeting schedules and agendas on the Louisiana State Legislature website. Visit the Legislature page of this website, to see all legislation impacting the retirement system.
Stay tuned for future updates