HOUSE NOTES

Louisiana House of Representatives

Communications Office
2016 Regular Legislative Session
Week Seven, April 29, 2016

Upon adjournment of the 28th day of

the 2016 Regular Legislative Session, 1,161
House bills and 644 Senate bills had been
introduced.
The House has passed 584 House
Bills, and 12 bills have been sent to the
governor for executive approval: HB179,
HB194, HB273, HB341, HB363, HB515,
HB516, HB523, HB588, HB592, HB803 and
SB1.
A brief description of some of the
bills that generated public interest this week
follows.
AGRICULTURE
*
House Bill 335, which passed 92-0,
establishes a registration fee of $500 and a
licensing fee of $50 for unmanned aerial
drones.
*
House Bill 336, which passed 87-0,
adds the origin of certain foods and shellfish
to the list of items that may not be
misrepresented when offered for sale to
consumers.
*
House Bill 569, which passed 90-0,
removes references to sections of the Federal
Meat Inspection Act and the Federal Products
Inspection Act that have been repealed and
removes the East Baton Rouge Parish Health
Unit from the meat inspection program.
Additionally, HB569 designates the
Louisiana Commissioner of Agriculture as
the state's authority to enter into cooperative

efforts with the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture.

APPROPRIATIONS
*
House Concurrent Resolution 51,
pending House final passage, provides for a
hospital assessment based on the following three
provisions:
1) The assessment cannot begin until January 1,
2017, when the federal match from the
Affordable Care Act falls below 100%;
2) The Department of Health and Hospitals has
submitted an assessment report to the Joint
Legislative Committee on the Budget (JLCB) at
least 30 days prior to the department submitting
documentation to the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid (CMS) for approval; and
3) The JLCB has not rejected the assessment
report.
HCR51 additionally provides the
aggregate assessment amount will be the lesser
of the state cost associated with hospital
payments for the Medicaid expansion
populations; or 1% of the total inpatient and
outpatient hospital net patient revenue for only
the hospitals included in the assessment.
Finally, HCR51 provides that the
hospital assessment shall only be effective until
July 1, 2017.
*
House Bill 573, a proposed
constitutional amendment pending before the
Civil Law and Procedure committee, provides
that the governor may reduce the salary of all
persons holding elective or appointive state

positions and state government employees by

up to 1% if a budget deficit is projected.
*
House Bill 1005, pending House final
passage, requires prior approval of any
expenditures made by state agencies during
the months of May or June in expenditure
categories that exceed the baseline average.
CIVIL LAW
*
House Bill 459, a proposed
constitutional amendment that passed the
House 82-3, provides that the manner of
appointment of registrars of voters is as
provided by law and requires the
qualifications of the registrars to be provided
by law.
COMMERCE
*
House Bill 1015, which passed by a
vote of 87-0, redesignates rule-making
authority from the Department of Health and
Hospitals to the state fire marshal to conduct
reviews for plans or specifications of a
facility licensed, certified or seeking
licensure or certification.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
*
House Bill 254, which passed 88-0,
creates the crime of unlawful use of a cellular
tracking device. A cellular tracking device
mimics a cell tower providing cell phone
services and downloads or copies the
personal information of cell phone users. The
proposed law makes exceptions for law
enforcement and investigative officers,
telecommunications employees and FCC
employees in the performance of their duties.
Further, HB254 provides penalties of
a fine of not more than $3,000, imprisonment
with or without hard labor for not more than
two years, or both.
*
House Bill 440, which passed 62-18,
provides parole eligibility for offenders

convicted of a crime of violence upon serving

75% of the sentence imposed and creates the
Programs to Reduce Recidivism Fund.
*
House Bill 802, which passed 72-21,
provides that the designation by the court as a
crime of violence in the court minutes is only
for the purpose of determining whether the
defendant is eligible for suspension or deferral
of sentence or for participation in a drug
division probation program.
EDUCATION
*
House Bill 830, pending House final
passage, authorizes the Department of
Education, rather than the owner or operator of
an early learning center, to request criminal
history information on employees and
volunteers of early learning centers.
*
House Bill 887, pending House
Appropriations, creates a residential school for
certain at-risk students in grades six through
twelve.
*
Senate Bill 432, reported favorably by
the House education committee, provides for the
return of certain schools in the Recovery School
District to the transferring school system.
HEALTH & WELFARE
*
House Bill 123, which passed 77-14,
requires high schools to keep automated
external defibrillators on their premises.
*
House Bill 386, pending the Legislative
Bureau, extends the mandatory waiting period
between certain required pre-abortion
procedures and the performance of an abortion
to at least 72 hours.
*
House Bill 402, subject to call - House
final passage, allows the Department of
Education and the Department of Health and
Hospitals to survey high school students
anonymously about their risk behavior
associated with chronic health conditions and
sexual behavior.
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*
House Bill 496, which passed the
House 89-0, provides for the practice of
acupuncture.
*
House Bill 557, which passed 95-0,
provides for the licensing of acupuncturists.
*
House Bill 606, which passed 85-7,
prohibits entities that perform abortions from
receiving public funding.
*
House Bill 815, which passed the
House 87-0, prohibits post-abortion
harvesting of fetal remains and requires
burial or cremation of such remains.
*
House Bill 922, pending House final
passage, changes the maximum fee amount
to the percentage of net patient service
revenues permitted by federal regulations as
determined by the Department of Health and
Hospitals on a per occupied bed per day
basis.
*
Senate Bill 271, pending House
Health and Welfare, authorizes the
therapeutic use of cannabis for persons who
suffer from qualifying medical conditions
and grants authority to the Department of
Agricultural and Forestry to require a full set
of fingerprints and to obtain state and
national criminal background on applicants
and employees seeking to be producers of
medical marijuana.
HOUSE & GOVERNMENTAL
*
House Bill 266 which passed by a
vote of 53-39, prohibits a state employer
from inquiring about a prospective
unclassified employee's criminal history until
after the prospective employee has been
given an opportunity to interview for the
position or, if no such interview is to be
conducted, until after the prospective
employee has been given a conditional offer
of employment.
*
House Bill 668, pending House final
passage, provides for the protection of

vulnerable adults from financial exploitation

and regulates the ability of covered financial
institutions to delay disbursements of certain
funds.
INSURANCE
*
House Bill 746, which passed 90-0,
provides for licensing and regulation of
insurance consultants by the commissioner of
insurance and requires the commissioner to
develop written examinations for these
consultants to pass within the 75th percentile or
to contract the exam and require the applicants
to pay for exam expenses.
*
House Bill 798, which passed the House
89-0, creates a limited lines license to sell
property insurance for property self-stored in a
self-storage facility.
JUDICIARY
*
House Bill 539, which passed by a vote
of 96-0, authorizes the use of human biological
matter for the purpose of training cadaver dogs.
*
House Bill 600, pending House floor
action, provides for the qualifications, salaries,
and number of judgeships of the Municipal and
Traffic Court of New Orleans, and provides for
other changes to the consolidated court.
*
House Bill 1002, pending House floor
action, authorizes certain honorably discharged
active-duty military personnel and family to
receive benefits through the Louisiana Military
Family Assistance Fund.
Additionally HB1002 defines 'honorably
discharged active-duty military personnel' to
mean a person domiciled in Louisiana who was
on full-time active duty in the military service of
the U.S. and received an honorable discharge.
*
House Bill 1022, pending House floor
action, provides that if a defendant successfully
completes the Offender Rehabilitation and
Workforce Development Program and all other
requirements of the workforce development
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sentencing program, he may petition the

court to suspend the remainder of his
sentence and be placed on probation under
the intensive supervision of a re-entry court.
MUNICIPAL
*
House Concurrent Resolution 80,
pending House action, establishes the Virtual
Library Study Commission to conduct a
study and make recommendations for the
establishment of a statewide virtual library in
Louisiana.
NATURAL RESOURCES
*
House Bill 464, which passed 82-8,
increases three fees on pipeline inspections to
meet the work needs associated with new
federal requirements.
*
House Bill 465, which passed by a
vote of 92-0, establishes a monthly fee of 2
per barrel of exploration and production
waste delivered to be paid by the waste
producer from certain facilities.
Additionally, HB465 prohibits wastes from
containing brine, produced water, or
salvageable hydrocarbons.
*
House Bill 632, which passed by a
vote of 91-0, provides for financial security
requirements of certain drilling permit
applicants.
*
House Bill 819, which passed the
House 91-1, increases the balance in the
Oilfield Site Restoration Fund and
additionally requires $1 M from the Fund to
be used to plug orphaned wells in Shreveport
and Monroe.
*
House Bill 900, which passed 80-13,
authorizes the Department of Environmental
Quality to increase ground-water, air,
hazardous waste, solid waste, water,
underground storage tanks and radiation fees
by 10%.

RETIREMENT
*
House Bill 13, subject to call - House
final passage, authorizes members of the
Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana to
purchase credit for service as a teacher at an outof-state nonpublic school.
*
House Bill 14, which passed 91-0,
replaces the chairmen of the House and Senate
committees on retirement with the speaker of
the House of Representatives and the president
of the Senate as trustees on each state and
statewide retirement system board.
*
House Bill 32, which passed 92-0,
authorizes payment of a benefit increase, funded
by state retirement system experience accounts
to certain retirees and beneficiaries of such
systems.
This one-time special cost of living
adjustment will be increased to the amounts
shown below subject to funds available in the
Experience Accounts:
1. For LASERS, a 1.5% COLA.
2. For TRSL, a 1.5% COLA.
3. For LSERS, a 2.0% COLA.
4. For STPOL, a 2.0% COLA for all eligible
retirees plus an additional 2.0% COLA for those
over age 65.
*
House Bill 39, which passed 92-0,
provides that retirement benefits for members
first employed prior to January 1, 2013, will be
limited to 100% of a retiring members final
average compensation.
*
House Bill 53, which passed the House
88-0, removes the authority of the Parochial
Employees Retirement Systems board to
engage a third-party provider and codifies
current administrative practices for granting
interest credits on Deferred Retirement Option
Plan (DROP) accounts.
*
House Bill 54, which passed 88-0,
reamortizes the initial unfunded accrued liability
(IUAL) of the Clerks of Court Retirement and
Relief Fund as a level-dollar payment over the
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remaining life of the original IUAL

amortization schedule.
*
House Bill 60, which passed the
House 92-0, adds the position of school nurse
to the list of re-employment-eligible
positions within the Teachers' Retirement
System of Louisiana.
*
House Bill 61, which passed 87-2,
adds school psychologists to the list of
professions that are eligible for the less
stringent suspension of benefit rules
applicable to a retiree who is re-employed in
a Re-employment-Eligible Critical Shortage
Position within the Teachers Retirement
System of Louisiana.
*
House Bill 907, pending House floor
action, increases the earnings limitation from
25% to 50% for a retiree of the Teachers
Retirement System of Louisiana who is reemployed as a substitute classroom teacher.
The 50% limitation will begin to
apply for the second full fiscal year after the
retirees original retirement date.
TRANSPORTATION
*
House Bill 481, pending House final
passage, authorizes a licensee to have an
electronic copy of their license provided by
the Department of Public Safety and
Corrections, Office of Motor Vehicles as an
alternative to a physical license. HB481
requires the department to indicate the new
expiration date of a license when renewed by
mail or electronic commerce.
*
House Bill 854, pending before the
House Insurance committee, removes the
compulsory motor vehicle liability security
exception applicable to motor vehicles used
as agricultural or forest vehicles during
certain times, and motor vehicles used for
exhibit.

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