Regular Session News #1: Stay informed about YOUR retirement system during legislative session

TRSL Legislative Updates:

If it affects your TRSL retirement, you’ll hear about it through TRSL’s Legislative Updates. These emailed updates come straight to your inbox—if you’re signed up to receive them.

We’re sending this first update of the legislative season to all members for whom we have email addresses.

To continue receiving them throughout the 2025 Regular Legislative Session, just select the “manage your preferences” link at the bottom of this email and select “Legislation” under the topics of interest.

Remember, TRSL is your source of income once you retire. Don’t be in the dark about legislation impacting your retirement system. Sign up to receive these updates and stay informed throughout the legislative session.

Preview: 2025 Regular Session three weeks away; three bills affect TRSL
 
The 2025 Regular Legislative Session begins at noon on Monday, April 14, and ends at 6 p.m., Thursday, June 12. This year’s session is fiscal in nature, meaning legislators are limited to five bills that are not related to taxation or revenue.

TRSL is closely monitoring the following three bills that could impact the retirement system and its members.

TRSL Investments

Senate Bill 7 (Sen. Hodges) would impose new requirements and restrictions on companies that contract with Louisiana’s state and statewide retirement systems to manage the systems’ assets or provide proxy voting services. As currently written, SB 7 does the following:

• Lists factors that cannot be considered when making investments or voting shares.  These include:

-eliminating, reducing, offsetting, or disclosing greenhouse gas emissions;
-institution or assessment of the composition, compensation, or disclosure criteria of corporate board membership or staffing that incorporates characteristics protected in this state;
-divesting from or limiting investments in a company for failing or not committing to meet environmental standards or disclosures;
-access to abortion, sex or gender change or transgender surgery;  
-divesting from or limiting investments in a company that undertakes multiple activities related to firearms or ammunition;
-divesting from or limiting investments in a company that undertakes multiple activities related to petroleum oil or gasoline products extracted, produced, or refined in La. or the U.S.; and
-acquisition of immovable property by foreign adversaries as defined in state law.

• Lists actions that can be taken as evidence of violations of SB 7.  These include:

-advertising; statements; reports; letters to clients;
-communications with portfolio companies;
-statements of principles or policies;
-voting of shares; and
-participation in, affiliation with, or signatory status on any coalition, initiative, agreement, or commitment.

• Explicitly applies fiduciary duties to proxy voting and requires that any contractor who casts shareholder proxy votes related to retirement system assets commits to following certain proxy voting guidelines.
• Requires retirement systems to compile an annual report on proxy votes related to publicly managed assets and make the report available on the system’s website.
• Shifts oversight, investigation, and enforcement related to these contractors from the retirement system holding the contract to the Louisiana Attorney General.
• Requires courts to award damages of up to three times the total amount paid to the contractor for violations of SB 7.

Return to Work (RTW)

House Bill 20 (Rep. Moore) would increase the earnings limit from 25% to 50% of a retiree’s final average compensation (FAC), for those retirees who retired on/after July 1, 2020 and select RTW Option 1 (no benefit suspension) when returning to work. As in current law, the retiree’s benefit would be reduced when the earnings limit is reached.

Optional Retirement Plan (ORP) and TRSL Membership

House Bill 24 (Rep. Bacala) would make changes to the terms of the optional retirement plan (ORP), a defined contribution plan available to unclassified faculty and staff in higher education. The proposed changes are:

• Increasing the minimum employer contribution to ORP participant accounts from 6.2% of pay to 8%.
• Expanding ORP eligibility to technical college staff beginning July 1, 2025, and allowing existing technical college staff 180 days from July 1, 2025, to opt into the ORP.
• Extending the window for ORP participants to switch back to the TRSL defined benefit plan, from five years after first ORP eligibility to seven years.

HB 24 would also create a nine-member ORP advisory committee comprised of both a faculty and non-faculty ORP participant from each of the state’s four higher education systems (LSU, SU, UL, and LCTCS) as well as one ORP participant not employed in higher education. The committee would provide information and feedback to the TRSL Board of Trustees on a variety of ORP-related issues.

Additionally, HB 24 would make changes to the terms of the TRSL defined benefit plan by allowing those who are (1) at least age 60 when first employed in a TRSL-eligible position, or (2) at least age 55 with 40 quarters in Social Security to decline membership in TRSL.

Additional Information

Retirement bills are typically heard first in either the House or Senate retirement committee. The chair of the Senate Retirement Committee is Sen. Edward J. “Ed” Price, and the chair of the House Retirement Committee is Rep. Tony Bacala.

Make sure you’re registered to receive TRSL Legislative Updates so we can keep you informed about the status of bills being monitored throughout the session.

Recap of 2024 Third Extraordinary Session

Missed our legislative updates from the 3rd Special Session? Here’s a recap.

Last November, TRSL monitored two bills that, together, would pay off a significant amount of retirement debt (Act 1 - Rep. Emerson) and make permanent the salary increase teachers and support staff are receiving this year (Act 8 - Rep. Bacala).

Act 1 allowed for Constitutional Amendment 2 to be brought before voters in a statewide election this Saturday, March 29.

This amendment proposes a number of changes to Article VII of the state constitution that affect taxes and government spending. It also contains a proposal that directly affects TRSL.

TRSL & Constitutional Amendment 2: For information on how Constitutional Amendment 2 will impact the retirement system, read our information sheet that explains the portion of the proposed amendment related to TRSL.)

NOTE: Act 8 only becomes effective if Act 1 passes on March 29.