House Notes

Louisiana House of Representatives

2016 Regular Legislative Session
Communications Office
Week Nine, May 14, 2016
Upon adjournment of the 37th day of
the 2016 Regular Legislative Session, 1,266
House bills and 715 Senate bills had been
introduced.
The House has passed 746 House bills.
One hundred sixty bills have been
sent to the governor. The governor has signed
84.
A brief description of some of the bills
that have generated public interest this week
follows.
APPROPRIATIONS
*
House Bill 1, which passed the House
83-17, provides for the ordinary operating
expenses of state government.
Representatives voted to divert $7.9
million intended for TOPS toward the nine
underfunded hospitals and restored $1.6
million to the budget of the state Inspector
General.
*
House Bill 105, which passed 69-26,
provides for the appropriations for the
Department of Justice, Office of the Attorney
General, for Fiscal Year 2016-17.
*
House Bill 215, which passed the
House 98-0, appropriates funds and provides
for ancillary expenses of state government,
including internal service funds, auxiliary
accounts and enterprise funds.
House Bill 409, which passed by a
vote of 98-0, provides for the transfer, deposit
and use of monies among state funds.

*
House Bill 616, which passed 98-0,
appropriates funds for FY 2016-17 for
expenses of the Louisiana Judiciary, including
the Supreme Court, courts of appeal, district
courts, Criminal Court of Orleans Parish,
juvenile and family courts and other courts.
*
House Bill 984, which passed 92-0,
provides for the allocation and distribution of
the Revenue Sharing Fund for FY 2016-17.
*
House Bill 1047, which passed 98-0,
appropriates supplemental funding, and
provides for means of financing substitutions
and other budgetary adjustments for the
operation of various state departments for
Fiscal Year 2015-16.
HB1047 provides for an appropriation
of $7.4 million from the State General Fund to
the Minimum Foundation Program.
HB1047 decreases appropriations to
Interagency Transfers by $729,691, Fees and
Self-generated Revenues by $2,705,043,
Statutory Dedications by $431,075 and
Federal Funds by $9,100,000.
*
House Bill 1049, which passed 98-0,
makes appropriations for the expenses of the
Legislature for Fiscal Year 2016-17.
CRIMINAL JUSTICE
*
House Concurrent Resolution 59,
which passed the House 85-0, creates a task
force to study and make recommendations
concerning the use of body cameras by law
enforcement agencies in Louisiana.

*
House Bill 1155, which passed 90-0,
provides that a person on whose behalf the
court has issued a protective order to prevent
abuse may apply for the issuance of a
temporary concealed handgun permit.
EDUCATION
*
House Bill 1164, pending House final
passage, creates a task force to study the
feasibility of implementing a Medicaid home
health state plan option for Medicaid enrollees
who suffer from a serious mental illness.
*
House Bill 1017, pending House final
passage, creates the Louisiana Bullying
Awareness and Treatment Task Force within
the Department of Health and Hospitals.
*
House Bill 1156, which passed the
House 86-7, authorizes an added exception to
present law that applies to a limited situation
in which a reduction of teacher salaries is
authorized.
The exception is the elimination,
discontinuance, or reorganization of the
position to which the employee is assigned
that results in the employee working fewer
hours, days, or months. In such a case, the
employee's new salary is determined in
accordance with the salary schedule already
established in law and reduced the following
academic year.
HEALTH AND WELFARE
*
House Concurrent Resolution 93,
pending House final passage, requests a study
concerning the potential use of Supplemental
Nutrition Assistance Program benefits to
cover certain Medicaid copayment
requirements
*
House Bill 922, which passed by a
vote of 94-0, changes the maximum provider
fee amount for nursing homes from $10 per
occupied bed per day to the percentage of net
patient service revenues permitted by federal
regulations to a fee increase by an additional

$1.80 to $11.80 per bed per day.

This measure will generate
approximately $16.9 million more in statutory
dedication revenue in FY 2017 and will be
used to draw down $27.9 million in federal
matching funds for a total of $44.9 million in
new revenue.
*
Senate Bill 33, which passed by a vote
of 87-0, prohibits the harvest, collection, sale
or transport of organs or body parts resulting
from an induced abortion.
This measure would not prohibit the
donation of bodily remains from a human
embryo or fetus whose death was caused by a
natural miscarriage or stillbirth.
*
Senate Bill 271, which passed 62-31,
amends current law related to medical
marijuana.
SB271 provides for medical marijuana
to be recommended by a physician who is
licensed by the Louisiana Board of Medical
Examiners, domiciled in Louisiana, and in
good standing with the board.
SB271 expands the list of conditions
that can be treated with medical marijuana.
SB271 provides for the language
change from "prescribed" to recommended
as in "recommended or recommendation of
marijuana for therapeutic use," which is
anticipated to legally allow physicians to
instruct applicable pharmacies to dispense
medical marijuana.
SB271 clarifies that LSU Ag and SU
Ag have right of first refusal, shall have
separate licenses and need to make
determination of their intent to be licensed as
a production facility, either separately or
jointly by September 1, 2016.
Also, SB271 grants authority to the
Department of Agricultural and Forestry to
obtain state and national criminal background
information on applicants seeking to be
producers of medical marijuana.

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NATURAL RESOURCES
*
House Bill 631, pending House final
passage, authorizes the secretary of the
Department of Environmental Quality to
impose a delinquent fee of 10% of the unpaid
fee or $25, whichever is greater, on any person
failing to timely remit waste tire fees and a
delinquent fee of $25 on anyone failing to
timely submit a required monthly waste tire
fee report.
Additionally, HB631 adds all-terrain
vehicle tires, utility-terrain vehicle tires and
spare tires to the list of eligible waste tires.
Proceeds from the collection of the
fees shall be used for special waste tire
projects. Any remaining proceeds at the end
of the fiscal year shall be deposited in the
Waste Tire Management Fund.
*
Senate Bill 165, pending House final
passage, requires landowner notification when
an operator transfers an oil or gas well.
RETIREMENT
*
House Concurrent Resolution 12,
pending House final passage, memorializes
Congress to consider eliminating the Windfall
Elimination Provision and the Government
Pension Offset Social Security benefit
reductions.
*
House Bill 24, which has completed
the legislative process, provides that a
member of the Firefighters' Retirement
System is not eligible for disability retirement
benefits if his disability is indirectly a result of
a preexisting condition.
*
Senate Bill 2, which has completed the
legislative process authorizes a one-time cost
of living adjustment (COLA) effective July 1,
2016, to eligible retirees, survivors, and
beneficiaries. The maximum COLA grant that
may be given effective July 1, 2016, will be
increased to the amounts shown below subject
to available funds 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.
*
Senate Bill 5, which has completed the
legislative process, requires the retirement
systems to timely pay administrative costs
rather than roll them into the 30-year debt.
*
Senate Bill 18, which has completed
the legislature, reduces the amortization
period, paying off debt on a fixed schedule,
from 30 years to 20 years on the first valuation
date for which the funded ratio for LASERS is
70% or more. The applicable thresholds for
TRSL, LSERS and STPOL are 70%, 72%,
and 70% respectively.
TRANSPORTATION
*
Senate Concurrent Resolution 20,
pending House final passage, expresses the
intent of the Legislature that the laws to
regulate glass tinting on motor vehicles are
enforced.
*
Senate Concurrent Resolution 43,
pending House final passage, requests the
Department of Transportation and
Development to study the feasibility of
corporate sponsorship of bridges, other
infrastructure or equipment.
*
Senate Bill 389, pending House final
passage, creates the "100% DAV" military
honor license plate for veterans who have a
service-connected disability of 100 percent as
determined by the United States Department
of Veterans Affairs.
*
Senate Bill 444, pending House final
passage, provides for the "100% DAV"
designation on a Louisiana driver's license and
special identification card.
WAYS AND MEANS
*
House Bill 2, which passed 80-14,
provides for the capital outlay budget and

Page -3-

program for FY 2016-17.

*
House Bill 3, which passed 89-3,
provides for the implementation of a five-year
capital improvement program, for the repeal
of certain prior bond authorizations, for new
bond authorizations and sale of the bonds by
the State Bond Commission and for related
matters.

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