Clarifies the role of school resource officers (SROs) as mandatory reporters of child abuse or neglect. It removes the existing prohibition on SROs receiving information from other mandatory reporters. However, it newly prohibits SROs from receiving reports involving school employees suspected of illegal activity. The bill also retains provisions requiring mandatory reporters to act independently of employer policies that may hinder reporting and protects them from retaliation. Additionally, it maintains the requirement for DCFS to notify the Department of Defense if the alleged abuser is affiliated with the military.

Impact: 

- Allows SROs to receive reports from other mandatory reporters 

- Prohibits SROs from receiving reports involving suspected illegal activity by school employees 

- Reinforces protections for mandatory reporters from employer interference or retaliation 

- Maintains military notification requirement for cases involving active duty families

HOUSE floor amendments [LINK] do the following:

• Fix citation references in the bill.
• Require members switching to the optional retirement plan to pay the full actuarial cost.
• Clarify that if a participant leaves the optional plan, both employee and employer contributions stop at the end of the next month.
• State that the participant then joins the regular TRSL plan as a new member.
• Require the employer to pay normal contributions to TRSL once the switch is made.

HOUSE Appropriations committee amendments technical

HOUSE Retirement committee amendments [LINK] technical except Amendment 7 which adds the higher education commissioner or his designee to the TRSL board and Amendment 7 which allows some former ORP participants to switch to the regular pension plan under specific conditions.

Allows certain higher education employees more flexibility to opt into or out of the TRSL Optional Retirement Plan (ORP), raises employer contributions from 6.2% to 8% starting July 1, 2025, adds the Commissioner of Higher Education to the TRSL Board, creates an ORP Advisory Committee, and requires ORP expansion to all institutions by July 1, 2025.

Implications:

Allows Louisiana residents to buy auto insurance policies from companies based in Arkansas, Mississippi, or Texas, with legal disputes governed by the laws of the insurer’s home state, not in Louisiana.

• Consumers must be aware that legal disputes will be handled under another state’s laws.
• Agents must provide full disclosures to ensure informed decisions.
• The bill is designed to increase competition and potentially lower insurance rates.

Key Provisions:

Application of Foreign Law (from another state)

• Legal disputes involving these policies will be handled under the laws of Arkansas, Mississippi, or Texas, depending on the insurer’s location.
• Louisiana’s two-year statute of limitations to file a lawsuit still applies.

Authorization for Sales

• Louisiana agents and insurers can sell these out-of-state policies to Louisiana residents.

Disclosure Requirements

Buyers must receive written notice that:

• The policy is issued by a foreign insurer.
• The home state’s law will govern any legal issues.
• The policy complies with the home state’s regulations.

Compilation of Applicable Laws

• The Louisiana State Law Institute must publish the insurance laws from Arkansas, Mississippi, and Texas on its website.

Conditional Effective Date

• The bill takes effect July 1, 2026, only if auto liability insurance rates in Louisiana do not drop at least 7% between January 1, 2024, and December 31, 2025.

Amends R.S. 44:3(A)(4)(b)(ii) to modify Louisiana’s public records law concerning law enforcement initial reports. Currently, these reports, which are public after an arrest, must include a narrative of the alleged offense and the names and identifications of all witnesses, suspects charged, or persons arrested, unless prohibited by federal or other state laws outside the public records statute. The proposed law narrows this requirement by removing the mandate to list every witness, retaining only suspects charged or arrested in the disclosure. The change aims to limit the scope of personal information released in initial law enforcement reports, potentially enhancing privacy for witnesses while maintaining transparency for those directly involved in the legal process (suspects and arrestees). This could reduce exposure for individuals not formally accused, though it might also limit public insight into investigations. Excludes witness identities from mandatory disclosure in initial reports, balancing privacy with accountability, while keeping the rest of the existing framework intact.

HOUSE committee amendments technical

Revises corporate income tax treatment of S corporations and other related entities, eliminating certain exclusions and modifying credit and reporting provisions.

Key Provisions:

- Repeals the existing exclusion that allows certain S corporation income to be excluded from Louisiana taxable income.

- Requires S corporations to be taxed similarly to C corporations unless they opt for flow-through treatment.

- Permits S corporations to file composite returns and make composite tax payments on behalf of nonresident shareholders, starting in 2026.

- Allows credits earned by S corporations to pass through to shareholders, including those previously only usable at the entity level.

- Defines how S corporation shareholder income and basis adjustments are to be calculated and reported.

- Provides for treatment of qualified Subchapter S subsidiaries, with new rules on when they are considered separate entities or part of the parent.

- Updates the mobile workforce exemption by extending the threshold for withholding requirements from 25 to 30 days.

- Repeals outdated provisions related to abolished tax credits and incentive expenditure definitions.

- Applies to tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2026.

Amends the Code of Criminal Procedure Articles 893.2 and 893.3 to extend firearm enhancement sentencing provisions to plea agreements. The bill allows the district attorney and defendant to stipulate the applicability of mandatory minimum sentences under Article 893.3 when a firearm is involved in specific felonies or misdemeanors, such as crimes of violence, felony theft, burglary, or drug offenses. Key sentencing provisions include: • Possession of a firearm: Minimum 2-year sentence. • Use of a firearm: Minimum 5-year sentence. • Discharge of a firearm: Minimum 10-year sentence. • Use or discharge causing bodily injury: Minimum 15-year sentence. • Violent felony with a firearm: Minimum 10 years, or 20 years if discharged. The stipulation must specify the applicable provision and underlying offense. The bill retains the requirement for jury findings beyond a reasonable doubt if no plea agreement is reached.

Directs the Office of Group Benefits to study potential savings from requiring eligible participants to enroll in Medicare and evaluate options to return savings to those participants.

Key Provisions:

• Requires analysis of cost savings if Medicare-eligible state retirees are mandated to enroll in Medicare.
• Seeks recommendations on using savings to reduce premiums or improve benefits for affected participants.
• Report due to legislative committees by December 1, 2025.