Remove Requirements for Funding State Retirement Amendment

Louisiana Ballot Measure - House Bill 27

Election: Nov. 3, 2026 (General)

Outcome: Pending

Categories:

Senior Citizens

Summary


The constitutional amendment would remove the requirement that a state retirement system receiving nonrecurring state funds apply them to outstanding unfunded accrued liabilities (UALs) in the order in which they were created, from oldest to newest. The state retirement systems include the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System (LASERS), Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana (TRSL), Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System, and the Louisiana State Police Retirement System.

As of 2026, Article VII, Section 10 of the Louisiana Constitution requires that "Money appropriated pursuant to this Item shall be applied by the receiving system to its outstanding positive amortization bases in the order in which they were created, from oldest to newest."

The state legislative auditor determined that the amendment "does not propose to make any changes to benefits of any retirement system. Nonrecurring monies are not included in the estimate of expected contributions received by the retirement systems. To the extent nonrecurring monies are allocated to a retirement system and the legislature does not include instructions for how those monies are to be applied to the UAL, each retirement system receiving such monies will need to establish a policy to define such allocation. The impact of such an occurrence is not actuarially measurable."

Measure Text


A JOINT RESOLUTION Proposing to amend Article VII, Section 10(D)(2)(b)(iii) of the Constitution of Louisiana, relative to application of certain state monies to state retirement system unfunded accrued liability; to remove requirement that such monies be applied to the oldest system liabilities first; to provide for submission of the proposed amendment to the electors; and to provide for related matters. Notice of intention to introduce this Act has been published as provided by Article X, Section 29(C) of the Constitution of Louisiana.

Section 1. Be it resolved by the Legislature of Louisiana, two-thirds of the members elected to each house concurring, that there shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana, for their approval or rejection in the manner provided by law, a proposal to amend Article VII, Section 10(D)(2)(b)(iii) of the Constitution of Louisiana, to read as follows:

§10. Expenditure of State Funds
Section 10.
(D) Appropriations.
(2) Except as otherwise provided in this constitution, the appropriation or allocation of any money designated in the official forecast as nonrecurring shall be made only for the following purposes:
(b)
(iii) For Fiscal Year 2024-2025 and each fiscal year thereafter, the legislature shall appropriate no less than twenty-five percent of any money designated in the official forecast as nonrecurring to the state retirement systems for application to their unfunded accrued liability. Money appropriated pursuant to this Item shall be applied by the receiving system to its outstanding positive amortization bases in the order in which they were created, from oldest to newest. The legislature may provide by law for a formula to distribute the nonrecurring money between those state retirement systems that have unfunded accrued liability. If the legislature has not provided by law for a distribution formula, nonrecurring money shall be appropriated pursuant to this Item to each system in the proportion that the system's total unfunded accrued liability bears to the total of all state system unfunded accrued liability, using the most recent system valuations adopted by the Public Retirement Systems' Actuarial Committee or its successor. Any payment to a state retirement system made pursuant to the provisions of this Item shall not be used, directly or indirectly, to fund cost-of-living increases for such system.

Section 2. Be it further resolved that this proposed amendment shall be submitted to the electors of the state of Louisiana at the statewide election to be held on November 3, 25 2026.

Section 3. Be it further resolved that on the official ballot to be used at the election, there shall be printed a proposition, upon which the electors of the state shall be permitted to vote YES or NO, to amend the Constitution of Louisiana, which proposition shall read as follows:
Do you support an amendment to authorize a state retirement system to apply any nonrecurring state monies it receives to any of its unfunded accrued liability rather than requiring application to its oldest unfunded accrued liability? (Amends Article VII, Section 10(D)(2)(b)(iii))

Resources


Official Summary

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