§ 11:1903 — Admission of certain entities as employers

§1903. Admission of certain entities as employers
A. The following entities may submit, for approval by the board of trustees, a plan
for extending the benefits of this Chapter to employees of the entity:
(1) Any taxing district in or any branch or section of a parish that qualifies as an
employer pursuant to R.S. 11:1902, including but not limited to any hospital district, water
district, or library.
(2) A district indigent defender program in this state.
(3) A soil and water conservation district in this state.
(4) Any public corporation created pursuant to R.S. 9:2341 et seq., whose sole
beneficiary is a parish in the state.
B. Each such plan or any amendment thereof shall be approved by the board of
trustees if it finds that such plan, or such plan as amended, is in conformity with regulations
of the board of trustees, except that no such plan shall be approved unless:
(1) It is in conformity with the requirements of this Chapter and applicable state law.
(2) It covers all services which are performed in the employ of the entity, by any
employees thereof, and it extends benefits to all employees of the entity.
(3) It specifies the source or sources from which the funds necessary to make the
payments required by Paragraph (D)(1) and Subsection E of this Section are expected to be
derived and contains reasonable assurance that such sources will be adequate for such
purpose.
(4) It provides for administration of the plan by the entity as the board of trustees
finds necessary for the proper and efficient administration thereof.
(5) It provides that the entity will make such reports, in such form and containing
such information, as the board of trustees may from time to time require and comply with
such provisions as the board of trustees may from time to time find necessary to assure the
correctness and verification of such reports.
(6) It authorizes the system to terminate the plan in its entirety, in the discretion of
the board of trustees, if it finds that there has been a failure to comply substantially with any
provision contained in such plan, such termination to take effect at the expiration of such
notice and on such conditions as may be provided by regulations of the board of trustees.
(7) None of the employees of the entity are eligible to participate in another
Louisiana public retirement or pension system, plan, or fund based on the employee's
employment with the entity.
C. The board of trustees shall not finally refuse to approve a plan submitted under
Subsection A of this Section and shall not terminate an approved plan without reasonable
notice and opportunity for hearing to each entity affected thereby. The board of trustees'
decision in any such case shall be final, conclusive, and binding unless the entity aggrieved
thereby appeals to the district court in accordance with the provisions of law with respect to
review of civil causes by certiorari.
D.(1) Each entity for which a plan has been approved under this Section shall pay
into the system contributions, with respect to earnings as defined in R.S. 11:1902, at such
time or times as the board of trustees may by regulation prescribe, in the amounts and at the
rates prescribed by the board of trustees as set forth in Part VII of this Chapter.
(2) Every entity required to make payments under Paragraph (1) of this Subsection
is authorized, in consideration of the employee's retention in, or entry upon, employment
after enactment of this Chapter, to impose upon its employees, as to services covered by an
approved plan, a contribution with respect to earnings as provided in Parts III and IV of this
Chapter, and to deduct the amount of such contribution from the earnings as and when paid.
Contributions so collected shall be paid into the contribution fund in partial discharge of the
liability of such entity under Paragraph (1) of this Subsection. Failure to deduct such
contribution shall not relieve the employee or employer of liability therefor.
(3) Except as provided in R.S. 11:143 and notwithstanding any other provision of
law to the contrary, employer contributions shall not be returned, refunded, transferred, or
rolled over to any employee or employer or to any retirement system, plan, or fund.
E. Delinquent payments due under Paragraph (D)(1) of this Section, may, with
interest at the system's actuarial valuation rate compounded annually, be recovered by action
in a court of competent jurisdiction against the entity liable therefor or may, upon due
certification of delinquency and at the request of the board of trustees, be deducted from any
other monies payable to the entity by any department or agency of the state.
F.(1) If any plan entered into under this Section is terminated, the entity which
terminates its plan may not again participate in the system pursuant to this Section, unless
approved by the board of trustees.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if an employer terminates its
agreement for coverage of its employees, the employer shall remit to the system that portion
of the unfunded actuarial accrued liability, if any, which is attributable to the employer's
participation in the system. The amount required to be remitted pursuant to this Paragraph
shall be determined as of the December thirty-first immediately prior to the date of
termination. Such determination shall be made using the entry age normal actuarial funding
method.
(3) The amount due shall be determined by the actuary employed by the system and
shall be paid in a lump sum or amortized over ten years in equal monthly payments with
interest at the system's actuarial valuation rate in the same manner as regular payroll
payments to the system, at the option of the employer.
(4) If the employer fails to make payment timely, the amount due shall be collected
in the same manner as authorized by Subsection E of this Section and R.S. 11:2014.
G.(1) Notwithstanding any provision of this Chapter to the contrary, a hospital
service district located in a parish with a total population between seventy thousand and
eighty thousand persons as of the latest federal decennial census may terminate coverage for
employees of the district first hired on or after January 1, 2015, as further provided in this
Subsection.
(2) If any plan entered into by a hospital district under this Section is prospectively
terminated, the hospital district which prospectively terminates its plan may not again begin
participation for new employees in the system pursuant to this Section, unless approved by
the board of trustees.
(3) Prospective termination of a plan shall follow all notice and any other
requirements of termination provided for in the plan agreement.
(4) If, pursuant to this Subsection, an employer terminates its agreement for coverage
of its employees first hired after the effective date of the termination, the employer shall
remit to the system that portion of the unfunded actuarial accrued liability, if any, which is
attributable to the employer's termination. The amount required to be remitted pursuant to
this Paragraph shall be determined as of the December thirty-first immediately prior to the
date of termination. Such determination shall be made using the entry age normal actuarial
funding method.
(5) The amount due shall be determined by the actuary employed by the system and
shall either be paid in a lump sum or amortized over ten years in equal monthly payments
with interest at the system's actuarial valuation rate in the same manner as regular payroll
payments to the system, at the option of the employer.
(6) If the employer fails to make payment timely, the amount due shall be collected
in the same manner as authorized by Subsection E of this Section and R.S. 11:2014.

Legislative History

Acts 1979, No. 765, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1980. Amended by Acts 1981, No. 232, §1; Acts 1983, No. 213, §1; Acts 1983, No. 214, §1; Acts 1985, No. 398, §1, eff. July 10, 1985; Acts 1988, No. 133, §1; Acts 1991, No. 674, §1, eff. July 18, 1991; Acts 1991, No. 686, §4, eff. Dec. 31, 1991; Redesignated from R.S. 33:6103 by Acts 1991, No. 74, §§3, 5, eff. June 25, 1991; Acts 1993, No. 320, §1; Acts 1993, No. 321, §1; Acts 1997, No. 867, §1, eff. July 1, 1997; Acts 2003, No. 819, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2006, No. 508, §1, eff. June 22, 2006; Acts 2008, No. 397, §1, eff. June 30, 2008; Acts 2010, No. 869, §1, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2010, No. 870, §1, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2010, No. 871, §2, eff. July 1, 2010; Acts 2014, No. 851, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2015; Acts 2019, No. 58, §1; Acts 2020, No. 5, §1.