Provides for the payment of certain insurance premiums for employees of the clerk of court in Lincoln Parish

House Bill 77 enacts a new provision in the Louisiana Revised Statutes governing clerk of court expenses by adding R.S. 13:783(F)(13). The bill requires the Lincoln Parish Clerk of Court to pay one hundred percent of group insurance premiums for eligible retirees from the clerk's salary fund. The covered insurance includes group life, accidental death and dismemberment, group health, accident, dental, hospital, surgical, and other medical expense insurance. The statute does not apply to supplemental insurance that retirees may elect to purchase separately. The mechanism operates by mandating full premium payment directly from the clerk's existing salary fund without requiring employees or retirees to contribute.

The bill affects the Lincoln Parish Clerk of Court office and its employees who meet specific retirement criteria. Retirees who have completed at least twenty years of full-time service with the office and have reached age fifty-five become eligible for full premium coverage if they elect to continue their group insurance coverage under the existing clerk of court retirement program. The practical effect is that these qualifying retirees receive fully subsidized insurance benefits during their retirement years, creating a defined benefit for long-service employees. The Lincoln Parish Clerk of Court office incurs the budgetary obligation to fund these premiums, reducing the amount available from the salary fund for other office expenses.

This bill operates within the existing framework established by R.S. 13:783 governing clerk of court office expenses and insurance programs. Present law already authorizes district court clerks to contract for group insurance covering the clerk, employees, and their dependents, and it permits retiring employees with at least twelve years of service to continue coverage. The bill builds upon this framework by establishing a more generous benefit specific to Lincoln Parish, requiring the office to bear the full premium burden for employees meeting the twenty-year service and age fifty-five requirements, rather than allowing retirees to pay in the manner of active employees. The statute fits within the clerk of court retirement system governed by the Louisiana Clerks' of Court Retirement and Relief Fund, which provides monthly retirement benefits to eligible retirees.