Provides relative to the definition of "first responder"

House Bill 942 amends Louisiana's emergency preparedness law to include public works employees in the definition of first responder under R.S. 29:723 and creates a new statutory category called "public works first responder." The bill specifically adds a definition at R.S. 29:723(21) identifying public works first responders as state, parish, or municipal employees whose primary duties include infrastructure operations, maintenance, or repair, including transportation, roads and bridges, drainage, utilities, water and wastewater systems, fleet operations, solid waste, and facilities maintenance, who perform emergency response functions during declared emergencies or disasters. Additionally, the bill adds R.S. 29:724(I) to recognize public works first responders as essential emergency response personnel and integrates them into state and local emergency preparedness, response, and recovery operations including incident command coordination, debris clearance, infrastructure stabilization, and mutual aid activities. The bill also amends R.S. 23:1017.1(C) to include public works first responders in the volunteer first responder definition used in the workers' compensation context.

Public works employees and their employers will be directly affected by this legislation. Public works employees whose primary duties involve infrastructure operations and maintenance gain formal recognition as first responders during declared weather emergencies, and they may receive emergency credentials and identification for restricted area access during emergencies. However, the bill explicitly limits the scope and consequences of this designation by providing that it applies only during weather emergencies declared by the governor and that it does not alter retirement system eligibility, create workers' compensation presumptions, mandate additional compensation or hazard pay, or expand civil service classifications or collective bargaining rights. State, parish, and municipal governments will experience expanded emergency management coordination requirements and the opportunity to include public works employees in emergency preparedness training and exercises conducted by the Governor's Office of Homeland Security and Emergency Preparedness, subject to available resources.

This legislation operates within the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act framework, specifically R.S. 29:721 et seq., which establishes the overall emergency management structure and the authority of the governor to declare emergencies and disasters. The bill coordinates with existing first responder definitions in R.S. 29:723, which previously included medical personnel, volunteer firefighters, law enforcement, dispatchers, and Civil Air Patrol members, and it relates to the workers' compensation volunteer first responder protections found in R.S. 23:1017.1. By expressly disclaiming any alteration to retirement benefits, workers' compensation presumptions, compensation requirements, or collective bargaining rights, the bill operates as a narrowly tailored recognition provision that designates public works employees as essential personnel for operational and coordinating purposes only without triggering the statutory entitlements that would otherwise accompany such designation.