Provides for employees who are eligible for extra compensation paid by certain local entities. (8/1/26) (OR DECREASE GF EX See Note)

Senate Bill 153 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes 40:1666.1(A)(2) to add an additional exclusion from the definition of "employee" eligible for extra compensation paid by certain local entities. The bill excludes from supplemental pay eligibility any employee of a municipality, parish, fire protection district, or other political subdivision maintaining a fire department who does not hold an active emergency medical responder license or higher certification as issued under the provisions of R.S. 40:1133.1 et seq. This exclusion is added to existing exclusions that already eliminate secretarial and clerical personnel, those without proper firefighter certification, part-time employees, and volunteers from eligibility for this extra compensation. The amendment becomes effective August 1, 2026.

The practical effect of this legislation is to make emergency medical responder licensure a mandatory qualification for fire department employees to receive supplemental compensation from their employing municipalities, parishes, and fire protection districts. Fire department employees hired before March 31, 1986, or those who have completed required firefighter training but lack current emergency medical responder certification will lose eligibility for extra compensation unless they obtain and maintain an active emergency medical responder license. This requirement applies to paid, regularly employed fire department personnel whose salaries are funded through municipal or parish coffers, bond issues, taxes, or comparable funding sources, as well as employees of the Chitimacha Tribe of Louisiana and the Coushatta Tribe of Louisiana and nonprofit corporations contracting to provide fire protection services.

The bill operates within the existing statutory framework governing supplemental compensation for fire department employees established in R.S. 40:1666.1. The licensure requirement references R.S. 40:1133.1 et seq., which contains Louisiana's regulatory provisions for emergency medical responder licensing and certification. The amendment adds to a series of statutory qualifications and exclusions already embedded in the supplemental pay statute, harmonizing with existing requirements such as the National Fire Protection Association firefighter certification standards validated by the Louisiana Fire and Emergency Training Academy under R.S. 40:1541 et seq. The measure functions as a qualification threshold rather than creating new funding mechanisms or entitlements.