Provides relative to first responders. (gov sig)

Senate Bill 164 amends Louisiana's emergency preparedness statutes to expand the definition of "first responder" to include public works employees. The bill makes changes to three sections of the Louisiana Revised Statutes: it amends the definition of "first responder" in R.S. 23:1017.1(6) to add public works employees as a category of first responders; it creates a new definition in R.S. 29:723(21) that specifies "public works employee" means an employee of a municipal or parish public works department responsible for maintenance and improvement of municipal or parish infrastructure; and it amends R.S. 29:739(C) regarding the Intrastate Mutual Aid Compact to explicitly include public works employees within the definition of first responder for that compact's purposes. The bill establishes that public works employees shall only be considered first responders during emergencies declared by the governor under the existing emergency declaration authority, and it permits the designation "first responder" to be displayed on the uniforms of public works employees.

Municipal and parish public works employees are the primary group affected by this legislation. These employees now qualify as first responders during gubernatorially declared emergencies, which may expand their eligibility for benefits, protections, or assistance programs that apply to first responders. The change also affects municipal and parish governments that employ public works personnel, as their employees gain first responder status and may be subject to different regulatory frameworks or benefit structures. Additionally, the expansion of first responder definitions impacts the state's emergency management system by broadening the category of personnel who can be mobilized and coordinated under the Intrastate Mutual Aid Compact during declared emergencies.

This legislation operates within the framework of the Louisiana Homeland Security and Emergency Assistance and Disaster Act codified in R.S. 29:721 et seq. The bill's effectiveness is carefully limited by tying public works employee status as first responders exclusively to gubernatorially declared emergencies, preserving the governor's authority under existing law to declare when emergencies trigger this expanded definition. The Intrastate Mutual Aid Compact referenced in R.S. 29:739 provides the legal mechanism for coordinating resources and personnel across jurisdictions during emergencies, and the inclusion of public works employees within that compact's definition expands the pool of personnel available for such coordination. The bill also directs the Louisiana State Law Institute to renumber the definitions in R.S. 29:723 to maintain alphabetical order, ensuring proper statutory organization. The measure becomes effective immediately upon the governor's signature or upon the expiration of the time allowed for gubernatorial action without signature under the Louisiana Constitution.