Provides for educational requirements for trustees of certain retirement system boards. (8/31/26) (EG NO IMPACT FC)

Senate Bill 16 amends Louisiana Revised Statutes section 11:185(D)(3) to reduce the annual educational hour requirements mandated for trustees serving on boards of fourteen different public retirement systems across the state. Specifically, the bill decreases investment training requirements from eight hours to seven hours per year, actuarial science education from four hours to two hours per year, and education regarding system laws, rules, and regulations from two hours to one hour per year. The statute continues to require two hours of instruction on fiduciary duty and ethics annually, which remains unchanged. The legislation maintains the existing provision allowing retirement system staff or outside experts to conduct these training hours and permitting multiple systems to combine training sessions. The effective date of the bill is August 31, 2026.

The affected population includes all current and prospective trustees of the fourteen enumerated public retirement systems, which encompass the Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System, Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana, Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System, State Police Pension and Retirement System, Assessors' Retirement Fund, Clerks of Court Retirement and Relief Fund, District Attorneys' Retirement System, Firefighters' Retirement System, Municipal Employees' Retirement System, Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System, Parochial Employees' Retirement System, Registrars of Voters Employees' Retirement System, Sheriffs' Pension and Relief Fund, and Harbor Police Retirement System. Board trustees will experience a net reduction of four hours annually in required educational training, which may reduce administrative burden and training costs for the respective retirement system boards while potentially affecting the depth of trustee preparation in investment and actuarial matters.

This legislation operates within the framework of Louisiana's public retirement system governance structure established in Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 11. The educational requirements for retirement system board trustees derive from fiduciary principles requiring that individuals managing pension assets maintain adequate knowledge of investment practices, actuarial science, applicable legal standards, and ethical obligations. By reducing these mandated training hours, the bill reflects a legislative judgment that the current requirements exceed necessary minimums while maintaining core fiduciary education through the preserved hours on fiduciary duty and ethics and the remaining investment and actuarial education components.