Provides supplemental pay for fire protection officers for the Lakefront Management Authority (OR +$64,800 GF EX See Note)
Summary
HB 348 would add full-time fire protection officers employed by the Lakefront Management Authority to the list of public safety employees eligible for Louisiana state supplemental pay. The bill creates a new provision in R.S. 40:1666.1 authorizing these officers to receive an additional $600 per month from the state, on top of their regular employer-paid compensation, so long as they have completed one year of service and meet the required fire training and certification standards. It also ties future increases for these officers to any general increases in supplemental pay provided elsewhere in the statute.
The bill is structured as an amendment to the state supplemental pay law for fire protection officers and would operate only if a related constitutional amendment is approved at a statewide election and becomes effective. In practical terms, it expands an existing state benefit program to a new category of fire protection personnel associated with the Lakefront Management Authority, while leaving the rest of the supplemental pay framework intact.
Impact
HB 348 would amend Louisiana Revised Statutes Title 40 to expressly include Lakefront Management Authority fire protection officers in the state supplemental pay program. This would make those officers eligible for $600 per month in state-funded extra compensation, subject to service and training requirements, and would place them alongside other covered fire protection officers such as those employed by certain municipalities, districts, ports, and tribes. The bill would have a direct fiscal impact on the state by increasing general fund expenditures for supplemental pay, and it would affect the compensation structure for a specific group of public safety employees.
Sentiment
The available bill materials suggest a generally supportive, noncontroversial purpose focused on extending an existing pay benefit to a defined group of fire protection officers. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no direct evidence of debate or opposition in the supplied context. The bill’s caption and digest frame it as an administrative expansion of supplemental pay rather than a broader policy change, which typically indicates limited controversy.
Contention
The main substantive issue is eligibility: the bill adds Lakefront Management Authority fire protection officers to a benefit program that already covers other public safety employers, which may raise questions about whether this group should receive the same state-funded supplement as municipal, parish, port, and tribal fire protection officers. A second point is fiscal impact, since the bill is noted to increase general fund expenditures. Finally, the bill is contingent on passage of a related constitutional amendment, so its effectiveness depends on separate statewide voter approval rather than the statute alone.