Louisiana House Bill HB1066

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 3/30/26
• Refer: 3/31/26
• Report Pass: 4/27/26
• Engrossed: 5/5/26
• Refer: 5/6/26

Caption

SUPPLEMENTAL PAY: Prohibits law enforcement officers employed by a public postsecondary education institution from receiving state supplemental pay (EG -$194,400 GF EX See Note)

Summary

HB 1066 amends Louisiana’s state supplemental pay law for certain law enforcement officers. Under current law, eligible full-time commissioned officers employed by certain bona fide police agencies headquartered in New Orleans or Lake Charles receive $600 per month in state supplemental compensation if they meet service and training requirements. The bill adds an explicit exclusion for law enforcement officers employed by a public postsecondary education institution, making those officers ineligible for this state-paid supplemental compensation. The measure also preserves existing exclusions for officers employed by the Department of Public Safety and Corrections and the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. The bill does not change the underlying eligibility framework for other covered officers, and it retains the rest of the supplemental pay statute as written. Its effective date is contingent on enactment of another bill, HB 981, meaning HB 1066 would only take effect if that separate measure becomes law and becomes operative.

Impact

HB 1066 would amend R.S. 40:1667.1, narrowing the class of law enforcement officers eligible for state supplemental pay by excluding officers employed by public postsecondary education institutions. The practical effect is to remove state-funded monthly supplemental compensation for campus police or similar university-employed officers who otherwise might have qualified under the statute. The bill is also tied to a contingent effective date, so its legal effect depends on the passage and effectiveness of HB 981.

Sentiment

The House vote suggests broad support for the bill, with final passage recorded at 89 yeas and 5 nays in one vote record and 89 yeas and 7 nays in another. No committee transcript was provided, so there is no recorded floor or committee debate to indicate detailed arguments for or against the measure. Overall, the available voting history indicates the bill was generally well received in the House.

Contention

The main policy issue is whether officers employed by public postsecondary education institutions should receive the same state supplemental pay as other eligible law enforcement officers. Supporters appear to have accepted the bill’s narrower eligibility rule, likely in line with the fiscal note showing reduced general fund expenditures, while opponents may have objected to excluding campus law enforcement from a benefit available to other officers. A secondary point of interest is the bill’s contingent effective date, which links its operation to HB 981 and makes its implementation dependent on another legislative act.