CLERKS OF COURT: Provides for the creation of the Ascension Parish retired employee insurance fund

Labor

Enacted

This bill passed the Legislature and reached final enactment based on the latest official action.

Sponsor: Tony Bacala
Last action: 2026-05-15
Official status: Signed by the Governor - Act 112
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Ascension Parish Retired Employee Insurance Fund

This act creates the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Retired Employees Insurance Fund (APCOCREIF) to pay insurance premiums for retired clerks and deputy clerks, allowing contributions from the clerk and setting investment rules.

What This Bill Does

Creates a new fund called the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Retired Employees Insurance Fund (APCOCREIF) to pay insurance premiums for retired clerks and deputy clerks.
Allows the clerk of Ascension Parish to contribute money to the APCOCREIF at their choice.
Requires that at least 25% of the fund's investments be in equities and another 25% in fixed income investments, with a minimum rating requirement for those investments.
Establishes an investment advisory board made up of three members who provide recommendations on how to invest the money in the APCOCREIF.
Requires that any financial audit of Ascension Parish's clerk office must check if this new law is being followed.

Who It Names or Affects

The clerk of Ascension Parish
Retired clerks and deputy clerks of Ascension Parish

Terms To Know

APCOCREIF: Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Retired Employees Insurance Fund, a fund created to pay insurance premiums for retired clerks and deputy clerks.

Limits and Unknowns

The act does not specify how much money the clerk can contribute or when contributions must be made.
It is unclear what happens if the APCOCREIF runs out of funds before reaching its target amount of $5 million.

Bill History

2026-05-15 H
Effective date: 08/01/2026.
2026-05-15 H
Signed by the Governor. Becomes Act No. 112.
2026-05-13 H
Sent to the Governor for executive approval.
2026-05-13 S
Signed by the President of the Senate.
2026-05-12 H
Enrolled and signed by the Speaker of the House.
2026-05-12 H
Received from the Senate without amendments.
2026-05-11 S
Read by title, passed by a vote of 36 yeas and 0 nays, and ordered returned to the House. Motion to reconsider tabled.
2026-05-04 S
Reported without Legislative Bureau amendments. Read by title and passed to third reading and final passage.
2026-04-29 S
Read by title and referred to the Legislative Bureau.
2026-04-28 S
Reported favorably.
2026-04-20 S
Read second time by title and referred to the Committee on Judiciary B.
2026-04-15 S
Received in the Senate. Read first time by title and placed on the Calendar for a second reading.
2026-04-15 H
Read third time by title, roll called on final passage, yeas 91, nays 5. Finally passed, title adopted, ordered to the Senate.
2026-04-14 H
Scheduled for floor debate on 04/15/2026.
2026-04-13 H
Read by title, ordered engrossed, passed to 3rd reading.
2026-04-09 H
Reported favorably (12-0).
2026-03-09 H
Read by title, under the rules, referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
2026-01-23 H
First appeared in the Interim Calendar on 1/23/2026.
2026-01-21 H
Under the rules, provisionally referred to the Committee on Judiciary.
2026-01-21 H
Prefiled.

Official Summary Text

CLERKS OF COURT: Provides for the creation of the Ascension Parish retired employee insurance fund

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text

ENROLLED
ACT No. 1122026 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 29
BY REPRESENTATIVE BACALA
1 AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 13:783.2, relative to the payment of group insurance premiums for retired
3 clerks of court and employees; to create the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Retired
4 Employees Insurance Fund; to provide for deposits in the fund; to provide for
5 investment of deposits in the fund; to provide for payments from the fund; to provide
6 for an investment advisory board; to provide for the membership and terms of the
7 members of the investment advisory board; and to provide for related matters.
8 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
9 Section 1. R.S. 13:783.2 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
10 §783.2. Ascension Parish; retired clerks and deputy clerks; creation of fund;
11 investment advisory board
12 A. There is hereby created the Ascension Parish Clerk of Court Retired
13 Employees Insurance Fund, hereinafter referred to as the "APCOCREIF", to fund the
14 payment by the clerk of Ascension Parish of the premium costs for eligible retired
15 clerks and retired deputy clerks as provided in R.S. 13:783.
16 B. The clerk of Ascension Parish may contribute to the APCOCREIF at his
17 discretion.
Page 1 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 29 ENROLLED
1 C. Upon recommendation of the investment advisory board established in
2 Subsection F of this Section, the clerk of Ascension Parish shall invest the monies
3 as follows:
4 (1) Not less than twenty-five percent in equities.
5 (2) At least twenty-five percent in fixed income investments into the
6 APCOCREIF, provided that a minimum of seventy-five percent of the fixed income
7 portion is rated as investment grade by a nationally recognized rating agency.
8 D.(1) The earnings realized on the monies invested pursuant to Subsection
9 C of this Section shall be available for the clerk to withdraw for the sole purpose of
10 paying the insurance premium costs provided in R.S. 13:783 for retired clerks and
11 retired deputy clerks of Ascension Parish, legal representation costs for the
12 APCOCREIF Board, or both, provided that no such earnings shall be withdrawn
13 until the amount of principal and accumulated earnings in the APCOCREIF are equal
14 to the sum of five million dollars.
15 (2) In the event that the total amount of monies derived from deposits
16 provided in Subsection B of this Section and investment earnings fall below the sum
17 of four million dollars, no earnings shall be withdrawn, and any balance owed for the
18 payment of insurance premium costs as required by R.S. 13:783 or legal
19 representation costs for the APCOCREIF Board shall be paid in full from the clerk's
20 general fund.
21 E. Any financial audit conducted of the clerk's office of Ascension Parish
22 shall specifically address compliance with the provisions of this Section.
23 F.(1) There is hereby established an investment advisory board to provide
24 recommendations concerning the investment of funds as provided in Subsection C
25 of this Section,
26 (2) The board shall be appointed by the clerk and consist of three members:
27 (a) The clerk or his designee.
28 (b) One retired clerk or retired deputy clerk.
29 (c) One active deputy clerk.
30 (3) The members of the board shall serve a term determined by the clerk.
Page 2 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.
HB NO. 29 ENROLLED
1 (4) The members of the board shall elect a chairperson at its first board
2 meeting, which shall be held within thirty days after the appointment of board
3 members.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
Page 3 of 3
CODING: Words in struck through type are deletions from existing law; words underscored
are additions.