§185. Educational requirements for members of retirement system boards of trustees

A. The provisions of this Section shall apply to the following state retirement systems:

(1) The Louisiana State Employees' Retirement System.

(2) The Teachers' Retirement System of Louisiana.

(3) The Louisiana School Employees' Retirement System.

(4) The Louisiana State Police Retirement System.

B. The provisions of this Section shall apply to the following statewide retirement systems:

(1) The Assessors' Retirement Fund.

(2) The Clerks of Court Retirement and Relief Fund.

(3) The District Attorneys' Retirement System.

(4) The Firefighters' Retirement System.

(5) The Municipal Employees' Retirement System.

(6) The Municipal Police Employees' Retirement System.

(7) The Parochial Employees' Retirement System.

(8) The Registrars of Voters Employees' Retirement System.

(9) The Sheriffs' Pension and Relief Fund.

C. The provisions of this Section shall apply to the following local retirement system: Harbor Police Retirement System.

D.(1) For purposes of this Section "actuarial science" means the application of mathematical and statistical methods to estimate future payment for benefits, to set forth an orderly and convenient way to provide the funds necessary to make those future payments, to determine the effects of asset and liability experience on pension fund costs, and to study the demographics of plan members, particularly in relation to long-term risk assessments, mortality, and morbidity.

(2) For each system to which the provisions of this Section apply, each member of the board of trustees and each designee of a member shall complete continuing education or professional development training during each twelve-month period from September first to August thirty-first as provided in this Subsection. By October fifteenth of each year, the board of trustees of each system to which this Section applies shall submit to the House and Senate committees on retirement a letter stating whether or not each member of that board has met the requirements of this Section in the previous twelve-month period and giving the date or dates upon which the required training hours were completed by each member.

(3) Each year, any member to whom this Section applies shall attend at least eight hours of investment training, four hours of actuarial science information education, two hours of education regarding the laws, rules, and regulations applicable to his system, and two hours of instruction on fiduciary duty and ethics. These training hours may be conducted by the staff of the respective retirement systems or by outside experts. Two or more systems may combine any such training. Any member who is elected or appointed to the board for the first time on or after June first shall be required to comply only with the provisions of Paragraph (4) of this Subsection.

(4) Except as otherwise provided by the constitution or in R.S. 42:3.1, no board member to whom this Section applies shall receive per diem during any calendar year unless and until he has completed the fiduciary and ethics requirement and at least one hour each of investment, actuarial science, and legal education in the current twelve-month cycle. The system shall submit evidence of training in compliance with this Paragraph to the speaker of the House of Representatives and the president of the Senate within fourteen days after the completion thereof.

(5) Additionally, no new board member to whom this Section applies shall be permitted to vote on any matter until he has completed the fiduciary and ethics requirement and one hour of education in each of the other required areas.

Acts 2003, No. 953, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2004, No. 207, §1, eff. June 14, 2004; Acts 2011, No. 399, §1, eff. July 1, 2011; Acts 2012, No. 227, §1; Acts 2012, No. 718, §1, eff. August 31, 2012.