With the Louisiana State Legislature’s 2017 Regular Session just over a week away, legislators have pre-filed several bills relating to higher education – as well as several others on topics ranging from tax codes to the death penalty. The Daily Reveille took a look at some of the bills worth watching once the session is underway.
House Bill 194
House Bill 194, proposed by Rep. Gene Reynolds, D-Minden, would raise the minimum GPA requirement for initial TOPS Opportunity Award eligibility from 2.50 to 3.00. The new standard would be applied to high school students graduating during or after the 2020-2021 school year.
The bill also changes the continuing eligibility requirements to specify that entry into the workforce qualifies as an enrollment exemption and the maximum extension for entering the workforce is five years. This change will affect high school students graduating in the 2016-2017 school year or later.
House Bill 184
House Bill 184, by Rep. Mark Abraham, R-Lake Charles, would establish the La. Jobs Now Fund, which would be appropriated to postsecondary management boards for degree production in STEM fields – science, technology, engineering and mathematics.
The treasury would be directed to transfer $34 million from the state general fund annually. Fifty percent of the money would be appropriated to public four-year universities, while the other half would go to two-year community or technical colleges.
House Bill 133
Rep. Rick Edmonds, R-Baton Rouge, proposed House Bill 133 to require each public postsecondary education management board to develop a “centralization plan and a cooperative unification plan.” The bill would require each board — including the LSU Board of Supervisors — to review the possibilities of centralization and the short- and long-term costs and savings.
Rep. Steve Pugh, R-Ponchatoula, pre-filed a bill in February that would merge all the higher education boards into one Louisiana Postsecondary Education Board of Trustees.
House Bill 122
Rep. Vincent Pierre, D-Lafayette, pre-filed House Bill 122 — a bill that would prohibit public colleges and universities from asking about criminal history on initial applications. The college would not be able to ask about criminal history until after an interview or the college extends a conditional offer.
Colleges and universities would still be able to consider criminal history for the final decision. The legislation, if passed, would allow the colleges to consider the gravity of the criminal conduct, the amount of time since the criminal conduct and the bearing the criminal conduct will have on the prospective student’s ability to meet requirements.
House Bill 117
Rep. Franklin Foil, R-Baton Rouge, proposed to raise the requirements for high school seniors to be eligible for a TOPS award in House Bill 117. The minimum GPA required for a TOPS Opportunity award will increase from a 2.5 to a 3.0
Additionally, the minimum GPA required for a Performance Award will increase from 3.00 to 3.25 and from 3.00 to 3.50 for an Honors Award. These changes will become applicable to graduating high school seniors during or after the 2020-2021 school year.
House Bill 135
House Bill 135, by Rep. Valerie Hodges, R-Denham Springs, proposes to prohibit “sanctuary policies,” or any policies that discourage the cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The proposed law will define any sanctuary policy as any ordinance, rule, law or policy that prevents law enforcement officers from exchanging information with I.C.E. This proposal will also prevent law enforcement from inquiring any suspect or arrestee about identifying information, including name, date and place of birth or immigration status.
House Bill 101
Proposed by Rep. Terry Landry, D-New Iberia, House Bill 101 will eliminate the possibility of a death penalty as punishment for offenses of first degree murder, first degree rape and treason. The proposal would be effective for these offenses on or after Aug. 1, 2017.
Present law currently allows for either life imprisonment at hard labor without benefit of parole, probation, or suspension of sentence or the death penalty for first degree murder offenses. Treason is punished by death. In cases of first degree rape where the victim is 13 years of age or younger, the district attorney can seek the death penalty, though this provision was ruled unconstitutional by the 2008 Kennedy v. Louisiana U.S. Supreme Court decision.
House Bill 134
Rep. Kenny Havard, R-Jackson, proposed House Bill 134 to replace the state’s graduated individual income tax rates and brackets for 2 percent on taxable income.
The current system puts a 2 percent tax on the first $12,500 of net income, 4 percent on the next $37,500 and 6 percent on net income over $50,000.