HB 807

ENROLLED
 2026 Regular Session
  ACT No. 844
 HOUSE BILL NO. 807
 BY REPRESENTATIVES BRASS, ADAMS, BERAULT, BILLINGS, BOUDREAUX,
  BOURRIAQUE, BOYD, BROUSSARD, CARPENTER, WILFORD CARTER,
  CARVER, CHASSION, EGAN, FISHER, FREEMAN, FREIBERG, GREEN,
  DANA HENRY, JACKSON, TRAVIS JOHNSON, KNOX, LAFLEUR, TERRY
  LANDRY, LARVADAIN, LYONS, MACK, MARTINEZ, MENA, MURRAY,
  NEWELL, SAWYER, TAYLOR, TURNER, AND YOUNG AND SENATORS
  BARROW, BOUDREAUX, CARTER, CATHEY, HARRIS, JACKSON-
  ANDREWS, JENKINS, LUNEAU, MILLER, MIZELL, PRICE, AND REESE
1AN ACT
2 To enact R.S. 17:1877, relative to the Workforce Instructor Capacity Investment Program;
3to provide for establishment and administration of and reporting on the program; to
4establish a special fund in the state treasury and provide for deposit, use, and
5investment of monies in the fund; to prohibit program funds from supplanting certain
6higher education funding; to provide relative to the powers and duties of the Board
7of Supervisors of Community and Technical Colleges, the Board of Supervisors of
8Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, and the Board
9of Supervisors of Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College; to
10require reporting; to provide legislative findings; to provide for an effective date; and
11to provide for related matters.
12 Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
13Section 1. The legislature finds that Louisiana's economic competitiveness depends
14 upon a skilled workforce aligned with high-wage, high-demand industry sectors including
15 construction, manufacturing, healthcare, transportation and logistics, and information
16 technology. It further finds that shortages of qualified instructional personnel limit the
17 ability of the two-year public institutions to scale workforce training programs to meet
18 employer demand. It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to establish a flexible
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 HB NO. 807  ENROLLED
1 investment program to expand instructor capacity and provide rapid-response capability for
2 major economic development projects.
3Section 2. R.S. 17:1877 is hereby enacted to read as follows:
4§1877. Workforce Instructor Capacity Investment Program
5A. There is hereby established the Workforce Instructor Capacity Investment
6Program, hereafter referred to in this Section as the "program", to promote the
7expansion of instructional capacity in high-wage, high-demand workforce programs
8and support shared instructor models between two-year public institutions and
9private sector employers.
10B. The program shall be administered by the Board of Supervisors of
11Community and Technical Colleges, the Board of Supervisors of Louisiana State
12University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, and the Board of Supervisors
13of Southern University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, hereafter referred
14to in this Section as the "boards". The boards shall promulgate rules in accordance
15with the Administrative Procedure Act for the implementation and administration of
16this program, including establishing eligibility criteria, cost-sharing models, and
17allocation methodologies and defining qualifying industry sectors. Notwithstanding
18any provision of law to the contrary, rules promulgated pursuant to the provisions of
19this Section shall be submitted to the House Committee on Education, the Senate
20Committee on Education, the House Committee on Appropriations, and the Senate
21Committee on Finance for oversight. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the
22contrary, initial rules for the program may be adopted through the emergency
23rulemaking procedure provided for in R.S. 49:962.
24C.(1) There is hereby established in the state treasury as a special fund the
25Workforce Instructor Capacity Investment Fund, hereafter referred to in this Section
26as the "fund". After allocation of money to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund
27as provided in Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana, the
28treasurer shall deposit into the fund any monies transferred or appropriated by the
29legislature and any monies designated for the fund and received or held by the state
30treasurer from donations, gifts, grants, or other revenue.
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 HB NO. 807  ENROLLED
1(2) All unexpended and unencumbered monies in the fund at the end of the
2fiscal year shall remain in the fund. The monies in the fund shall be invested by the
3state treasurer in the same manner as monies in the state general fund. Interest earned
4on the investment of monies in the fund shall be credited to the fund.
5(3)    Monies in the fund shall be appropriated to the boards for
6implementation and administration of the program, including but not limited to any
7of the following:
8(a) Support of rapid-response instructor deployment tied to major economic
9development projects.
10(b) Expedited recruitment incentives.
11(c) Compensation for temporary or contract-based instructors.
12(d) Salary differential supplements.
13(e) Accelerated program expansion.
14(4) Monies appropriated from the fund shall not be used to displace, replace,
15or supplant any state general fund appropriations to public postsecondary education
16institutions under the supervision and management of the boards.
17(5) The legislature finds that Louisiana faces significant shortages in
18healthcare and allied health professions, particularly in rural and undeserved areas,
19and that expanding instructor capacity in healthcare programs is critical to meeting
20statewide workforce demands.
21D. The boards shall submit an annual report no later than forty-five days
22prior to the regular session of the legislature to the House Committee on Education,
23the Senate Committee on Education, the House Committee on Appropriations, and
24the Senate Committee on Finance detailing the amount of funds allocated by the
25program, the industry sectors supported, the number of instructors supported, the
26number of rapid-response deployments, and the number of credentials produced.
27Section 3. This Act shall become effective upon signature by the governor or, if not
28 signed by the governor, upon expiration of the time for bills to become law without signature
29 by the governor, as provided by Article III, Section 18 of the Constitution of Louisiana. If
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HB NO. 807  ENROLLED
1 vetoed by the governor and subsequently approved by the legislature, this Act shall become
2 effective on the day following such approval.
  SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
  PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE
  GOVERNOR OF THE STATE OF LOUISIANA
APPROVED:
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