House Bill No. [insert bill number] amends R.S. 33:1420.31 to establish mandatory training requirements for mayors of municipalities with populations of 15,000 or less. The bill mandates that all mayors must complete a minimum of 16 hours of training annually, which can include various topics such as ethics, sexual harassment prevention, cybersecurity, and emergency preparedness. The Louisiana Municipal Association is tasked with developing these training courses, which will cover essential areas of municipal governance, including public budgeting, roles and responsibilities of municipal officials, and compliance with open meetings and public records laws.

Additionally, the bill requires mayors to attest to their compliance with these training requirements, with this attestation being included in the municipality's annual financial statements submitted to the legislative auditor. The auditor will maintain a public list of mayors who are compliant or non-compliant with the training requirements. An exception is provided for individuals temporarily appointed to the office of mayor for less than one year. The provisions of this bill will take effect on January 1, 2027.

Statutes affected:
HB431 Original: