A. The funds credited and dedicated as provided in this Part shall be disbursed upon warrants approved and certified by the mayors or parish officials and the fire chiefs of the respective municipalities or parishes coming under the provisions of this Part, which warrants shall have attached to them a detailed list of the names of the employees for whose benefit any particular warrant is drawn, together with the completed years of service of such employees and such other information as the Department of Public Safety and Corrections may require.

            B. The mayors or parish officials of the respective municipalities or parishes shall forward the approved and certified warrants to the Department of Public Safety and Corrections and, after obtaining approval of the board as provided in La. Rev. Stat. 40:1666.8, on the basis of such warrants, the Department of Public Safety and Corrections shall issue payments representing the amount to be paid out of state funds to each employee in accordance with the provisions of this Subsection. The secretary shall issue payments to the individual employees in whose favor they are drawn by such means as he shall determine.

            C. The mayor, fire chief, or other municipal or parish officer of the municipalities or parishes employing persons entitled to additional compensation from the state under the provisions of this Part, who is charged with the responsibility of preparing the pay rolls for such employees, shall include the additional compensation paid by the state to such employees in the calculation and deduction from the pay of such employees of the sums required by state or federal law to be withheld by an employer, such as federal income tax and social security tax or contributions to local retirement systems. Any officials charged with withholding sums from the pay of the municipal or parish paid fire department employees shall be further charged with the responsibility of transmitting the sums withheld in accordance with the law or laws requiring the withholding.

            D. The additional compensation paid by the state to municipal or parish fire department employees as provided by this Part shall be included in the calculation and computation of the total wages paid to the employee in the determination of employer contributions to any retirement system or pension fund of which such employee may be a member as well as in the determination of retirement eligibility and benefits which may accrue to the employee under any retirement system or pension fund, as well as in the determination of any other employee benefits, sick leave, or disability pay to which the employee might be entitled.

            Acts 1963, No. 82, §4A. Amended by Acts 1964, No. 349, §1; Acts 1967, No. 82, §1; Acts 1978, No. 496, §1; Redesignated from La. Rev. Stat. 33:2004. See Acts 2014, No. 158, §§3 and 7; Acts 2023, No. 298, §1, eff. July 1, 2023.