H.B. No. 2656
AN ACT
relating to the composition of the board of trustees of the Teacher
Retirement System of Texas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Sections 825.002(a) and (d), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The governor shall appoint, with the advice and consent
of the senate and as provided by this section, eight [seven] members
of the board of trustees.
(d) The governor shall appoint two members [one member] of
the board from a slate of three former members of the retirement
system who have retired and are receiving benefits from the
retirement system and who have been nominated in accordance with
Subsections (f) and (g) by the persons who have retired and are
receiving benefits from the retirement system. The two members
hold office for staggered terms.
SECTION 2. Section 825.003, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 825.003. TRUSTEES APPOINTED BY GOVERNOR FROM NOMINEES
OF BOARD OF EDUCATION. The governor shall appoint one member [two
members] of the board of trustees, subject to confirmation by
two-thirds of the senate, from lists of nominees submitted by the
State Board of Education. The member appointed under this section
[These members] must be a person [persons] who has [have]
demonstrated financial expertise, has [have] worked in private
business or industry, and has [have] broad investment experience,
preferably in investment of pension funds.
SECTION 3. Sections 825.010(a) and (c), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) It is a ground for removal from the board of trustees
that a trustee:
(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
qualifications required for the trustee's position;
(2) does not maintain during service on the board the
qualifications required for the trustee's position;
(3) violates a prohibition established by Section
825.002(b) or 825.0032 applicable to the trustee;
(4) cannot because of illness or disability discharge
the trustee's duties for a substantial part of the term for which
the trustee is appointed; or
(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
scheduled board meetings that the person is eligible to attend
during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
of the board.
(c) If the executive director has knowledge that a potential
ground for removal exists, the executive director shall notify the
presiding officer of the board of trustees of the ground. The
presiding officer shall then notify the governor [appropriate
appointing officer] and the attorney general that a potential
ground for removal exists. If the potential ground for removal
involves the presiding officer, the executive director shall notify
the next highest officer of the board, who shall notify the governor
[appropriate appointing officer] and the attorney general that a
potential ground for removal exists.
SECTION 4. (a) This Act applies only to the appointment of
a trustee of the board of trustees of the Teacher Retirement System
of Texas that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.
(b) A person who is serving as a trustee immediately before
the effective date of this Act may complete the trustee's term of
office, and the trustee's qualifications for serving as a trustee
are governed by the law in effect immediately before the effective
date of this Act until the date that trustee's term expires.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2656 was passed by the House on May
11, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 147, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 2656 on May 29, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0,
1 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2656 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 26, 2009, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor