Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB2913 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R2588 TJS-F
2	2	By: Hernandez H.B. No. 2913
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to retirement benefits for law enforcement officers
8	8	employed and commissioned by certain institutions of higher
9	9	education.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 811.001, Government Code, is amended by
12	12	amending Subdivision (9) and adding Subdivision (19) to read as
13	13	follows:
14	14	(9) "Law enforcement officer" means a member of the
15	15	retirement system who:
16	16	(A) has been commissioned as a law enforcement
17	17	officer by the Department of Public Safety, the Texas Alcoholic
18	18	Beverage Commission, the Parks and Wildlife Department, [or] the
19	19	office of inspector general at the Texas Youth Commission, or a
20	20	public institution of higher education; and
21	21	(B) is recognized as a commissioned law
22	22	enforcement officer by the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer
23	23	Standards and Education.
24	24	(19) "Public institution of higher education" means a
25	25	general academic teaching institution, a medical and dental unit,
26	26	or a university system, as those terms are defined by Section
27	27	61.003, Education Code.
28	28	SECTION 2. Section 812.003(a), Government Code, is amended
29	29	to read as follows:
30	30	(a) Except as provided by Subsections (b) and (d),
31	31	membership in the employee class of the retirement system includes:
32	32	(1) all employees and appointed officers of every
33	33	department, commission, board, agency, or institution of the state
34	34	except:
35	35	(A) [(1)] independent contractors and their
36	36	employees performing work for the state; and
37	37	(B) [(2)] persons disqualified from membership
38	38	under Section 812.201; and
39	39	(2) all law enforcement officers commissioned and
40	40	employed by a public institution of higher education except persons
41	41	disqualified from membership under Section 812.201.
42	42	SECTION 3. Section 814.104(b), Government Code, is amended
43	43	to read as follows:
44	44	(b) A member who is at least 55 years old and who has at
45	45	least 10 years of service credit as a commissioned peace officer
46	46	engaged in criminal law enforcement activities of the Department of
47	47	Public Safety, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Parks
48	48	and Wildlife Department, [or] the office of inspector general at
49	49	the Texas Youth Commission, or a public institution of higher
50	50	education, or as a custodial officer, is eligible to retire and
51	51	receive a service retirement annuity.
52	52	SECTION 4. Section 815.505, Government Code, is amended to
53	53	read as follows:
54	54	Sec. 815.505. CERTIFICATION OF NAMES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND
55	55	CUSTODIAL OFFICERS. Not later than the 12th day of the month
56	56	following the month in which a person begins or ceases employment as
57	57	a law enforcement officer or custodial officer, the Public Safety
58	58	Commission, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Parks and
59	59	Wildlife Commission, the office of inspector general at the Texas
60	60	Youth Commission, a public institution of higher education, the
61	61	Board of Pardons and Paroles, or the Texas Board of Criminal
62	62	Justice, as applicable, shall certify to the retirement system, in
63	63	the manner prescribed by the system, the name of the employee and
64	64	such other information as the system determines is necessary for
65	65	the crediting of service and financing of benefits under this
66	66	subtitle.
67	67	SECTION 5. Section 821.001(6), Government Code, is amended
68	68	to read as follows:
69	69	(6) "Employee" means a person who is employed, as
70	70	determined by the retirement system, on other than a temporary
71	71	basis by an employer for at least one-half time at a regular rate of
72	72	pay comparable to that of other persons employed in similar
73	73	positions. This term does not include a person employed as a law
74	74	enforcement officer by a public institution of higher education as
75	75	that term is defined by Section 811.001.
76	76	SECTION 6. Section 822.002, Government Code, is amended to
77	77	read as follows:
78	78	Sec. 822.002. EXCEPTIONS TO MEMBERSHIP REQUIREMENT. (a)
79	79	An employee of the public school system is not permitted to be a
80	80	member of the retirement system if the employee:
81	81	(1) is eligible and elects to participate in the
82	82	optional retirement program under Chapter 830;
83	83	(2) is solely employed by a public institution of
84	84	higher education that as a condition of employment requires the
85	85	employee to be enrolled as a student in the institution; or
86	86	(3) has retired under the retirement system and has
87	87	not been reinstated to membership pursuant to Section 824.005 or
88	88	824.307.
89	89	(b) A person commissioned and employed as a law enforcement
90	90	officer by a public institution of higher education, as that term is
91	91	defined by Section 811.001, is not a member of the retirement
92	92	system.
93	93	SECTION 7. (a) All persons who were commissioned and
94	94	employed on August 31, 2009, as law enforcement officers by a public
95	95	institution of higher education, as defined by Section 811.001,
96	96	Government Code, as amended by this Act, who were contributing
97	97	members of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas on that date, and
98	98	who remain in employment described by this subsection on September
99	99	1, 2009, become members of the Employees Retirement System of Texas
100	100	on September 1, 2009.
101	101	(b) Service credit in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
102	102	as a commissioned law enforcement officer by a person whose
103	103	retirement system membership is transferred under this section is
104	104	considered as if it were service credit in the Employees Retirement
105	105	System of Texas for the purpose of determining eligibility for
106	106	benefits from the Employees Retirement System of Texas.
107	107	(c) A commissioned law enforcement officer who becomes a
108	108	member of the Employees Retirement System of Texas under Subsection
109	109	(a) of this section and who has, before September 1, 2009, initiated
110	110	payments for previous service credit in the Teacher Retirement
111	111	System of Texas under Section 823.202, Government Code, as it
112	112	existed before the repeal of that section, Section 823.3021, as it
113	113	existed before expiration of that section, or under Section
114	114	823.302, 823.304, 823.401, 823.402, or 823.501, Government Code,
115	115	may complete the agreed payment plan to establish service credit in
116	116	the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. Credit established under
117	117	this section is considered as if it were service credit in the
118	118	Employees Retirement System of Texas for the purpose of determining
119	119	eligibility of benefits from the Employees Retirement System of
120	120	Texas.
121	121	(d) At the time of the retirement or death of a person whose
122	122	membership is transferred under this section, the Teacher
123	123	Retirement System of Texas and the Employees Retirement System of
124	124	Texas shall make a computation and transfer of money in the manner
125	125	provided by Section 805.008, Government Code, and the person's
126	126	service credit as a law enforcement officer described by this
127	127	section in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas will be
128	128	transferred to the Employees Retirement System of Texas.
129	129	SECTION 8. Before October 1, 2009, each public institution
130	130	of higher education, as defined by Section 811.001, Government
131	131	Code, as amended by this Act, shall certify to the Employees
132	132	Retirement System of Texas, in the manner prescribed by the
133	133	retirement system, the name of each person employed by the
134	134	institution on September 1, 2009, as a law enforcement officer, as
135	135	defined by Section 811.001, Government Code, as amended by this
136	136	Act, and any other information the system determines is necessary
137	137	for the crediting of service and financing of benefits under
138	138	Subtitle B, Title 8, Government Code.
139	139	SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.