Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3972 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R8374 TJS-D
2	2	By: Hunter H.B. No. 3972
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the election of certain members of the board of trustees
8	8	of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 821.001(5), Government Code, is amended
11	11	to read as follows:
12	12	(5) "Board of trustees" means the board appointed or
13	13	elected under this subtitle to administer the retirement system.
14	14	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 825, Government Code, is
15	15	amended by adding Section 825.0021 to read as follows:
16	16	Sec. 825.0021. ELECTED TRUSTEES. (a) The retirement
17	17	system shall provide for the direct election of two persons to serve
18	18	on the board of trustees who are former members of the retirement
19	19	system who have retired and are receiving benefits from the
20	20	retirement system, and who shall be elected by former members of the
21	21	retirement system who have retired and are receiving benefits from
22	22	the retirement system.
23	23	(b) The two persons elected under Subsection (a) hold office
24	24	for staggered terms.
25	25	(c) The board of trustees by rule shall adopt procedures to
26	26	implement this section. The procedures must include a method for
27	27	filling a vacancy in an elected position.
28	28	SECTION 3. Sections 825.0032(a) and (b), Government Code,
29	29	are amended to read as follows:
30	30	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), a person is not
31	31	eligible for appointment or election to the board if the person or
32	32	the person's spouse:
33	33	(1) is employed by or participates in the management
34	34	of a business entity or other organization receiving funds from the
35	35	retirement system;
36	36	(2) owns or controls, directly or indirectly, more
37	37	than a 10 percent interest in a business entity or other
38	38	organization receiving funds from the retirement system; or
39	39	(3) uses or receives a substantial amount of tangible
40	40	goods, services, or funds from the retirement system, other than
41	41	compensation or reimbursement authorized by law for board
42	42	membership, attendance, or expenses.
43	43	(b) Subsection (a) does not apply to employment by,
44	44	participation in the management of, or ownership or control of an
45	45	interest in a business entity or other organization on behalf of the
46	46	retirement system. Subsection (a)(3) does not apply to a person who
47	47	is nominated for appointment under Section 825.002(c), (d), or (e)
48	48	or elected under Section 825.0021.
49	49	SECTION 4. Sections 825.0041(a) and (c), Government Code,
50	50	are amended to read as follows:
51	51	(a) A person who is appointed or elected to and qualifies
52	52	for office as a member of the board of trustees may not vote,
53	53	deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at a meeting of
54	54	the board until the person completes a training program that
55	55	complies with this section.
56	56	(c) A person appointed or elected to the board of trustees
57	57	is entitled to reimbursement under Section 825.007 for the travel
58	58	expenses incurred in attending the training program regardless of
59	59	whether the attendance at the program occurs before or after
60	60	the person qualifies for office.
61	61	SECTION 5. Section 825.009(a), Government Code, is amended
62	62	to read as follows:
63	63	(a) A trustee appointed from a slate of members nominated by
64	64	members of the retirement system under Section 825.002 or elected
65	65	by members of the retirement system under Section 825.0021 is
66	66	entitled to leave with pay from the trustee's public school
67	67	employer to attend to the official business of the retirement
68	68	system.
69	69	SECTION 6. Sections 825.010(a) and (c), Government Code,
70	70	are amended to read as follows:
71	71	(a) It is a ground for removal from the board that a trustee:
72	72	(1) does not have at the time of taking office the
73	73	qualifications required for the trustee's position;
74	74	(2) does not maintain during service on the board the
75	75	qualifications required for the trustee's position;
76	76	(3) violates a prohibition established by Section
77	77	825.002(b) or 825.0032;
78	78	(4) cannot because of illness or disability discharge
79	79	the trustee's duties for a substantial part of the term for which
80	80	the trustee is appointed or elected; or
81	81	(5) is absent from more than half of the regularly
82	82	scheduled board meetings that the person is eligible to attend
83	83	during a calendar year without an excuse approved by a majority vote
84	84	of the board.
85	85	(c) If the executive director has knowledge that a potential
86	86	ground for removal exists, the executive director shall notify the
87	87	presiding officer of the board of the ground. The presiding officer
88	88	shall then notify the appropriate appointing officer, if any, and
89	89	the attorney general that a potential ground for removal exists. If
90	90	the potential ground for removal involves the presiding officer,
91	91	the executive director shall notify the next highest officer of the
92	92	board, who shall notify the appropriate appointing officer, if any,
93	93	and the attorney general that a potential ground for removal
94	94	exists.
95	95	SECTION 7. Section 825.003, Government Code, is repealed.
96	96	SECTION 8. (a) In this section, "board" means the board of
97	97	trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
98	98	(b) The board shall adopt procedures to implement Section
99	99	825.0021(a), Government Code, as added by this Act, not later than
100	100	December 31, 2009.
101	101	(c) The procedures adopted by the board shall facilitate the
102	102	elections required under Section 825.0021(a), Government Code, as
103	103	added by this Act, so that the first elections are conducted not
104	104	later than May 1, 2010.
105	105	(d) A person elected at the first election under Section
106	106	825.0021(a), Government Code, as added by this Act, shall serve a
107	107	term beginning as soon as practicable after the date of the election
108	108	and taking the oath of office. One person elected under Section
109	109	825.0021(a) shall serve a term that expires August 31, 2013, and the
110	110	other person elected under Section 825.0021(a) shall serve a term
111	111	that expires August 31, 2015, as determined according to the
112	112	board's procedures adopted under Section 825.0021(c), Government
113	113	Code, as added by this Act.
114	114	(e) Not later than the 10th day after the date of the first
115	115	election held under Section 825.0021, Government Code, as added by
116	116	this Act, the board shall post the election results on the Teacher
117	117	Retirement System of Texas publicly accessible Internet website.
118	118	SECTION 9. The term of a person serving on the board of
119	119	trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas on December 1,
120	120	2009, and who was appointed to that position under Section 825.003,
121	121	Government Code, before the repeal of that section by this Act
122	122	expires on the date on which a person elected to serve on the board
123	123	at the first election held under Section 825.0021, Government Code,
124	124	as added by this Act, takes the oath of office.
125	125	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.