| 1 | 1 | | By: Raymond (Senate Sponsor - Zaffirini) H.B. No. 159 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 16, 2011; |
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| 3 | 3 | | May 16, 2011, read first time and referred to Committee on State |
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| 4 | 4 | | Affairs; May 20, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote: |
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| 5 | 5 | | Yeas 7, Nays 0; May 20, 2011, sent to printer.) |
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| 6 | 6 | | |
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| 7 | 7 | | |
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| 8 | 8 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 9 | 9 | | AN ACT |
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| 10 | 10 | | relating to the resumption of employment by certain retirees within |
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| 11 | 11 | | the Texas Municipal Retirement System. |
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| 12 | 12 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 13 | 13 | | SECTION 1. Section 852.108, Government Code, is amended by |
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| 14 | 14 | | amending Subsections (c), (e), and (f) and adding Subsection (j) to |
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| 15 | 15 | | read as follows: |
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| 16 | 16 | | (c) The retirement system shall discontinue and suspend |
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| 17 | 17 | | payments of each service retirement annuity that is allowed because |
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| 18 | 18 | | of the person's previous service with the reemploying municipality |
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| 19 | 19 | | beginning with the month the retirement system determines that the |
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| 20 | 20 | | person has again become an employee of the reemploying |
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| 21 | 21 | | municipality. After the suspension and except as provided by |
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| 22 | 22 | | Subsection (j), the retirement system may not make payments of the |
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| 23 | 23 | | annuity for any month during which the person remains an employee of |
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| 24 | 24 | | the reemploying municipality. The suspension of a benefit under |
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| 25 | 25 | | this section does not suspend payment of a benefit to an alternate |
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| 26 | 26 | | payee under a qualified domestic relations order. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (e) After termination of employment with the reemploying |
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| 28 | 28 | | municipality and after filing of an application for resumption of |
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| 29 | 29 | | retirement with the board of trustees, a person described by |
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| 30 | 30 | | Subsection (b) is entitled to receive future payments of the |
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| 31 | 31 | | suspended annuity, as provided by Subsection (f), and to the |
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| 32 | 32 | | additional benefits as provided by Subsections (g), (h), [and] (i), |
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| 33 | 33 | | and (j). |
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| 34 | 34 | | (f) Monthly payments of a suspended annuity shall be resumed |
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| 35 | 35 | | in the month following the month in which employment is terminated |
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| 36 | 36 | | with the reemploying municipality, without change in the amount |
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| 37 | 37 | | except for any increase allowed under Section 854.203 or the |
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| 38 | 38 | | duration of or another condition pertaining to the suspended |
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| 39 | 39 | | benefit. Except as provided by Subsection (j), payment [Payment] |
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| 40 | 40 | | of the resumed benefit may not be made for any month during which |
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| 41 | 41 | | the payment was suspended under this section. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (j) A person to whom this section applies shall receive a |
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| 43 | 43 | | lump-sum payment in an amount equal to the sum of the service |
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| 44 | 44 | | retirement annuity payments the person would have received had the |
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| 45 | 45 | | person's annuity payments not been discontinued and suspended under |
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| 46 | 46 | | this section if the person: |
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| 47 | 47 | | (1) initially retired based on a bona fide termination |
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| 48 | 48 | | of employment; and |
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| 49 | 49 | | (2) resumed employment with the person's reemploying |
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| 50 | 50 | | municipality at least eight years after the effective date of the |
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| 51 | 51 | | person's retirement. |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 2. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
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| 53 | 53 | | to a member of the Texas Municipal Retirement System who terminates |
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| 54 | 54 | | employment with the person's reemploying municipality and files an |
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| 55 | 55 | | application for resumption of retirement with the board of trustees |
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| 56 | 56 | | of the Texas Municipal Retirement System under Section 852.108(e), |
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| 57 | 57 | | Government Code, as amended by this Act, on or after the effective |
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| 58 | 58 | | date of this Act. A member who terminates employment with the |
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| 59 | 59 | | person's reemploying municipality and files an application for |
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| 60 | 60 | | resumption of retirement with the board under Section 852.108(e), |
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| 61 | 61 | | Government Code, before the effective date of this Act is governed |
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| 62 | 62 | | by the law as it existed immediately before that date, and the |
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| 63 | 63 | | former law is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 64 | 64 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 65 | 65 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 66 | 66 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 67 | 67 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 68 | 68 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2011. |
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| 69 | 69 | | * * * * * |
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