Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

Texas House Bill HB246 Compare Versions

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Old	New	Differences
1	1	82R20855 SGA-F
2	2	By: Johnson, Sheffield, Farrar, Crownover, H.B. No. 246
3	3	Lucio III, et al.
4	4	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 246:
5	5	By: Hernandez Luna C.S.H.B. No. 246
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to the eligibility for service retirement annuities of
11	11	certain elected officials convicted of certain crimes.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 814, Government Code, is
14	14	amended by adding Section 814.1021 to read as follows:
15	15	Sec. 814.1021. CERTAIN ELECTED MEMBERS INELIGIBLE FOR
16	16	RETIREMENT ANNUITY. (a) In this section, "qualifying felony"
17	17	means any felony involving:
18	18	(1) bribery;
19	19	(2) the embezzlement, extortion, or other theft of
20	20	public money;
21	21	(3) perjury; or
22	22	(4) conspiracy or the attempt to commit any of the
23	23	above crimes.
24	24	(b) This section applies only to a member of the elected
25	25	class of the retirement system as described by Section
26	26	812.002(a)(1) or (2).
27	27	(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a member is not
28	28	eligible to receive a service retirement annuity for service credit
29	29	in the elected class under the retirement system if the member is
30	30	convicted of a qualifying felony committed while in office and
31	31	arising directly from the official duties of that elected office.
32	32	(d) The retirement system shall suspend payments of an
33	33	annuity to a person ineligible to receive the annuity under
34	34	Subsection (c). A person whose conviction is overturned on appeal
35	35	or who meets either of the requirements for innocence under Section
36	36	103.001(a)(2), Civil Practice and Remedies Code:
37	37	(1) is entitled to receive an amount equal to the
38	38	accrued total of payments and interest earned on the payments
39	39	withheld during the suspension period; and
40	40	(2) may resume receipt of annuity payments on payment
41	41	to the retirement system of an amount equal to the contributions
42	42	refunded to the person under Subsection (e).
43	43	(e) A member who is not eligible to receive a service
44	44	retirement annuity under Subsection (c) is entitled to a refund of
45	45	the member's retirement annuity contributions, including interest
46	46	earned on those contributions.
47	47	(f) Benefits payable to an alternate payee under Chapter 804
48	48	who is recognized by a domestic relations order established before
49	49	September 1, 2011, are not affected by a member's ineligibility to
50	50	receive a retirement annuity under Subsection (c).
51	51	(g) Ineligibility for a retirement annuity under this
52	52	section does not impair a person's right to any other retirement
53	53	benefit for which the person is eligible.
54	54	(h) The board of trustees of the retirement system shall
55	55	adopt rules and procedures to implement this section.
56	56	SECTION 2. Article 6220, Revised Statutes, is repealed.
57	57	SECTION 3. (a) Section 814.1021, Government Code, as added
58	58	by this Act, applies only to a member of the Employees Retirement
59	59	System of Texas who is or was a member of the state legislature or
60	60	holds or has held a statewide elected office and, on or after the
61	61	effective date of this Act, commits an offense that is a qualifying
62	62	felony as defined by that section. A person who commits a
63	63	qualifying felony before the effective date of this Act is subject
64	64	to the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
65	65	former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
66	66	(b) For purposes of this section, an offense was committed
67	67	before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
68	68	occurred before that date.
69	69	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.