83R20932 SGA-F
By: Callegari, Murphy, Capriglione, et al. H.B. No. 2444
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2444:
By: Callegari C.S.H.B. No. 2444
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the confidentiality of information held by a public
retirement system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 552.0038, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (a-1) and (c-1) and amending Subsections (c),
(d), (f), and (i) to read as follows:
(a-1) For the purposes of this section, "individual record"
includes any information that could reasonably be expected to
identify an individual, including the individual's name, address,
telephone number, e-mail address, social security number, record of
membership in the public retirement system, record of contributions
or distributions, account balance, status of any application for
benefits, medical records, financial records, beneficiary
information, and communications with the retirement system.
(c) Except as provided by this section, unless written
authorization for release is provided to the public retirement
system by the individual or the individual's authorized
representative, the following information is confidential and is
not subject to public disclosure:
(1) an individual record, as defined by Subsection
(a-1), of any person, living or deceased, who is or was a member,
annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee, program
participant, or other person eligible for benefits from a public
retirement system under a retirement plan or program administered
by the public retirement system that is in the custody of the
retirement system or in the custody of an administering firm, a
carrier, or another governmental agency, including the
comptroller, acting in cooperation with or on behalf of the
retirement system; and
(2) any information identifying by name, address, age,
date of birth, employer, dates of employment, or dates of
participation the amount of a monthly allowance or benefit paid to
the individual [Records of individual members, annuitants,
retirees, beneficiaries, alternate payees, program participants,
or persons eligible for benefits from a retirement system under a
retirement plan or program administered by the retirement system
that are in the custody of the system or in the custody of an
administering firm, a carrier, or another governmental agency,
including the comptroller, acting in cooperation with or on behalf
of the retirement system are confidential and not subject to public
disclosure].
(c-1) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the
public [The] retirement system, administering firm, carrier, or
governmental agency is not required to accept or comply with a
request for [a record or] information determined to be confidential
under Subsection (c). This section should not be interpreted as
preventing disclosure of aggregate information that could not
reasonably be expected to identify an individual. An entity that
receives a request for the disclosure of information under this
section should consider the request in context with other publicly
available information in making the determination as to whether a
record could reasonably be expected to identify an individual
[about a record or to seek an opinion from the attorney general
because the records are exempt from the provisions of this chapter,
except as otherwise provided by this section].
(d) A public retirement system may release individual
records, in accordance with the provisions of the statute or
ordinance establishing the system and the rules or policies of the
system, to the following entities:
(1) [Records may be released to] a member, annuitant,
retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or
person eligible for benefits from the retirement system;
(2) [or to] an authorized attorney, family member, or
representative acting on behalf of the member, annuitant, retiree,
beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or person
eligible for benefits;
(3) [. The retirement system may release the records
to:
[(1)] an administering firm, carrier, or agent or
attorney acting on behalf of the retirement system;
(4) [(2)] another governmental entity having a
legitimate need for the information to perform the purposes of the
retirement system; or
(5) [(3)] a party in response to a subpoena issued
under applicable law.
(f) The records of an individual member, annuitant,
retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or
person eligible for benefits from the retirement system remain
confidential after release to an individual or entity [a person] as
authorized by this section. The records may become part of the
public record of an administrative or judicial proceeding related
to a contested case, and the member, annuitant, retiree,
beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or person
eligible for benefits waives the confidentiality of the records,
including medical records, unless the records are closed to public
access by a protective order issued under applicable law.
(i) To the extent of a substantive or procedural conflict
between this section and any other law with respect to the
confidential information held by a public retirement system or
other entity described by Subsection (c) concerning an individual
member, annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee, program
participant, or person eligible for benefits from the retirement
system:
(1) [,] the substantive [prevailing] provision [is the
provision] that provides the greater [substantive and procedural]
protection for the privacy of information concerning that
individual member, annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate
payee, program participant, or person eligible for benefits
prevails; and
(2) the procedural provision of this chapter prevails.
SECTION 2. Section 552.0038(h), Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 3. Section 552.0038, Government Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to a request for information received by a
public retirement system or other entity described by Subsection
(c) of that section that is received on or after the effective date
of this Act. A request for information that is received before the
effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
date the request is received, and that law is continued in effect
for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2013.