Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas House Bill HB2444 Compare Versions

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1	1	83R20932 SGA-F
2	2	By: Callegari, Murphy, Capriglione, et al. H.B. No. 2444
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2444:
4	4	By: Callegari C.S.H.B. No. 2444
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the confidentiality of information held by a public
10	10	retirement system.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 552.0038, Government Code, is amended by
13	13	adding Subsections (a-1) and (c-1) and amending Subsections (c),
14	14	(d), (f), and (i) to read as follows:
15	15	(a-1) For the purposes of this section, "individual record"
16	16	includes any information that could reasonably be expected to
17	17	identify an individual, including the individual's name, address,
18	18	telephone number, e-mail address, social security number, record of
19	19	membership in the public retirement system, record of contributions
20	20	or distributions, account balance, status of any application for
21	21	benefits, medical records, financial records, beneficiary
22	22	information, and communications with the retirement system.
23	23	(c) Except as provided by this section, unless written
24	24	authorization for release is provided to the public retirement
25	25	system by the individual or the individual's authorized
26	26	representative, the following information is confidential and is
27	27	not subject to public disclosure:
28	28	(1) an individual record, as defined by Subsection
29	29	(a-1), of any person, living or deceased, who is or was a member,
30	30	annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee, program
31	31	participant, or other person eligible for benefits from a public
32	32	retirement system under a retirement plan or program administered
33	33	by the public retirement system that is in the custody of the
34	34	retirement system or in the custody of an administering firm, a
35	35	carrier, or another governmental agency, including the
36	36	comptroller, acting in cooperation with or on behalf of the
37	37	retirement system; and
38	38	(2) any information identifying by name, address, age,
39	39	date of birth, employer, dates of employment, or dates of
40	40	participation the amount of a monthly allowance or benefit paid to
41	41	the individual [Records of individual members, annuitants,
42	42	retirees, beneficiaries, alternate payees, program participants,
43	43	or persons eligible for benefits from a retirement system under a
44	44	retirement plan or program administered by the retirement system
45	45	that are in the custody of the system or in the custody of an
46	46	administering firm, a carrier, or another governmental agency,
47	47	including the comptroller, acting in cooperation with or on behalf
48	48	of the retirement system are confidential and not subject to public
49	49	disclosure].
50	50	(c-1) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the
51	51	public [The] retirement system, administering firm, carrier, or
52	52	governmental agency is not required to accept or comply with a
53	53	request for [a record or] information determined to be confidential
54	54	under Subsection (c). This section should not be interpreted as
55	55	preventing disclosure of aggregate information that could not
56	56	reasonably be expected to identify an individual. An entity that
57	57	receives a request for the disclosure of information under this
58	58	section should consider the request in context with other publicly
59	59	available information in making the determination as to whether a
60	60	record could reasonably be expected to identify an individual
61	61	[about a record or to seek an opinion from the attorney general
62	62	because the records are exempt from the provisions of this chapter,
63	63	except as otherwise provided by this section].
64	64	(d) A public retirement system may release individual
65	65	records, in accordance with the provisions of the statute or
66	66	ordinance establishing the system and the rules or policies of the
67	67	system, to the following entities:
68	68	(1) [Records may be released to] a member, annuitant,
69	69	retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or
70	70	person eligible for benefits from the retirement system;
71	71	(2) [or to] an authorized attorney, family member, or
72	72	representative acting on behalf of the member, annuitant, retiree,
73	73	beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or person
74	74	eligible for benefits;
75	75	(3) [. The retirement system may release the records
76	76	to:
77	77	[(1)] an administering firm, carrier, or agent or
78	78	attorney acting on behalf of the retirement system;
79	79	(4) [(2)] another governmental entity having a
80	80	legitimate need for the information to perform the purposes of the
81	81	retirement system; or
82	82	(5) [(3)] a party in response to a subpoena issued
83	83	under applicable law.
84	84	(f) The records of an individual member, annuitant,
85	85	retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or
86	86	person eligible for benefits from the retirement system remain
87	87	confidential after release to an individual or entity [a person] as
88	88	authorized by this section. The records may become part of the
89	89	public record of an administrative or judicial proceeding related
90	90	to a contested case, and the member, annuitant, retiree,
91	91	beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or person
92	92	eligible for benefits waives the confidentiality of the records,
93	93	including medical records, unless the records are closed to public
94	94	access by a protective order issued under applicable law.
95	95	(i) To the extent of a substantive or procedural conflict
96	96	between this section and any other law with respect to the
97	97	confidential information held by a public retirement system or
98	98	other entity described by Subsection (c) concerning an individual
99	99	member, annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee, program
100	100	participant, or person eligible for benefits from the retirement
101	101	system:
102	102	(1) [,] the substantive [prevailing] provision [is the
103	103	provision] that provides the greater [substantive and procedural]
104	104	protection for the privacy of information concerning that
105	105	individual member, annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate
106	106	payee, program participant, or person eligible for benefits
107	107	prevails; and
108	108	(2) the procedural provision of this chapter prevails.
109	109	SECTION 2. Section 552.0038(h), Government Code, is
110	110	repealed.
111	111	SECTION 3. Section 552.0038, Government Code, as amended by
112	112	this Act, applies only to a request for information received by a
113	113	public retirement system or other entity described by Subsection
114	114	(c) of that section that is received on or after the effective date
115	115	of this Act. A request for information that is received before the
116	116	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
117	117	date the request is received, and that law is continued in effect
118	118	for that purpose.
119	119	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
120	120	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
121	121	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
122	122	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
123	123	Act takes effect September 1, 2013.