Texas 2015 - 84th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3156 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	84R11222 LED-F
2	2	By: Simmons H.B. No. 3156
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to annuity payments to surviving spouses and designated
8	8	beneficiaries of persons wrongfully imprisoned.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 103.053, Civil Practice and Remedies
11	11	Code, is amended to read as follows:
12	12	Sec. 103.053. ANNUITY COMPENSATION GENERALLY; STANDARD
13	13	ANNUITY PAYMENTS. (a) A person entitled to compensation under
14	14	Section 103.001(a) is entitled to standard annuity payments under
15	15	this section unless the person elects to receive alternative
16	16	annuity payments under Section 103.0535.
17	17	(a-1) Standard annuity payments are[,] based on a present
18	18	value sum equal to the amount to which the person is entitled under
19	19	Sections 103.052(a)(1) and (b).
20	20	(b) Standard [The] annuity payments [under this section]
21	21	are payable in equal monthly installments for the life of the
22	22	claimant.
23	23	(c) Annuity payments under this chapter [and] must be based
24	24	on a five percent per annum interest rate and other actuarial
25	25	factors within the discretion of the comptroller. Annuity
26	26	[(c) The annuity] payments under this chapter may not be
27	27	accelerated, deferred, increased, or decreased. A person entitled
28	28	to annuity payments under this chapter, including a claimant's
29	29	spouse or designated beneficiary entitled to payments under Section
30	30	103.0535, [The applicant] may not sell, mortgage or otherwise
31	31	encumber, or anticipate the payments, wholly or partly, by
32	32	assignment or otherwise.
33	33	SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 103, Civil Practice and
34	34	Remedies Code, is amended by adding Sections 103.0535 and 103.0536
35	35	to read as follows:
36	36	Sec. 103.0535. ALTERNATIVE ANNUITY COMPENSATION. (a) A
37	37	person entitled to compensation under Section 103.001(a) may elect
38	38	to receive reduced alternative annuity payments under this section
39	39	instead of standard annuity payments.
40	40	(b) Alternative annuity payments are payable throughout the
41	41	life of the claimant and are actuarially reduced from the standard
42	42	annuity payments to their actuarial equivalent under the option
43	43	selected under Subsection (c).
44	44	(c) A claimant may select one of the following options,
45	45	which provide that:
46	46	(1) after the claimant's death, the alternative
47	47	annuity payments are payable to and throughout the life of the
48	48	claimant's spouse;
49	49	(2) after the claimant's death, three-fourths of the
50	50	initial alternative annuity payment amount is payable to and
51	51	throughout the life of the claimant's spouse;
52	52	(3) after the claimant's death, one-half of the
53	53	initial alternative annuity payment amount is payable to and
54	54	throughout the life of the claimant's spouse;
55	55	(4) if the claimant dies before 180 monthly
56	56	alternative annuity payments have been made, the remainder of the
57	57	180 payments are payable to the claimant's spouse or designated
58	58	beneficiary; or
59	59	(5) if the claimant dies before 120 monthly
60	60	alternative annuity payments have been made, the remainder of the
61	61	120 payments are payable to the claimant's spouse or designated
62	62	beneficiary.
63	63	(d) An election under this section must be made not later
64	64	than the 45th day after the date on which the claimant files with
65	65	the comptroller the application required by Section 103.051 on a
66	66	form prescribed by the comptroller that:
67	67	(1) identifies the claimant's spouse or designated
68	68	beneficiary according to Section 103.0536; and
69	69	(2) specifies the option selected under Subsection
70	70	(c).
71	71	(e) Subsection (f) applies to a claimant who:
72	72	(1) became entitled to compensation under Section
73	73	103.001(a) on or after September 1, 1997;
74	74	(2) elects to receive alternative annuity payments
75	75	under this section that are payable to the claimant and the
76	76	claimant's spouse; and
77	77	(3) survives the claimant's spouse.
78	78	(f) A claimant described by Subsection (e) is entitled to an
79	79	increase in the amount of the claimant's monthly annuity payments
80	80	so that the claimant's monthly payments equal the monthly payments
81	81	the claimant would have received had the claimant not elected to
82	82	receive the alternative annuity payments. The claimant is entitled
83	83	to the increased payments beginning the month after the month in
84	84	which the claimant's spouse dies and ending on the date of the
85	85	claimant's death.
86	86	Sec. 103.0536. DESIGNATED BENEFICIARY. (a) A claimant who
87	87	selects a designated beneficiary to receive the remainder of the
88	88	alternative annuity payments payable under Section 103.0535(c)(4)
89	89	or (5) may designate:
90	90	(1) one designated beneficiary to receive the
91	91	remainder of the annuity payments;
92	92	(2) two or more designated beneficiaries to receive
93	93	the remainder of the annuity payments in equal amounts; or
94	94	(3) a primary designated beneficiary to receive the
95	95	remainder of the annuity payments and an additional beneficiary.
96	96	(b) If a designated beneficiary designated under Subsection
97	97	(a)(2) dies before the remainder of the annuity payments are paid,
98	98	the comptroller shall recalculate the payments so that the
99	99	remaining designated beneficiaries receive the remainder of the
100	100	annuity payments in equal amounts.
101	101	(c) An additional beneficiary designated under Subsection
102	102	(a)(3) takes the place of the primary beneficiary if the primary
103	103	beneficiary dies before the remainder of the annuity payments are
104	104	paid. A claimant may select not more than four additional
105	105	beneficiaries and shall determine the order in which the additional
106	106	beneficiaries are to succeed the primary beneficiary. The remainder
107	107	of the annuity payments under this subsection are paid to one
108	108	beneficiary at a time until the beneficiary dies or the remaining
109	109	annuity payments are paid. If each additional beneficiary dies
110	110	before the remainder of the annuity payments are paid, the
111	111	remainder of the annuity payments are payable to the claimant's
112	112	estate.
113	113	(d) A designated beneficiary under this section must be a
114	114	dependent of the claimant.
115	115	SECTION 3. Section 103.151(b), Civil Practice and Remedies
116	116	Code, is amended to read as follows:
117	117	(b) The comptroller shall begin making annuity payments [to
118	118	a claimant] under Section 103.053(a) or 103.0535 on the first
119	119	anniversary of the date of payment of the compensation due under
120	120	Section 103.052.
121	121	SECTION 4. Sections 103.154(a) and (b), Civil Practice and
122	122	Remedies Code, are amended to read as follows:
123	123	(a) Except as provided by Subsection (c), compensation
124	124	payments [to a person] under this chapter terminate if, after the
125	125	date the claimant [person] becomes eligible for compensation under
126	126	Section 103.001, the claimant [person] is convicted of a crime
127	127	punishable as a felony. Annuity payments to a claimant's spouse or
128	128	designated beneficiary under this chapter terminate if, after the
129	129	date the spouse or designated beneficiary begins receiving annuity
130	130	payments, the spouse or designated beneficiary is convicted of a
131	131	crime punishable as a felony. Payments [Compensation payments]
132	132	terminate under this subsection on the date of the felony
133	133	[subsequent] conviction. If annuity payments to a designated
134	134	beneficiary are terminated under this subsection, the remainder of
135	135	the annuity payments are payable under Section 103.0536 as if the
136	136	beneficiary died on the date of termination.
137	137	(b) Except as provided by Sections 103.0535 and 103.0536:
138	138	(1) annuity [Annuity] payments to a person under this
139	139	chapter [Section 103.151(b)] terminate on the date of the person's
140	140	death; and
141	141	(2) [. Any] payments scheduled to be paid after that
142	142	date are credited to the state and may not be paid to any other
143	143	person, including the person's surviving spouse, heirs, devisees,
144	144	or beneficiaries under the person's will, or to the person's estate.
145	145	SECTION 5. (a) Not later than December 1, 2015, the
146	146	comptroller shall develop and make available the form described by
147	147	Section 103.0535(d), Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by
148	148	this Act.
149	149	(b) A person entitled to compensation under Section
150	150	103.001(a), Civil Practice and Remedies Code, who started receiving
151	151	annuity payments before the effective date of this Act may elect to
152	152	receive any remaining payments as alternative annuity payments
153	153	under Section 103.0535, Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added
154	154	by this Act, by filing the form described by Section 103.0535(d),
155	155	Civil Practice and Remedies Code, as added by this Act, with the
156	156	comptroller not later than the 45th day after the date the
157	157	comptroller makes the form available. The value of alternative
158	158	annuity payments elected under this section must be actuarially
159	159	equivalent to the remaining value of the annuity payments the
160	160	person would receive absent the election.
161	161	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.