Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1746 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	85R7472 TSR-D
2	2	By: Meyer H.B. No. 1746
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the eligibility for service retirement annuities from a
8	8	public retirement system of public officers or employees convicted
9	9	of certain offenses.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Article 42.01, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
12	12	amended by adding Section 12 to read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 12. In addition to the information described by
14	14	Section 1, the judgment should reflect affirmative findings entered
15	15	pursuant to Article 42.0195.
16	16	SECTION 2. Chapter 42, Code of Criminal Procedure, is
17	17	amended by adding Article 42.0195 to read as follows:
18	18	Art. 42.0195. FINDING REGARDING OFFENSE RELATED TO
19	19	PERFORMANCE OF PUBLIC SERVICE. (a) In the trial of an offense
20	20	described by Section 802.004, Government Code, the judge shall make
21	21	an affirmative finding of fact and enter the affirmative finding in
22	22	the judgment in the case if the judge determines that the offense
23	23	committed was related to the defendant's performance of public
24	24	service as a member of a public retirement system.
25	25	(b) A judge that makes the affirmative finding described by
26	26	this article shall make the determination and enter the order
27	27	required by Section 802.004(k), Government Code.
28	28	SECTION 3. Subchapter A, Chapter 802, Government Code, is
29	29	amended by adding Section 802.004 to read as follows:
30	30	Sec. 802.004. CERTAIN EMPLOYEES AND ANNUITANTS INELIGIBLE
31	31	FOR RETIREMENT ANNUITY; RESUMPTION OR RESTORATION OF ELIGIBILITY.
32	32	(a) This section applies only to a person who is a member or an
33	33	annuitant of a public retirement system and holds or has held an
34	34	elective office included in the coverage of that public retirement
35	35	system.
36	36	(b) To the extent ordered by a court under Subsection (k), a
37	37	person is not eligible to receive a full service retirement annuity
38	38	from a public retirement system if the person is finally convicted
39	39	of an offense that is related to the person's performance of public
40	40	service arising from the person's official duties as an elected
41	41	officer while a member of the retirement system and is:
42	42	(1) a felony; or
43	43	(2) punishable under Title 8, Penal Code, as a Class A
44	44	or Class B misdemeanor.
45	45	(c) To the extent ordered by a court under Subsection (k),
46	46	the public retirement system shall suspend making full annuity
47	47	payments to a person who is not eligible to receive a full service
48	48	retirement annuity under Subsection (b) on receipt by the
49	49	retirement system of notice and terms of the person's conviction.
50	50	(d) The public retirement system shall resume making full
51	51	annuity payments if the person made ineligible for a full annuity
52	52	under Subsection (b):
53	53	(1) is subsequently found to be not guilty of the
54	54	offense; or
55	55	(2) meets the requirements for innocence under Section
56	56	103.001(a)(2), Civil Practice and Remedies Code.
57	57	(e) The public retirement system as applicable shall:
58	58	(1) for a person whose full annuity payments are
59	59	resumed under Subsection (d), reimburse the person for any portion
60	60	of the annuity payments withheld during a period of suspension; or
61	61	(2) restore the full eligibility of a person convicted
62	62	of an offense described by Subsection (b) to receive a service
63	63	retirement annuity, including the restoration of all service
64	64	credits accrued by the person before the conviction, if the person
65	65	satisfies the condition under Subsection (d)(1) or (2).
66	66	(f) Except as provided by Subsection (g), a person convicted
67	67	of an offense described by Subsection (b) whose eligibility for a
68	68	service retirement annuity is not fully restored under Subsection
69	69	(e)(2) is eligible to accrue service credit toward a service
70	70	retirement annuity from a public retirement system if the person:
71	71	(1) was placed on community supervision for the
72	72	offense for which the person was convicted and:
73	73	(A) successfully completed the period of
74	74	community supervision; and
75	75	(B) received a discharge and dismissal under
76	76	Article 42A.701, Code of Criminal Procedure; or
77	77	(2) was sentenced to serve a term of confinement in a
78	78	penal institution for the offense for which the person was
79	79	convicted and completely discharged the person's sentence,
80	80	including any term of confinement and any period of parole or other
81	81	form of conditional release.
82	82	(g) In determining a person's eligibility for retirement
83	83	benefits under Subsection (f), a public retirement system may
84	84	include only those service credits that were:
85	85	(1) accrued by the person before the person's
86	86	conviction for an offense described by Subsection (b) and remaining
87	87	after conviction of the offense; or
88	88	(2) earned after fulfilling the requirements under
89	89	Subsection (f).
90	90	(h) Except as provided by Subsection (i), a person who is
91	91	not eligible to receive a full service retirement annuity under
92	92	Subsection (b) is entitled to request and receive a refund of the
93	93	person's retirement annuity contributions, not including any
94	94	interest earned on those contributions. A person who accepts a
95	95	refund under this subsection terminates the person's membership in
96	96	the public retirement system.
97	97	(i) Benefits payable to an alternate payee under Chapter
98	98	804, including a spouse or dependent child, are not affected by a
99	99	person's ineligibility to receive a full service retirement annuity
100	100	under Subsection (b).
101	101	(j) The governing body of a public retirement system shall
102	102	adopt rules and procedures to implement this section.
103	103	(k) A court shall:
104	104	(1) determine and order as applicable for a person
105	105	convicted of an offense described by Subsection (b) the amount by
106	106	which the person's:
107	107	(A) service retirement annuity payments are to be
108	108	reduced; or
109	109	(B) accrued service credits are to be reduced;
110	110	and
111	111	(2) notify the affected public retirement system of
112	112	the terms of a conviction ordered under Subdivision (1).
113	113	SECTION 4. Section 802.004, Government Code, as added by
114	114	this Act, applies only to an offense committed on or after the
115	115	effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the
116	116	effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the
117	117	date the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in
118	118	effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense
119	119	was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element
120	120	of the offense occurred before that date.
121	121	SECTION 5. Section 12, Article 42.01, Code of Criminal
122	122	Procedure, and Article 42.0195, Code of Criminal Procedure, as
123	123	added by this Act, apply only to a judgment of conviction entered on
124	124	or after the effective date of this Act.
125	125	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.