Texas 2017 - 85th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB936 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	By: Huffman, et al. S.B. No. 936
2	2	(Flynn, Paul)
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the creation of a joint interim committee to undertake a
8	8	study of the public retirement systems of this state.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. DEFINITION. In this Act, "public retirement
11	11	system" has the meaning assigned by Section 802.001, Government
12	12	Code.
13	13	SECTION 2. CREATION OF JOINT INTERIM COMMITTEE. (a) A
14	14	joint interim committee is created to study and assess each public
15	15	retirement system of this state and report on the issues described
16	16	by Section 3 of this Act.
17	17	(b) The joint interim committee shall be composed of three
18	18	senators appointed by the lieutenant governor and three members of
19	19	the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house
20	20	of representatives.
21	21	(c) The lieutenant governor and speaker of the house of
22	22	representatives shall each designate a co-chair from among the
23	23	joint interim committee members.
24	24	(d) The joint interim committee shall convene at the joint
25	25	call of the co-chairs.
26	26	(e) The joint interim committee has all other powers and
27	27	duties provided to a special or select committee by the rules of the
28	28	senate and house of representatives, by Subchapter B, Chapter 301,
29	29	Government Code, and by policies of the senate and house committees
30	30	on administration.
31	31	SECTION 3. INTERIM STUDY REGARDING PUBLIC RETIREMENT
32	32	SYSTEMS. The joint interim committee created by Section 2 of this
33	33	Act shall:
34	34	(1) review and assess:
35	35	(A) the different types of retirement system
36	36	plans, including:
37	37	(i) defined contribution plans;
38	38	(ii) defined benefit plans;
39	39	(iii) hybrid public pension plans; and
40	40	(iv) cash balance pension plans;
41	41	(B) the actuarial assumptions used in making
42	42	actuarial valuations and analyses of public retirement systems and
43	43	the consequences of amending an assumption rate; and
44	44	(C) the effect that local agreements, including
45	45	meet and confer agreements, have on the sustainability of this
46	46	state's public retirement systems;
47	47	(2) study:
48	48	(A) the potential for allowing public retirement
49	49	systems to pool their assets for the purposes of taking advantage of
50	50	economies of scale and reducing costs; and
51	51	(B) the governance policies of this state's
52	52	public retirement systems and the effect of imposing more formal
53	53	requirements on governance, including a requirement that the
54	54	retirement systems and their associated governmental entities
55	55	jointly develop written funding, investment, and benefits policies
56	56	that have goals and objectives that reference one another, are
57	57	coordinated, and promote transparency;
58	58	(3) consider enhancing fee disclosures, specifically
59	59	the disclosure of fees that are related to alternative investment
60	60	vehicles;
61	61	(4) consider requiring:
62	62	(A) additional actuarial analyses, including a
63	63	discount rate sensitivity analysis and risk assessments; and
64	64	(B) additional disclosures, including disclosure
65	65	of:
66	66	(i) the sustained differences between the
67	67	actual and assumed rate of return on assets;
68	68	(ii) projected cash flows;
69	69	(iii) risks; and
70	70	(iv) the potential impact of actual future
71	71	measurements differing significantly from expected future
72	72	measurements; and
73	73	(5) study the public retirement systems' valuation
74	74	methodology for the illiquid asset class, including the
75	75	effectiveness of and compliance with the fair value measurement
76	76	requirement under the Governmental Accounting Standards Board
77	77	Statement No. 72.
78	78	SECTION 4. COMMITTEE FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS.
79	79	(a) Not later than January 15, 2019, the joint interim committee
80	80	shall report the committee's findings and recommendations to the
81	81	lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives,
82	82	and the governor. The joint interim committee shall include in its
83	83	recommendations specific statutory and regulatory changes that
84	84	appear necessary from the results of the committee's study under
85	85	Section 3 of this Act.
86	86	(b) Not later than the 60th day after the effective date of
87	87	this Act, the lieutenant governor and the speaker of the house of
88	88	representatives shall appoint the members of the joint interim
89	89	committee created under Section 2 of this Act in accordance with
90	90	that section.
91	91	SECTION 5. ABOLITION OF COMMITTEE. The joint interim
92	92	committee created by this Act is abolished and this Act expires
93	93	January 20, 2019.
94	94	SECTION 6. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
95	95	immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members
96	96	elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas
97	97	Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for
98	98	immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2017.