| 1 | 1 | | 88R3550 JCG-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Dean H.B. No. 1284 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to the payment of certain employer contributions for |
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| 8 | 8 | | retirees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas who resume |
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| 9 | 9 | | service. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 825.408(a), Government Code, is amended |
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| 12 | 12 | | to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (a) An [Except as provided by Subsection (a-1), an] employer |
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| 14 | 14 | | that fails to remit, before the seventh day after the last day of a |
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| 15 | 15 | | month, all member and employer deposits and documentation of the |
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| 16 | 16 | | deposits required by this subchapter to be remitted by the employer |
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| 17 | 17 | | for the month shall pay to the retirement system, in addition to the |
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| 18 | 18 | | deposits, interest on the unpaid amounts at an annual rate |
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| 19 | 19 | | compounded monthly and a late fee in an amount determined by the |
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| 20 | 20 | | retirement system that is based on the size of the employer and may |
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| 21 | 21 | | not exceed $1,000 for each business day after the deadline imposed |
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| 22 | 22 | | by this subsection that the employer fails to submit the |
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| 23 | 23 | | documentation of the deposits. The cumulative amount of late fees |
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| 24 | 24 | | assessed against an employer under this subsection may not exceed |
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| 25 | 25 | | $25,000 per reporting period. The rate of interest is the rate |
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| 26 | 26 | | established under Section 825.313(b)(1), plus two percent. |
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| 27 | 27 | | Interest and late fees required under this section are creditable |
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| 28 | 28 | | to the interest account. On request, the retirement system may |
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| 29 | 29 | | grant a waiver of the deadline imposed by this subsection based on |
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| 30 | 30 | | an employer's financial or technological resources. The retirement |
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| 31 | 31 | | system may establish a process for filing an appeal to reduce or |
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| 32 | 32 | | waive a late fee imposed under this subsection. |
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| 33 | 33 | | SECTION 2. Section 825.4092(e), Government Code, is amended |
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| 34 | 34 | | to read as follows: |
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| 35 | 35 | | (e) The amounts required to be paid under Subsection |
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| 36 | 36 | | [Subsections (b) and] (c) are not required to be paid by a reporting |
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| 37 | 37 | | employer for a retiree who retired from the retirement system |
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| 38 | 38 | | before September 1, 2005. |
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| 39 | 39 | | SECTION 3. Section 825.4092(f), Government Code, as added |
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| 40 | 40 | | by Chapter 546 (S.B. 202), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular |
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| 41 | 41 | | Session, 2021, is amended to read as follows: |
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| 42 | 42 | | (f) A reporting employer is ultimately responsible for |
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| 43 | 43 | | payment of the amounts required to be contributed under Subsection |
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| 44 | 44 | | [Subsections (b) and] (c). The employer may not directly or |
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| 45 | 45 | | indirectly pass that cost on to the retiree through payroll |
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| 46 | 46 | | deduction, by imposition of a fee, or by any other means designed to |
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| 47 | 47 | | recover the cost. |
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| 48 | 48 | | SECTION 4. Section 825.4092(f), Government Code, as added |
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| 49 | 49 | | by Chapter 511 (S.B. 288), Acts of the 87th Legislature, Regular |
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| 50 | 50 | | Session, 2021, is redesignated as Section 825.4092(g), Government |
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| 51 | 51 | | Code, and amended to read as follows: |
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| 52 | 52 | | (g) [(f)] Notwithstanding any other provision of this |
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| 53 | 53 | | section, the amounts required to be paid under Subsection |
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| 54 | 54 | | [Subsections (b) and] (c) are not required to be paid by a reporting |
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| 55 | 55 | | employer for a retiree who retired from the retirement system on or |
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| 56 | 56 | | after September 1, 2005, and is employed in a position described by |
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| 57 | 57 | | Section 824.6021(a). This subsection expires February 1, 2025. |
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| 58 | 58 | | SECTION 5. The following provisions of the Government Code |
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| 59 | 59 | | are repealed: |
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| 60 | 60 | | (1) Sections 825.408(a-1) and (a-2); and |
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| 61 | 61 | | (2) Sections 825.4092(b) and (d). |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply |
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| 63 | 63 | | beginning with the 2023-2024 school year. |
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| 64 | 64 | | SECTION 7. To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails |
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| 65 | 65 | | over another Act of the 88th Legislature, Regular Session, 2023, |
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| 66 | 66 | | relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted |
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| 67 | 67 | | codes. |
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| 68 | 68 | | SECTION 8. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 69 | 69 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 70 | 70 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 71 | 71 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 72 | 72 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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