Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB1651 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

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1	1	88R4748 BDP-D
2	2	By: Cook, Spiller, A. Johnson of Harris, H.B. No. 1651
3	3	Bhojani, Garcia
4	4
5	5
6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to the eligibility for custodial officer service in the
9	9	Employees Retirement System of Texas of juvenile justice officers
10	10	employed by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 811.001(8), Government Code, is amended
13	13	to read as follows:
14	14	(8) "Custodial officer" means, subject to Section
15	15	811.0011, a member of the retirement system who is employed by the
16	16	Board of Pardons and Paroles or the Texas Department of Criminal
17	17	Justice as a parole officer or caseworker or who is employed by the
18	18	correctional institutions division of the Texas Department of
19	19	Criminal Justice and certified by the department as having a normal
20	20	job assignment that requires frequent or infrequent regularly
21	21	planned contact with, and in close proximity to, inmates or
22	22	defendants of the correctional institutions division without the
23	23	protection of bars, doors, security screens, or similar devices and
24	24	includes assignments normally involving supervision or the
25	25	potential for supervision of inmates in inmate housing areas,
26	26	educational or recreational facilities, industrial shops,
27	27	kitchens, laundries, medical areas, agricultural shops or fields,
28	28	or in other areas on or away from property of the department. The
29	29	term includes a member who transfers from the Texas Department of
30	30	Criminal Justice to the managed health care unit of The University
31	31	of Texas Medical Branch or the Texas Tech University Health
32	32	Sciences Center pursuant to Section 9.01, Chapter 238, Acts of the
33	33	73rd Legislature, 1993, elects at the time of transfer to retain
34	34	membership in the retirement system, and is certified by the
35	35	managed health care unit or the health sciences center as having a
36	36	normal job assignment described by this subdivision.
37	37	SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 811, Government Code, is
38	38	amended by adding Section 811.0011 to read as follows:
39	39	Sec. 811.0011. OPTIONAL ALTERNATIVE DEFINITION OF
40	40	CUSTODIAL OFFICER. (a) For purposes of this section, "juvenile
41	41	justice officer" means a member of the retirement system who is
42	42	employed by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department and certified by
43	43	that department as holding a position as a juvenile correctional
44	44	officer, caseworker, or other position the primary duties of which
45	45	include the custodial supervision of or other close, regularly
46	46	planned contact with youth in the custody of that department.
47	47	(b) The board of trustees by rule may adopt an alternative
48	48	definition of "custodial officer" that includes juvenile justice
49	49	officers for purposes of allowing juvenile justice officers to
50	50	participate in the law enforcement and custodial officer
51	51	supplemental retirement fund if the board determines, after
52	52	conducting an actuarial valuation, that:
53	53	(1) the amortization period for the unfunded actuarial
54	54	liabilities of the retirement system and the law enforcement and
55	55	custodial officer supplemental retirement fund does not exceed 30
56	56	years by one or more years; and
57	57	(2) approving juvenile justice officers for
58	58	participation in the law enforcement and custodial officer
59	59	supplemental retirement fund would not reduce or negatively impact
60	60	current benefits paid to members of the retirement system and law
61	61	enforcement and custodial officer supplemental retirement fund.
62	62	(c) Notwithstanding Section 813.506, if the board of
63	63	trustees adopts a rule under Subsection (b), the board, after
64	64	consulting with the Texas Juvenile Justice Board, by rule shall
65	65	adopt standards for determining eligibility of a juvenile justice
66	66	officer for service credit as a custodial officer, based on the need
67	67	to encourage early retirement of persons whose duties are hazardous
68	68	and require them to have routine contact with youth in the custody
69	69	of the Texas Juvenile Justice Department on a regular basis. The
70	70	board shall determine a juvenile justice officer's eligibility to
71	71	receive credit as a custodial officer. A determination by the board
72	72	may not be appealed by an employee.
73	73	(d) The board of trustees shall provide notice to the Texas
74	74	Juvenile Justice Department of the adoption of a rule under
75	75	Subsection (b), and the department, after receiving notice, shall:
76	76	(1) certify to the retirement system, in the manner
77	77	prescribed by the retirement system, the name of each person
78	78	employed by the department in the position of juvenile justice
79	79	officer and any other information the system determines is
80	80	necessary to credit service and finance benefits under this
81	81	subtitle; and
82	82	(2) beginning with the first pay period that occurs
83	83	after the board provides notice under this subsection, begin making
84	84	deductions and collecting the contributions for the law enforcement
85	85	and custodial officer supplemental retirement fund as provided by
86	86	Section 815.402(h).
87	87	(e) If the board of trustees adopts a rule under Subsection
88	88	(b), the board shall ensure that service credit established by a
89	89	juvenile justice officer before the date of the rule's adoption is
90	90	considered service credit established as a custodial officer for
91	91	purposes of determining the officer's eligibility for benefits
92	92	under the law enforcement and custodial officer supplemental
93	93	retirement fund.
94	94	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.