By: Leach (Senate Sponsor - Huffman) H.B. No. 2779
(In the Senate - Received from the House May 10, 2023;
May 16, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Finance;
May 21, 2023, reported adversely, with favorable Committee
Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 16, Nays 0; May 21, 2023,
sent to printer.)
Click here to see the committee vote
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR H.B. No. 2779 By: Huffman
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the compensation and retirement benefits of certain
elected state officials.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 659.012(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) A judge or justice for whom the amount of a state base
salary is prescribed by Subsection (a) is entitled to an annual
salary from the state in the amount equal to:
(1) 110 percent of the state base salary paid in
accordance with Subsection (a) for the judge's or justice's
position, beginning with the pay period that begins after the judge
or justice accrues four years of:
(A) contributing service credit in the Judicial
Retirement System of Texas Plan One or the Judicial Retirement
System of Texas Plan Two;
(B) service as a judge of a statutory county
court, multicounty statutory county court, or statutory probate
court; or
(C) combined contributing service credit and
service as provided by Paragraphs (A) and (B); [and]
(2) 120 percent of the state base salary paid in
accordance with Subsection (a) for the judge's or justice's
position, beginning with the pay period that begins after the judge
or justice accrues eight years of:
(A) contributing service credit in the Judicial
Retirement System of Texas Plan One or the Judicial Retirement
System of Texas Plan Two;
(B) service as a judge of a statutory county
court, multicounty statutory county court, or statutory probate
court; or
(C) combined contributing service credit and
service as provided by Paragraphs (A) and (B); and
(3) 130 percent of the state base salary paid in
accordance with Subsection (a) for the judge's or justice's
position, beginning with the pay period that begins after the judge
or justice accrues 12 years of:
(A) contributing service credit in the Judicial
Retirement System of Texas Plan One or the Judicial Retirement
System of Texas Plan Two;
(B) service as a judge of a statutory county
court, multicounty statutory county court, or statutory probate
court; or
(C) combined contributing service credit and
service as provided by Paragraphs (A) and (B).
SECTION 2. Section 659.0445(b), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(b) The monthly amount of longevity pay under this section
to which a judge or justice described by Subsection (a) is entitled:
(1) is equal to the product of 0.05 multiplied by the
amount of the judge's or justice's current monthly state salary; and
(2) becomes payable beginning with the month following
the month in which the judge or justice completes 14 [12] years of
service for which credit is established in the applicable
retirement system.
SECTION 3. Sections 814.103(a) and (a-1), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (a-1) or (b), the
standard service retirement annuity for service credited in the
elected class of membership is an amount equal to the number of
years of service credit in that class, times 2.3 percent of the
state base salary, excluding longevity pay payable under Section
659.0445 [and as adjusted from time to time], being paid to a
district judge as set by the General Appropriations Act in
accordance with Section 659.012(a).
(a-1) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the standard
service retirement annuity for service credited in the elected
class of membership for a member of the class under Section
812.002(a)(3) whose effective date of retirement is on or after
September 1, 2019, is an amount equal to the number of years of
service credit in that class, times 2.3 percent of the state salary,
excluding longevity pay payable under Section 659.0445 [and as
adjusted from time to time], being paid in accordance with Section
659.012 to a district judge who has the same number of years of
contributing service credit as the member on the member's last day
of service as a district or criminal district attorney, as
applicable.
SECTION 4. Section 834.102(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The base service retirement annuity for a person whose
effective date of retirement is:
(1) before September 1, 2019, is an amount equal to 50
percent of the state base salary[, as adjusted from time to time,]
being paid in accordance with Section 659.012(a) to a judge of a
court of the same classification as the court on which the retiree
last served before retirement; or
(2) on or after September 1, 2019, is an amount equal
to 50 percent of the state salary[, as adjusted from time to time,]
being paid in accordance with Section 659.012(b)(2) to a judge of a
court of the same classification as the court on which the retiree
last served before retirement.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
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