| 1 | 1 | | By: Bell of Montgomery, Bailes, Toth H.B. No. 3849 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (Senate Sponsor - Creighton) |
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| 3 | 3 | | (In the Senate - Received from the House May 3, 2023; |
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| 4 | 4 | | May 4, 2023, read first time and referred to Committee on Local |
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| 5 | 5 | | Government; May 19, 2023, reported favorably by the following |
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| 6 | 6 | | vote: Yeas 8, Nays 0; May 19, 2023, sent to printer.) |
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| 7 | 7 | | Click here to see the committee vote |
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| 8 | 8 | | |
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| 9 | 9 | | |
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| 10 | 10 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 11 | 11 | | AN ACT |
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| 12 | 12 | | relating to the eligibility of certain retired firefighters, police |
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| 13 | 13 | | officers, and emergency medical services providers to purchase |
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| 14 | 14 | | continued health benefits coverage. |
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| 15 | 15 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 16 | 16 | | SECTION 1. Section 175.001, Local Government Code, is |
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| 17 | 17 | | amended to read as follows: |
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| 18 | 18 | | Sec. 175.001. APPLICABILITY. (a) In this section, |
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| 19 | 19 | | "township" means a special district with territory that only |
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| 20 | 20 | | includes a census designated place, as designated by the United |
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| 21 | 21 | | States Bureau of the Census. |
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| 22 | 22 | | (b) This chapter applies to a person who: |
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| 23 | 23 | | (1) retires from: |
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| 24 | 24 | | (A) county employment in a county with a |
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| 25 | 25 | | population of 75,000 or more; |
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| 26 | 26 | | (B) employment by an appraisal district in a |
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| 27 | 27 | | county with a population of 75,000 or more; |
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| 28 | 28 | | (C) municipal employment in a municipality with a |
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| 29 | 29 | | population of 25,000 or more; [or] |
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| 30 | 30 | | (D) employment as a firefighter or emergency |
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| 31 | 31 | | medical services provider by an emergency services district located |
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| 32 | 32 | | wholly or partly in a county with a population of 150,000 or more; |
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| 33 | 33 | | or |
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| 34 | 34 | | (E) employment as a firefighter, police officer, |
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| 35 | 35 | | or emergency medical services provider by a township with a |
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| 36 | 36 | | population of 110,000 or more; and |
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| 37 | 37 | | (2) is entitled to receive retirement benefits from a |
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| 38 | 38 | | county, appraisal district, or municipal retirement plan, [or] |
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| 39 | 39 | | emergency services district, or township. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 2. (a) Chapter 175, Local Government Code, as |
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| 41 | 41 | | amended by this Act, applies according to its terms to all eligible |
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| 42 | 42 | | persons who leave employment with a township on or after January 1, |
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| 43 | 43 | | 2024. |
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| 44 | 44 | | (b) A township that is required by Chapter 175, Local |
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| 45 | 45 | | Government Code, as amended by this Act, to provide continued |
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| 46 | 46 | | health benefits coverage but that is not allowed to provide the |
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| 47 | 47 | | coverage under the terms of the township's existing group health |
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| 48 | 48 | | plan shall ensure that the required continued health benefits |
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| 49 | 49 | | coverage is provided for in any new plan that is adopted by the |
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| 50 | 50 | | township on or after January 1, 2024, unless the township is |
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| 51 | 51 | | exempted under Section 175.007, Local Government Code. |
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| 52 | 52 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |
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| 53 | 53 | | * * * * * |
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