Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4537 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R8768 RDR-F
2	2	By: Geren H.B. No. 4537
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5	5
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to service retirement benefits payable by the Employees
10	10	Retirement System of Texas to certain law enforcement officers and
11	11	custodial officers.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Sections 811.001(8) and (9), Government Code,
14	14	are amended to read as follows:
15	15	(8) "Custodial officer":
16	16	(A) means a member of the retirement system who
17	17	is employed:
18	18	(i) by the Board of Pardons and Paroles or
19	19	the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a parole officer or
20	20	caseworker;
21	21	(ii) by the Texas Juvenile Justice
22	22	Department in a position in which the member's service is
23	23	creditable as a custodial officer under Section 813.506(b-1); or
24	24	(iii) [who is employed] by the correctional
25	25	institutions division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
26	26	and certified by the department as having a normal job assignment
27	27	that requires frequent or infrequent regularly planned contact
28	28	with, and [in] close proximity to, inmates or defendants of the
29	29	correctional institutions division without the protection of bars,
30	30	doors, security screens, or similar devices and includes
31	31	assignments normally involving supervision or the potential for
32	32	supervision of inmates in inmate housing areas, educational or
33	33	recreational facilities, industrial shops, kitchens, laundries,
34	34	medical areas, agricultural shops or fields, or in other areas on or
35	35	away from property of the department; and
36	36	(B) [. The term] includes a member who transfers
37	37	from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to the managed health
38	38	care unit of The University of Texas Medical Branch or the Texas
39	39	Tech University Health Sciences Center pursuant to Section 9.01,
40	40	Chapter 238, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, 1993, elects at the time
41	41	of transfer to retain membership in the retirement system, and is
42	42	certified by the managed health care unit or the health sciences
43	43	center as having a normal job assignment described by Paragraph
44	44	(A)(iii) [this subdivision].
45	45	(9) "Law enforcement officer" means a member of the
46	46	retirement system who:
47	47	(A) has been commissioned as a peace [law
48	48	enforcement] officer by:
49	49	(i) the Department of Public Safety;[,]
50	50	(ii) the Texas Alcoholic Beverage
51	51	Commission;[,]
52	52	(iii) the Parks and Wildlife Department;
53	53	(iv) [, or] the office of inspector general
54	54	at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department;
55	55	(v) the comptroller; or
56	56	(vi) the attorney general; and
57	57	(B) is licensed [recognized] as a commissioned
58	58	peace [law enforcement] officer by the Texas Commission on Law
59	59	Enforcement.
60	60	SECTION 2. Section 813.506, Government Code, is amended by
61	61	adding Subsection (b-1) and amending Subsection (c) to read as
62	62	follows:
63	63	(b-1) The Texas Juvenile Justice Department shall adopt
64	64	standards for determining eligibility for service credit as a
65	65	custodial officer employed by the department based on the need to
66	66	encourage early retirement of persons whose duties are hazardous.
67	67	To be creditable as custodial officer service under the Texas
68	68	Juvenile Justice Department, service must be performed:
69	69	(1) as a juvenile correctional officer, as that term
70	70	is defined by Section 242.009, Human Resources Code, or a
71	71	caseworker; or
72	72	(2) in a position, other than a position described by
73	73	Subdivision (1), the primary duties of which include the custodial
74	74	supervision of or other close, regularly planned contact with youth
75	75	in the custody of the department.
76	76	(c) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the managed
77	77	health care unit of The University of Texas Medical Branch or the
78	78	Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, the Texas Juvenile
79	79	Justice Department, or the Board of Pardons and Paroles, as
80	80	applicable, shall determine a person's eligibility to receive
81	81	credit as a custodial officer. A determination under this
82	82	subsection [of the department, unit, or board] may not be appealed
83	83	by an employee but is subject to change by the retirement system.
84	84	SECTION 3. Section 814.104(b), Government Code, is amended
85	85	to read as follows:
86	86	(b) A member is eligible to retire and receive a service
87	87	retirement annuity if the member:
88	88	(1) [who] is at least 55 years old; and
89	89	(2) [who] has at least 10 years of service credit as a:
90	90	(A) law enforcement officer; [commissioned peace
91	91	officer engaged in criminal law enforcement activities of the
92	92	Department of Public Safety, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage
93	93	Commission, the Parks and Wildlife Department, or the office of
94	94	inspector general at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department,] or
95	95	(B) [as a] custodial officer[, is eligible to
96	96	retire and receive a service retirement annuity].
97	97	SECTION 4. Section 815.505, Government Code, is amended to
98	98	read as follows:
99	99	Sec. 815.505. CERTIFICATION OF NAMES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND
100	100	CUSTODIAL OFFICERS. Not later than the 12th day of the month
101	101	following the month in which a person begins or ceases employment as
102	102	a law enforcement officer or custodial officer, the governmental
103	103	entity that employs or ceased employing the law enforcement officer
104	104	or custodial officer [Public Safety Commission, the Texas Alcoholic
105	105	Beverage Commission, the Parks and Wildlife Commission, the office
106	106	of inspector general at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, the
107	107	Board of Pardons and Paroles, or the Texas Board of Criminal
108	108	Justice], as applicable, shall certify to the retirement system, in
109	109	the manner prescribed by the system, the name of the employee and
110	110	such other information as the system determines is necessary for
111	111	the crediting of service and financing of benefits under this
112	112	subtitle.
113	113	SECTION 5. (a) Subject to Subsection (b) or (c) of this
114	114	section, as applicable, the changes in law made by this Act apply to
115	115	a member of the Employees Retirement System of Texas who is employed
116	116	by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, the comptroller, or the
117	117	attorney general as a law enforcement officer or custodial officer,
118	118	as applicable, on or after the effective date of this Act,
119	119	regardless of whether the member was hired before, on, or after the
120	120	effective date of this Act.
121	121	(b) This subsection applies only to a member described by
122	122	Subsection (a) of this section and not subject to Subsection (c) of
123	123	this section who, on December 1, 2024, was employed in a law
124	124	enforcement officer or custodial officer position with the Texas
125	125	Juvenile Justice Department, the comptroller, or the attorney
126	126	general, as applicable. Service credit earned by the member before
127	127	the effective date of this Act in a position for which service is
128	128	creditable as a law enforcement officer or custodial officer under
129	129	Subtitle B, Title 8, Government Code, as amended by this Act, is
130	130	considered service credit established as a law enforcement officer
131	131	or custodial officer, as applicable, for purposes of determining
132	132	the benefits payable from the law enforcement and custodial officer
133	133	supplemental retirement fund.
134	134	(c) This subsection applies only to a member described by
135	135	Subsection (a) of this section who is subject to Chapter 820,
136	136	Government Code. The member may establish service credit as a law
137	137	enforcement officer or custodial officer with the Texas Juvenile
138	138	Justice Department, the comptroller, or the attorney general, as
139	139	applicable, only for service performed on or after the effective
140	140	date of this Act.
141	141	(d) As soon as practicable after the effective date of this
142	142	Act, the board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System of
143	143	Texas, in consultation with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department,
144	144	the comptroller, and the attorney general, shall adopt rules
145	145	necessary to implement the changes in law made by this Act.
146	146	(e) The Texas Juvenile Justice Department, the comptroller,
147	147	and the attorney general shall:
148	148	(1) as soon as practicable after the effective date of
149	149	this Act, certify to the Employees Retirement System of Texas, in
150	150	the form and manner prescribed by the board of trustees of the
151	151	retirement system:
152	152	(A) the name of each member who is employed by the
153	153	department, comptroller, or attorney general as a law enforcement
154	154	officer or custodial officer on the effective date of this Act;
155	155	(B) if the member is subject to Subsection (b) of
156	156	this section, the amount of service credit established by the
157	157	member as a law enforcement officer or custodial officer before the
158	158	effective date of this Act; and
159	159	(C) any other information the retirement system
160	160	determines is necessary to credit law enforcement officer or
161	161	custodial officer service in accordance with the changes in law
162	162	made by this Act; and
163	163	(2) beginning with the first pay period that occurs
164	164	after the effective date of this Act and with respect to each member
165	165	employed by the department, comptroller, or attorney general as a
166	166	law enforcement officer or custodial officer, begin making
167	167	deductions and collecting member contributions for the law
168	168	enforcement and custodial officer supplemental retirement fund as
169	169	prescribed by Section 815.402(h) or 820.101(b), Government Code, as
170	170	applicable.
171	171	SECTION 6. (a) The Employees Retirement System of Texas is
172	172	required to implement this Act only if the board of trustees of the
173	173	Employees Retirement System of Texas finds that the 89th
174	174	Legislature appropriated money to the retirement system in an
175	175	amount sufficient to implement Section 5(b) of this Act, without
176	176	increasing the unfunded actuarial liabilities of the retirement
177	177	system. The amount appropriated by the 89th Legislature to
178	178	implement Section 5(b) of this Act must be in addition to any
179	179	amounts the state is required to contribute to the retirement
180	180	system under Subchapter E, Chapter 815, Government Code. If the
181	181	board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas finds
182	182	that the 89th Legislature did not appropriate money in an amount
183	183	sufficient to implement Section 5(b) of this Act without increasing
184	184	the unfunded actuarial liabilities of the retirement system, the
185	185	retirement system may not implement this Act.
186	186	(b) Not later than October 1, 2025, the board of trustees of
187	187	the Employees Retirement System of Texas shall make and publish in
188	188	the Texas Register:
189	189	(1) its finding under Subsection (a) of this section;
190	190	and
191	191	(2) a statement regarding whether, as a result of its
192	192	finding, the retirement system is or is not implementing this Act.
193	193	SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.