Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2248 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R5567 KFF-D
2	2	By: West S.B. No. 2248
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7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to automatic participation by certain county employees in
10	10	deferred compensation plans provided by certain counties.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 609.007(c), Government Code, is amended
13	13	to read as follows:
14	14	(c) Except as provided by Section 609.1026, 609.202, or
15	15	609.5025, to participate in a deferred compensation plan, an
16	16	employee must consent in the contract to automatic payroll
17	17	deductions in an amount equal to the deferred amount.
18	18	SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 609, Government Code, is
19	19	amended by adding Section 609.1026 to read as follows:
20	20	Sec. 609.1026. AUTOMATIC PARTICIPATION BY CERTAIN COUNTY
21	21	EMPLOYEES; DEFAULT INVESTMENT PRODUCT. (a) In this section,
22	22	"electing county" means a county that elects to require automatic
23	23	employee participation in a deferred compensation plan under this
24	24	section.
25	25	(b) The commissioners court of a county that offers a
26	26	deferred compensation plan to the county's employees under this
27	27	subchapter may by order elect to require automatic employee
28	28	participation in a deferred compensation plan under this section.
29	29	(c) An employee of an electing county automatically
30	30	participates in a deferred compensation plan provided by the county
31	31	unless the employee affirmatively elects not to participate in the
32	32	plan. The employee is not required to affirmatively contract for
33	33	and consent to participation in a plan under this section.
34	34	(d) An employee participating in a deferred compensation
35	35	plan under this section makes a contribution of three percent of the
36	36	compensation earned by the employee to a default investment product
37	37	selected by the plan administrator based on the criteria
38	38	established under Section 609.113 and the order adopted under
39	39	Subsection (b), including requirements prescribed in accordance
40	40	with Subsection (g). The contribution is made by automatic payroll
41	41	deduction.
42	42	(e) At any time, an employee participating in a deferred
43	43	compensation plan under this section may, in accordance with the
44	44	order adopted by the commissioners court of the electing county, or
45	45	its designee, elect to end participation in the plan, to contribute
46	46	to a different investment product, to contribute a different amount
47	47	to the plan, or to designate all or a portion of the employee's
48	48	contribution as a Roth contribution subject to the availability of
49	49	a Roth contribution program.
50	50	(f) An electing county shall ensure that, at the time of
51	51	employment, each employee is informed of:
52	52	(1) the elections the employee may make under this
53	53	section; and
54	54	(2) the responsibilities of the employee under Section
55	55	609.010.
56	56	(g) In the order adopted under Subsection (b), the
57	57	commissioners court of an electing county, or its designee, shall
58	58	prescribe the requirements of this section. The order must ensure
59	59	that the operation of a deferred compensation plan under this
60	60	section conforms to the applicable requirements of any federal rule
61	61	that provides fiduciary relief for investments in qualified default
62	62	investment alternatives or otherwise governs default investment
63	63	alternatives under participant-directed individual account plans.
64	64	(h) The amount deducted under this section from an
65	65	employee's compensation is not deducted for payment of a debt and
66	66	the automatic payroll deduction is not garnishment or assignment of
67	67	wages.
68	68	(i) Using existing resources, the electing county shall
69	69	inform new employees of their automatic enrollment in a deferred
70	70	compensation plan and their right to opt out of enrollment. Using
71	71	existing resources, this information must be included as part of
72	72	the new employee orientation process. The county shall maintain a
73	73	record of a new employee's acknowledgment of receipt of information
74	74	regarding the ability to opt out of enrollment in a deferred
75	75	compensation plan.
76	76	SECTION 3. Section 609.1026, Government Code, as added by
77	77	this Act, applies only to an employee of a county subject to that
78	78	section who initially begins employment on or after January 1,
79	79	2026.
80	80	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
81	81	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
82	82	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
83	83	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
84	84	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.