89R5567 KFF-D
By: West S.B. No. 2248
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to automatic participation by certain county employees in
deferred compensation plans provided by certain counties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 609.007(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) Except as provided by Section 609.1026, 609.202, or
609.5025, to participate in a deferred compensation plan, an
employee must consent in the contract to automatic payroll
deductions in an amount equal to the deferred amount.
SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 609, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 609.1026 to read as follows:
Sec. 609.1026. AUTOMATIC PARTICIPATION BY CERTAIN COUNTY
EMPLOYEES; DEFAULT INVESTMENT PRODUCT. (a) In this section,
"electing county" means a county that elects to require automatic
employee participation in a deferred compensation plan under this
section.
(b) The commissioners court of a county that offers a
deferred compensation plan to the county's employees under this
subchapter may by order elect to require automatic employee
participation in a deferred compensation plan under this section.
(c) An employee of an electing county automatically
participates in a deferred compensation plan provided by the county
unless the employee affirmatively elects not to participate in the
plan. The employee is not required to affirmatively contract for
and consent to participation in a plan under this section.
(d) An employee participating in a deferred compensation
plan under this section makes a contribution of three percent of the
compensation earned by the employee to a default investment product
selected by the plan administrator based on the criteria
established under Section 609.113 and the order adopted under
Subsection (b), including requirements prescribed in accordance
with Subsection (g). The contribution is made by automatic payroll
deduction.
(e) At any time, an employee participating in a deferred
compensation plan under this section may, in accordance with the
order adopted by the commissioners court of the electing county, or
its designee, elect to end participation in the plan, to contribute
to a different investment product, to contribute a different amount
to the plan, or to designate all or a portion of the employee's
contribution as a Roth contribution subject to the availability of
a Roth contribution program.
(f) An electing county shall ensure that, at the time of
employment, each employee is informed of:
(1) the elections the employee may make under this
section; and
(2) the responsibilities of the employee under Section
609.010.
(g) In the order adopted under Subsection (b), the
commissioners court of an electing county, or its designee, shall
prescribe the requirements of this section. The order must ensure
that the operation of a deferred compensation plan under this
section conforms to the applicable requirements of any federal rule
that provides fiduciary relief for investments in qualified default
investment alternatives or otherwise governs default investment
alternatives under participant-directed individual account plans.
(h) The amount deducted under this section from an
employee's compensation is not deducted for payment of a debt and
the automatic payroll deduction is not garnishment or assignment of
wages.
(i) Using existing resources, the electing county shall
inform new employees of their automatic enrollment in a deferred
compensation plan and their right to opt out of enrollment. Using
existing resources, this information must be included as part of
the new employee orientation process. The county shall maintain a
record of a new employee's acknowledgment of receipt of information
regarding the ability to opt out of enrollment in a deferred
compensation plan.
SECTION 3. Section 609.1026, Government Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to an employee of a county subject to that
section who initially begins employment on or after January 1,
2026.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2025.