By Turner of Harris H.B. No. 2308
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2308:
By D. Smith of Harris C.S.H.B. No. 2308
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to eligibility for benefits payable by retirement systems
1-3 for police officers in certain municipalities.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 11(a), Chapter 76, Acts of the 50th
1-6 Legislature, 1947 (Article 6243g-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),
1-7 is amended to read as follows:
1-8 (a) A person who becomes a member of the Pension System on
1-9 or after September 1, 1975, and who has been in the service of the
1-10 city police department for the period of twenty (20) years may
1-11 retire on or after July 1, 1993, <1988, at the age of fifty (50)
1-12 years> and shall be entitled to a retirement pension of an amount
1-13 equal to forty-five percent (45%) of his base salary per month,
1-14 plus an additional amount equal to two percent (2%) of his base
1-15 salary per month for each year of service in the police department
1-16 in excess of twenty (20) years, not to exceed a total pension equal
1-17 to eighty percent (80%) of base salary, such base salary to be the
1-18 base salary provided for the classified position in the police
1-19 department held by the member, provided that if the member has not
1-20 held the same classified position for three (3) years prior to the
1-21 date of retirement, the retirement pension shall be based on the
1-22 average monthly base salary of the member for three (3) years
1-23 preceding retirement. <Except as provided in Subsection (a-1) of
1-24 this section, no retirement pension may be paid to a member who has
2-1 not attained the age of fifty (50) years.>
2-2 SECTION 2. Section 11(a), Article 6243g-3, Revised Statutes,
2-3 is amended to read as follows:
2-4 (a) A member shall become eligible to receive a service
2-5 pension, after he has terminated employment, on or after July 1,
2-6 1993 <1988>, on the day he has 20 years of credited service <and
2-7 has attained age 50>.
2-8 SECTION 3. Section 12(a), Article 6243g-3, Revised Statutes,
2-9 is amended to read as follows:
2-10 (a) A member who has 20 years of credited service shall have
2-11 a vested right to a service pension, computed in accordance with
2-12 the provisions of this article in effect when he ceased to be an
2-13 employee<, payable beginning with the first month after his
2-14 attainment of age 50>.
2-15 SECTION 4. Section 2, Chapter 76, Acts of the 50th
2-16 Legislature, 1947 (Article 6243g-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),
2-17 is amended by adding Subdivisions (i) and (j) to read as follows:
2-18 (i) "Surviving spouse" means a person who was married to a
2-19 deceased active member at the time of the member's death, or to a
2-20 deceased retired member before the member's retirement or for a
2-21 period of at least five years before the member's death, and whose
2-22 marriage was recorded in the records of the recorder's office in
2-23 the county in which the marriage ceremony was performed; or a
2-24 person who has on file with the Pension Board a declaration of
2-25 common-law marriage supported by evidence as required by the Board
2-26 and signed by the member and the member's common-law spouse before
2-27 a notary public.
3-1 (j) "Widow" or "widower" means a deceased member's surviving
3-2 spouse who remains unmarried, never having had another marriage
3-3 certificate recorded in any county's recording office after the
3-4 date of the member's death.
3-5 SECTION 5. Subdivision (1), Subsection (d), Section 4,
3-6 Chapter 76, Acts of the 50th Legislature, 1947 (Article 6243g-1,
3-7 Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
3-8 (1) The Board shall elect from its membership,
3-9 annually, a chairman, vice-chairman and secretary. The chairman
3-10 must be a person who has been elected to the Board by the members
3-11 of the police department and the Pension System. Pursuant to the
3-12 powers granted under the charter of such city and except as
3-13 provided by Subdivision (2) of this subsection, the mayor or
3-14 administrative head of the city shall appoint one or more employees
3-15 whose positions and salaries shall be fixed by the governing body
3-16 of the city and who, acting under the direction of the mayor or
3-17 administrative head of the city and treasurer or director of the
3-18 treasury, shall keep all of the records of, and perform all of the
3-19 clerical services for, the Pension System. The salaries of such
3-20 employees shall be paid by the city.
3-21 SECTION 6. Section 4, Chapter 76, Acts of the 50th
3-22 Legislature, 1947 (Article 6243g-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),
3-23 is amended by adding Subsection (j) to read as follows:
3-24 (j) The Pension Board may purchase from an insurer licensed
3-25 to do business in this state one (1) or more policies of insurance
3-26 that provide for reimbursement of a Board member, officer, or
3-27 employee of the Board for liability imposed as damages because of
4-1 an alleged act, error, or omission committed in the individual's
4-2 capacity as fiduciary or co-fiduciary of assets of the Pension Fund
4-3 and for costs and expenses incurred by a fiduciary or co-fiduciary
4-4 in defense of a claim of an alleged act, error, or omission. A
4-5 policy of insurance purchased under this subsection may not provide
4-6 for reimbursement of a Board member, officer, or employee of the
4-7 Board for liability imposed or expenses incurred because of the
4-8 individual's personal dishonesty, fraudulent breach of trust, lack
4-9 of good faith, intentional fraud or deception, or intentional
4-10 failure to act prudently. The cost of insurance coverage purchased
4-11 under this subsection shall be paid from money in the Pension Fund.
4-12 SECTION 7. Subsection (b), Section 6, Chapter 76, Acts of
4-13 the 50th Legislature, 1947 (Article 6243g-1, Vernon's Texas Civil
4-14 Statutes), is amended to read as follows:
4-15 (b) The maximum contribution which may be made to the fund
4-16 by a member shall be limited to a contribution based on the salary
4-17 of the second highest classification within the salary schedule of
4-18 the police department. It is the intent of this section to limit
4-19 both the contribution and retirement benefits of any member to the
4-20 salary level of the second highest rank of the police department
4-21 personnel classification schedule, provided that if the member has
4-22 not held the same classified position for three (3) <five (5)>
4-23 years immediately preceding <prior to> the date of retirement, the
4-24 retirement pension shall be based on the average monthly base
4-25 salary of the member for three (3) <five (5)> years immediately
4-26 preceding the date of retirement.
4-27 SECTION 8. Subsections (a), (a-1), (b), (e), and (h),
5-1 Section 11, Chapter 76, Acts of the 50th Legislature, 1947 (Article
5-2 6243g-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are amended to read as
5-3 follows:
5-4 (a) A person who becomes a member of the Pension System on
5-5 or after September 1, 1975, and who has been in the service of the
5-6 city police department for the period of twenty (20) years may
5-7 retire on or after July 1, <1988, at the age of fifty (50) years
5-8 and> 1993, shall be entitled to a retirement pension of an amount
5-9 equal to two and one-fourth percent (2.25%) <forty five percent
5-10 (45%)> of his base salary per month for the first twenty (20) years
5-11 of service, plus an additional amount equal to two percent (2%) of
5-12 his base salary per month for each year of service in the police
5-13 department in excess of twenty (20) years, not to exceed a total
5-14 pension equal to eighty percent (80%) of base salary, such base
5-15 salary to be the base salary provided for the classified position
5-16 in the police department held by the member, provided that if the
5-17 member has not held the same classified position for three (3)
5-18 years prior to the date of retirement, the retirement pension shall
5-19 be based on the average monthly base salary of the member for three
5-20 (3) years preceding retirement. <Except as provided in Subsection
5-21 (a-1) of this section, no retirement pension may be paid to a
5-22 member who has not attained the age of fifty (50) years.>
5-23 <(a-1) A person who was a member of the pension system
5-24 before September 1, 1975, may retire on or after July 1, 1988,
5-25 regardless of age upon completion of twenty (20) years of service
5-26 in the city police department and shall be entitled to a retirement
5-27 pension of an amount equal to forty five percent (45%) of his base
6-1 salary per month, plus an additional amount equal to two percent
6-2 (2%) of his base salary per month for each year of service in the
6-3 police department in excess of twenty (20) years, not to exceed a
6-4 total pension equal to eighty percent (80%) of base salary, such
6-5 base salary to be the base salary provided for the classified
6-6 position in the police department held by the member, provided that
6-7 if the member has not held the same classified position for three
6-8 (3) years prior to the date of retirement, the retirement pension
6-9 shall be based on the average monthly base salary of the member for
6-10 three (3) years preceding retirement.>
6-11 (b) If a member of the Police Pension System is promoted or
6-12 appointed to any classified position above the second highest in
6-13 the police department personnel classification schedule, that
6-14 member's contribution and retirement benefits will be computed on
6-15 the base salary of the second highest classified position in the
6-16 police department personnel classification schedule, provided that
6-17 if the member has not held the same classified position for three
6-18 (3) <five (5)> years immediately preceding <prior to> the date of
6-19 retirement, the retirement pension shall be based on the average
6-20 monthly base salary of the member for three (3) <five (5)> years
6-21 immediately preceding retirement. For the purposes of this Act,
6-22 the position of the Chief of Police shall be considered the highest
6-23 classified position in the personnel classification schedule in the
6-24 police department.
6-25 (e) Upon a member's completion of twenty (20) years of
6-26 service in the police department and thereafter, when such member
6-27 retires, whether such retirement be voluntary or involuntary, such
7-1 monthly payment shall begin forthwith and continue for the
7-2 remainder of the member's life. <However, when such member has
7-3 completed twenty (20) years' service in the police department and
7-4 if the physicians of Pension Board agree that the member is
7-5 physically fit to continue his active duties in the police
7-6 department, they may so certify, and the member may continue in the
7-7 service of the city police department until the member attains the
7-8 age of sixty five (65) years, at which time his retirement pension
7-9 shall be computed as hereinbefore stated.>
7-10 (h) A retiree who receives a service or disability
7-11 retirement pension under this Act is entitled to receive an
7-12 additional amount each month equal to $88.05, beginning on the
7-13 person's retirement date or on the effective date of the 1989
7-14 amendment of this Act, whichever is later, and continuing until the
7-15 end of <person reaches age 65. Thereafter, the payment will be
7-16 reduced to $55.38 each month. Payments of an additional amount
7-17 provided by this subsection end with> the month in which the
7-18 retiree <person> dies. This amount is intended to defray the
7-19 retiree's group medical insurance costs and will be paid directly
7-20 by the Pension Fund <to the insurer providing group coverage, as
7-21 long as the retiree is covered by the insurance. If a retiree
7-22 elects not to obtain the coverage or terminates the coverage, the
7-23 monthly amount will be paid> to the retiree <directly> for the
7-24 person's lifetime.
7-25 SECTION 9. Section 13, Chapter 76, Acts of the 50th
7-26 Legislature, 1947 (Article 6243g-1, Vernon's Texas Civil
7-27 Statutes), is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding
8-1 Subsection (e) to read as follows:
8-2 (a) If any member of the police department who has been
8-3 retired on allowance because of length of service or disability
8-4 thereafter dies on or after July 1, 1986, from any cause whatsoever
8-5 after he has become entitled to an allowance or pension, and leaves
8-6 a surviving <a> spouse <to whom the member was married prior to his
8-7 retirement or for a period of at least five (5) years prior to the
8-8 member's death (hereinafter referred to as the "surviving
8-9 spouse")>, a child or children under the age of eighteen (18) years
8-10 or a dependent parent, the Board shall order paid a monthly
8-11 allowance as follows:
8-12 (a) to the surviving spouse, so long as he or she remains a
8-13 widow or widower, a sum equal to the allowance which was granted to
8-14 the member upon service or disability pension based on his length
8-15 of service in the police department;
8-16 (b) to the guardian of each child, the sum of twenty-five
8-17 ($25) Dollars a month until the child reaches the age of eighteen
8-18 (18) years or marries;
8-19 (c) to the guardian of each child, only in case no spouse is
8-20 entitled to an allowance, the sum the spouse would have received,
8-21 to be divided equally among the unmarried children under eighteen
8-22 (18) years;
8-23 (d) to the dependent parent, only in case no spouse or
8-24 dependent child is entitled to an allowance, the sum the spouse
8-25 would have received, to be paid to but one (1) parent and such
8-26 parent to be determined by the Pension Board.
8-27 (e) On the death of a member, inactive member, retired
9-1 member, or individual receiving a survivor's pension, the Pension
9-2 Fund shall pay to the beneficiary or beneficiaries or, in the
9-3 absence of a beneficiary, to the estate of the member, inactive
9-4 member, retired member, or survivor a lump sum equal to the amount,
9-5 if any, by which the accumulated member contributions, without
9-6 interest, exceed the aggregate of all pension payments made.
9-7 SECTION 10. Section 1, Article 6243g-3, Revised Statutes, is
9-8 amended by amending Subdivision (h) and adding Subdivision (p) to
9-9 read as follows:
9-10 (h) "Inactive member" shall mean a member who:
9-11 (1) has completed 20 years of credited service, has
9-12 not attained age 50 <55>, and has left the classified service;
9-13 (2) is not eligible to begin receiving a service or
9-14 disability pension; and
9-15 (3) has neither applied for nor received a refund of
9-16 his contributions.
9-17 (p) "Surviving spouse" means a person:
9-18 (1) who was married to a deceased active member at the
9-19 time of the member's death, or to a deceased retired member before
9-20 the member's retirement or for a period of at least five years
9-21 before the member's death, whose marriage was recorded in the
9-22 records of the recorder's office in the county in which the
9-23 marriage ceremony was performed, and who remains unmarried, never
9-24 having had another marriage certificate recorded in any county's
9-25 recording office after the date of the member's death; or
9-26 (2) who has on file with the pension board a
9-27 declaration of common-law marriage supported by evidence as
10-1 required by the board and signed by the member and the member's
10-2 common-law spouse before a notary public.
10-3 SECTION 11. Subsections (b) and (c), Section 17, Article
10-4 6243g-3, Revised Statutes, are amended to read as follows:
10-5 (b) Effective July 1, 1991, the amount of the monthly
10-6 service pension payable to a retired member who retires on or after
10-7 July 1, 1988, is an amount equal to 2.25 percent of the member's
10-8 base salary per month for the first 20 years of service <45 percent
10-9 of the member's final compensation per month>, plus an additional
10-10 amount equal to two percent of the member's base salary <final
10-11 compensation> per month multiplied by the number of years in excess
10-12 of 20 years, to the nearest one-twelfth of a year, in the member's
10-13 period of credited service, not to exceed a total pension equal to
10-14 80 percent of final compensation, except that if the member has not
10-15 held the same classified position for three years immediately
10-16 preceding the date of retirement, the retirement pension shall be
10-17 based on the average monthly base salary of the member for three
10-18 years immediately preceding the date of retirement.
10-19 (c) A retiree who receives a service or disability
10-20 retirement pension under this article is entitled to receive an
10-21 additional amount each month equal to $88.05, beginning on the
10-22 person's retirement date or on the effective date of the 1989
10-23 amendment of this article, whichever is later, and continuing until
10-24 the end of <person reaches age 65. Thereafter, the payment will be
10-25 reduced to $55.38 each month. Payments of an additional amount
10-26 provided by this subsection end with> the month in which the
10-27 retiree <person> dies. This amount is intended to defray the
11-1 retiree's group medical insurance costs and will be paid directly
11-2 by the pension fund <to the insurer providing group coverage, as
11-3 long as the retiree is covered by the insurance. If a retiree
11-4 elects not to obtain the coverage or terminates the coverage, the
11-5 monthly amount will be paid> to the retiree <directly> for the
11-6 person's lifetime.
11-7 SECTION 12. Article 6243g-3, Revised Statutes, is amended by
11-8 adding Section 18 to read as follows:
11-9 Sec. 18. MILITARY SERVICE. (a) Beginning July 1, 1990, a
11-10 member of the pension system, while engaged in active military
11-11 service during a national emergency, is not required to make the
11-12 monthly payments into the pension fund provided by this article and
11-13 does not, because of absence as a result of the military service,
11-14 lose any previous years' service with the city. Military service
11-15 described by this section is considered continuous service in the
11-16 police department if, when the member is discharged from the
11-17 military service, the member returns to the city police department
11-18 under provisions of the city charter and the military service does
11-19 not exceed the period of the national emergency.
11-20 (b) The city shall make its regular monthly payments into
11-21 the pension fund for each member who is engaged in military service
11-22 described by this section.
11-23 (c) If a member of the pension system dies, either directly
11-24 or indirectly, as a result of the military service, the member's
11-25 spouse, dependent parent, or other dependents are entitled to
11-26 receive a refund of any contributions the member made to the
11-27 pension system.
12-1 SECTION 13. Subsection (a), Section 25, Article 6243g-3,
12-2 Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
12-3 (a) A service pension, disability pension, survivor's
12-4 pension, death benefit, or withdrawal benefit shall be paid only
12-5 upon the filing of an application in a form prescribed by the
12-6 board. A monthly benefit shall not be payable for any month
12-7 earlier than the second month preceding the date on which the
12-8 application for such benefit is filed. If a retired member
12-9 receives both pension benefits from the fund and a salary as a
12-10 classified officer from the city that cover the same period of
12-11 time, the retired member shall repay pension benefits received
12-12 during the period to the fund. On request of the board, the city
12-13 attorney shall file suit in a court of competent jurisdiction to
12-14 recover pension benefits owed the fund under this subsection.
12-15 SECTION 14. Subsection (a), Section 28, Article 6243g-3,
12-16 Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:
12-17 (a) The city shall deduct monthly from the salary or
12-18 compensation of each member participating in the fund a sum equal
12-19 to 8.75 <seven> percent of such salary or compensation, such
12-20 deduction to be paid by the city to the fund.
12-21 SECTION 15. (a) This Act takes effect July 1, 1993, if this
12-22 Act receives the votes required by Article III, Section 39, of the
12-23 Texas Constitution for that effective date. If this Act does not
12-24 receive the votes required by that section for an effective date
12-25 before the 91st day after the last day of the legislative session,
12-26 this Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
12-27 (b) The changes in law made by this Act apply, except as
13-1 otherwise specifically provided by this Act, only to contributions
13-2 that become due and retirements and deaths that occur on or after
13-3 the effective date of this Act.
13-4 (c) The change in law made by this Act in the qualifications
13-5 of the chairmen of pension boards apply only to terms of chairmen
13-6 that begin on or after the effective date of this Act.
13-7 (d) The change in law made by this Act in the payment of
13-8 benefits to defray group insurance costs applies to all payments of
13-9 the benefits that become due on or after the effective date of this
13-10 Act.
13-11 (e) The change in law made by Section 7 of this Act applies
13-12 only to appointments or promotions that are made on or after the
13-13 effective date of this Act. An appointment or promotion made
13-14 before the effective date of this Act is governed by Subsection
13-15 (b), Section 6, Chapter 76, Acts of the 50th Legislature, 1947
13-16 (Article 6243g-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), as it existed at
13-17 the time the appointment or promotion was made, and the former law
13-18 is continued in effect for this purpose.
13-19 SECTION 16. The importance of this legislation and the
13-20 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
13-21 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
13-22 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
13-23 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
13-24 and that this Act take effect and be in force according to its
13-25 terms, and it is so enacted.