By Craddick H.B. No. 679
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 679:
By Rangel C.S.H.B. No. 679
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the effect of certain types of divorce decrees on
1-3 retirement benefits payable by the Employees Retirement System of
1-4 Texas.
1-5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-6 SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 814, Government Code, is
1-7 amended by adding Section 814.006 to read as follows:
1-8 Sec. 814.006. REVOCATION OF BENEFICIARY BY DIVORCE DECREE.
1-9 (a) In this section, "divorce decree" means a judgment,
1-10 decree, order, or qualified domestic relations order, including a
1-11 document approving a property settlement agreement, that is issued
1-12 by a court under a domestic relations law of this or another state
1-13 in conjunction with the dissolution of a marriage and that relates
1-14 to the marital property rights of a retiree and that person's
1-15 former spouse.
1-16 (b) Upon receipt of a certified copy of a divorce decree
1-17 that purports to revoke or order the revocation of a designation by
1-18 a retiree of a beneficiary under this subchapter, accompanied by a
1-19 written directive from a retiree requesting such change, the
1-20 retirement system shall change its records in accordance with the
1-21 directive and decree.
1-22 (c) If a divorce decree revokes or orders the revocation of
1-23 a designation of a beneficiary made by a retiree who retired under
1-24 an optional retirement annuity described by Section 814.108(c)(1)
2-1 or (c)(2) or other optional retirement annuity selection approved
2-2 by the board of trustees by rule, the retiree may select a standard
2-3 retirement annuity or another beneficiary for the optional
2-4 retirement annuity selected at the time retirement. If the
2-5 retirement system receives from a retiree who retired under an
2-6 optional retirement annuity, a written directive and certified
2-7 decree, as described in this Subsection, which revokes a
2-8 beneficiary designation but does not designate a substitute
2-9 beneficiary, the retiree shall be deemed to have selected a
2-10 standard retirement annuity and the retirement system shall
2-11 recompute the annuity of the retiree as a standard annuity.
2-12 Thereafter, if such retiree designates another beneficiary by
2-13 written directive filed with the retirement system, the retirement
2-14 system shall recompute and reinstate the optional annuity giving
2-15 effect to the new beneficiary designation on a prospective basis
2-16 only. A retiree may make a change of beneficiary under this
2-17 Subsection only to a spouse and only once during the retiree's
2-18 lifetime.
2-19 (d) The retirement system shall recompute the annuity of a
2-20 retiree who makes a selection under Subsection (c) to reflect that
2-21 selection and shall adjust the annuity as appropriate for early
2-22 retirement and postretirement increases provided after the date of
2-23 the retiree's retirement. The retirement system by rule shall
2-24 provide for the recovery of the actuarial value, if any, of the
2-25 difference between payments under the original and recomputed
2-26 annuities by determining the recomputed annuity such that the
2-27 actuarial present value of the recomputed annuity is equal to the
3-1 actuarial present value of the original retirement annuity as of
3-2 the date the retirement system receives the directive to change the
3-3 beneficiary.
3-4 (e) Payment of a recomputed annuity becomes effective the
3-5 month following receipt by the retirement system of the actuarial
3-6 recomputation.
3-7 (f) The retirement system shall determine, upon receipt of a
3-8 certified copy of a divorce decree purporting to revoke a
3-9 beneficiary designation under this section, whether such decree
3-10 clearly revokes or permits the revocation of a beneficiary
3-11 designation. The retirement system may decline to implement a
3-12 beneficiary change if it determines that the decree fails to
3-13 specify clearly that a beneficiary change is within the scope of
3-14 the decree. The court which issued the decree or which would
3-15 otherwise have jurisdiction over the matter has jurisdiction to
3-16 amend the decree to clarify the scope of the decree, even though
3-17 all other matters incident to the action or proceeding have been
3-18 fully and finally adjudicated.
3-19 (g) A determination by the retirement system under this
3-20 section may be appealed only to a district court of Travis County,
3-21 Texas. The retirement system, the board of trustees, and officers
3-22 and employees of the retirement system shall not be liable to any
3-23 person for making or failing to make a beneficiary designation
3-24 change pursuant to a decree submitted under this section.
3-25 (h) The board of trustees of the retirement system may
3-26 promulgate rules it deems necessary to implement the provisions of
3-27 this section.
4-1 SECTION 2. If the Employees Retirement System of Texas
4-2 receives a certified copy of a divorce decree that was entered
4-3 before the effective date of this Act and that purports to revoke
4-4 or order the revocation of a designation of a beneficiary by a
4-5 retiree of the retirement system, upon receipt of a written
4-6 directive from the retiree, the retirement system shall change its
4-7 records and, as appropriate, begin payments of any recomputed
4-8 annuity, as provided in Section 1 of this Act, as if the decree
4-9 were entered after the effective date of this Act.
4-10 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
4-11 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-12 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-13 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-14 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
4-15 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
4-16 passage, and it is so enacted.