By Naishtat                                           H.B. No. 3125
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
    1-1                                AN ACT
    1-2  relating to procedures for the election of members of the board of
    1-3  trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas.
    1-4        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-5        SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 815, Government Code, is
    1-6  amended by adding Section 815.00301 to read as follows:
    1-7        Sec. 815.00301.  PROCEDURES FOR TRUSTEE ELECTION.  (a)  The
    1-8  retirement system shall develop and maintain a database containing
    1-9  the home addresses of all members and retirees of the retirement
   1-10  system.
   1-11        (b)  Before printing ballots for an election to be conducted
   1-12  under Section 815.003, the retirement system shall send a copy of
   1-13  the proposed ballot to each person who is a candidate for election
   1-14  to the board of trustees under rules adopted under Section 815.003.
   1-15  A candidate may request changes in the form of the ballot within 10
   1-16  days after the date of receipt of the copy of the proposed ballot.
   1-17  A candidate aggrieved by a failure of the retirement system to make
   1-18  a change in a proposed ballot is entitled to a hearing on the
   1-19  change before the board of trustees at the next board meeting.
   1-20        (c)  The retirement system shall mail a ballot for the
   1-21  election to each eligible voter at the voter's home address.  The
   1-22  ballot shall provide for voting by prepaid return mail and state
   1-23  that ballots may not be collected and returned by a personnel,
    2-1  accounting, or other office of a state agency.
    2-2        (d)  The retirement system shall:
    2-3              (1)  establish a statewide, toll-free telephone line to
    2-4  receive reports from eligible voters of undelivered ballots and
    2-5  provide other assistance relating to the election; and
    2-6              (2)  mail a ballot to an eligible voter not later than
    2-7  the third day after the day the system receives a report of an
    2-8  undelivered ballot.
    2-9        (e)  Each state agency shall provide to a candidate for
   2-10  election to the board of trustees access to the agency's eligible
   2-11  voters for the purpose of campaigning and shall post the number of
   2-12  the toll-free telephone line for the election at prominent places
   2-13  on agency premises.
   2-14        (f)  Upon the request and at the expense of a candidate, the
   2-15  retirement system shall mail materials supplied by that candidate
   2-16  to all retired members of the system.
   2-17        (g)  The retirement system shall store returned ballots
   2-18  unopened in a secure place until after the deadline for receipt of
   2-19  votes in the election.
   2-20        SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1995.
   2-21        SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-22  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-23  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-24  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-25  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.