By: Moncrief S.B. No. 1123
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
1-1 relating to benefits and administration of retirement systems in
1-2 certain municipalities.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. DEFINITIONS. In this act:
1-5 (A) "Administrative rules and regulations" means the
1-6 documents adopted by the governing body of a municipality, or of a
1-7 public retirement system, to which this Act applies and that govern
1-8 the participation in, administration of, contributions to and
1-9 benefits from the public retirement system.
1-10 (B) "Change in the administrative rules and regulations"
1-11 means an addition or amendment to, a repeal or partial deletion of,
1-12 or any other modification of administrative rules and regulations.
1-13 (C) "Public retirement systems" has the meaning assigned by
1-14 Section 801.001 of the Government Code.
1-15 SECTION 2. APPLICABILITY. This Act applies only to
1-16 municipalities having a population of 400,000 or more, according to
1-17 the most recent federal census, in which a single public retirement
1-18 system has been established for employees of all departments of the
1-19 municipality.
1-20 SECTION 3. BOARD OF TRUSTEES. A public retirement system to
1-21 which this Act applies is administered by a board of trustees as
1-22 provided by the administrative rules and regulations.
1-23 SECTION 4. POWERS AND DUTIES. The board of trustees shall
2-1 have those powers and duties that are provided in the
2-2 administrative rules and regulations and that are not inconsistent
2-3 with this Act.
2-4 SECTION 5. CHANGE IN ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND REGULATIONS
2-5 INVOLVING MUNICIPAL CONTRIBUTIONS. Any change in the
2-6 administrative rules and regulations that includes a change in the
2-7 rate of, or the manner of making, municipal or member contributions
2-8 to, in the formula or factors for determining benefits from the
2-9 public retirement system may be made only if:
2-10 (A) the board of trustees, by majority vote, places the
2-11 change on the ballot of a special election or of an election for
2-12 employee trustees in which all participating members of the public
2-13 retirement system are eligible to vote;
2-14 (B) a majority of the voting participating members of the
2-15 public retirement system votes in favor of the change by secret
2-16 ballot at an election in which a majority of all participating
2-17 members votes;
2-18 (C) the governing body of the municipality, before the 61st
2-19 day after the date the board of trustees certifies the results of
2-20 the election of participating members, does not reject the change;
2-21 and
2-22 (D) a qualified actuary selected by the board of trustees
2-23 performs an actuarial analysis of the change. A qualified actuary
2-24 must be a Fellow or Associate of the Society of Actuaries and an
2-25 Enrolled Actuary.
3-1 SECTION 6. OTHER CHANGES IN ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND
3-2 REGULATIONS.
3-3 (A) Except as provided by Section 5 of this Act, the
3-4 administrative rules and regulations may be changed in any manner
3-5 if:
3-6 (1) the board of trustees, by majority vote, approves
3-7 the change;
3-8 (2) the governing body of the municipality approves
3-9 the change;
3-10 (3) the change applies to all current and future
3-11 participating members of the public retirement system; and
3-12 (4) the change does not deprive a member, without the
3-13 member's written consent, of a right to receive benefits from the
3-14 retirement system that have become fully vested and matured in the
3-15 member.
3-16 (B) For purposes of this section and Section 5 of this Act,
3-17 a participating member is a person making contributions to the
3-18 public retirement system on the date of the election.
3-19 (C) A change under this section and Section 5 of this Act
3-20 applies to former participating members who are either receiving or
3-21 entitled to receive benefits under the public retirement system
3-22 only if that application is specified in the proposed change.
3-23 SECTION 7. EFFECT OF AN ACT ON ADMINISTRATIVE RULES AND
3-24 REGULATIONS. This Act supersedes the administrative rules and
3-25 regulations that conflict with this Act. On the effective date of
4-1 this Act, the administrative rules and regulations for a public
4-2 retirement system to which this Act applies shall be the
4-3 administrative rules and regulations in effect for the public
4-4 retirement system on __________, notwithstanding any change in such
4-5 administrative rules and regulations made after such date and
4-6 before the effective date of this Act.
4-7 SECTION 8. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act takes effect
4-8 September 1, 1995.
4-9 SECTION 9. EMERGENCY. The importance of this legislation
4-10 and the crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-11 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-12 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-13 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.