By Craddick                                      H.B. No. 475

      75R1273 GCH-D                           

                                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 Teacher Retirement System of

 1-4     Texas.

 1-5           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-6           SECTION 1.  Section 824.101(c), Government Code, is amended

 1-7     to read as follows:

 1-8           (c)  Only one person may be designated as beneficiary of an

 1-9     optional retirement annuity under Section 824.204(c)(1), (c)(2), or

1-10     (c)(5), and a designation of beneficiary under either of those

1-11     options may not be made, changed, or revoked after the later of the

1-12     date on which the retirement system makes the first annuity payment

1-13     to the retiree or the date the first payment becomes due, except as

1-14     provided by Section 824.107.  For purposes of this section, the

1-15     term "makes payment" includes the depositing in the mail of a

1-16     payment warrant or the crediting of an account with payment through

1-17     electronic funds transfer.

1-18           SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 824, Government Code, is

1-19     amended by adding Section 824.107 to read as follows:

1-20           Sec. 824.107.  REVOCATION OF BENEFICIARY BY DIVORCE DECREE.

1-21     (a)  In this section, "divorce decree" means a judgment, decree, or

1-22     order, including a document approving a property settlement

1-23     agreement, that is issued by a court under a domestic relations law

1-24     of this or another state in conjunction with the dissolution of a

 2-1     marriage and that relates to the marital property rights of a

 2-2     member or retiree and that person's former spouse.

 2-3           (b)  If the retirement system receives a certified copy of a

 2-4     divorce decree that purports to revoke or order the revocation of a

 2-5     designation by a  retiree of a beneficiary under this subchapter,

 2-6     the retirement system shall change its records in accordance with

 2-7     the decree.

 2-8           (c)  If a divorce decree revokes or orders the revocation of

 2-9     a designation of a beneficiary made by a  retiree who selected an

2-10     optional retirement annuity other than an annuity described by

2-11     Section 824.204(c)(1) or (c)(2), the retiree may select another

2-12     beneficiary in the manner provided by this subchapter.

2-13           (d)  If a divorce decree revokes or orders the revocation of

2-14     a designation of a beneficiary made by a retiree who selected an

2-15     optional retirement annuity under Section 824.204(c)(1) or (c)(2),

2-16     the retiree may not select another beneficiary, but the retirement

2-17     system shall increase the retiree's reduced annuity to the standard

2-18     service retirement annuity that the retiree would otherwise be

2-19     entitled to receive if the retiree had not selected an optional

2-20     annuity.  The retirement system shall adjust the standard annuity

2-21     as appropriate for early retirement as permitted by law and

2-22     postretirement benefit increases provided after the date of the

2-23     retiree's retirement.

2-24           (e)  Payment of an annuity increased under Subsection (d)

2-25     begins with the payment for the month after the month in which the

2-26     retirement system receives a copy of the retiree's divorce decree

2-27     and is payable to the retiree for the remainder of the retiree's

 3-1     life.

 3-2           SECTION 3.  If the Teacher Retirement System of Texas

 3-3     received before the effective date of this Act a certified copy of

 3-4     a divorce decree that purports to revoke or order the revocation of

 3-5     a designation of a beneficiary by a retiree of the retirement

 3-6     system, the retirement system shall change its records and, as

 3-7     appropriate, begin payment of any increased annuity with the

 3-8     payment for the month after the month in which this Act takes

 3-9     effect.

3-10           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-11     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

3-12     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

3-13     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

3-14     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,

3-15     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

3-16     passage, and it is so enacted.