1-1     By:  Serna (Senate Sponsor - Barrientos)               H.B. No. 724

 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 4, 1997;

 1-3     April 8, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on State

 1-4     Affairs; May 18, 1997, reported favorably, as amended, by the

 1-5     following vote:  Yeas 13, Nays 0; May 18, 1997, sent to printer.)

 1-6     COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1                                 By:  Cain

 1-7     Amend H.B. 724 as follows:

 1-8     (1)  on page 1, line 44, immediately following "from the

 1-9     comptroller." insert the following:

1-10     "This subsection does not apply to a supplemental payroll.  This

1-11     subsection applies only to a currently authorized company or a

1-12     company with at least 50 participants at the institution."

1-13     (2)  on page 1, line 49, insert "if the institution is currently

1-14     able to send funds by electronic transfer" immediately following

1-15     "transfer"

1-16     COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 2                                 By:  Cain

1-17     Amend H.B. 724 as follows:

1-18     on page 1, line 53, insert the following new subsection (f) and

1-19     reletter the remaining subsection accordingly:

1-20           (f)  The company shall allocate and credit the

1-21     contemporaneous deposit to each participant's account on the

1-22     receipt of the electronic funds transfer and the electronic

1-23     information on the amount to be allocated and credited to each

1-24     participant's account.  A company who violates this section shall

1-25     become ineligible for certification as a company eligible to

1-26     provide an optional retirement program.

1-27                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

1-28                                   AN ACT

1-29     relating to transfers of contributions to the optional retirement

1-30     program for faculty members of institutions of higher education.

1-31           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

1-32           SECTION 1.  Section 830.202, Government Code, is amended by

1-33     amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read

1-34     as follows:

1-35           (c)  The disbursing officer of an institution of higher

1-36     education and, if applicable, of the Texas [Central] Education

1-37     Agency shall pay the contributions collected under this section to

1-38     a [the] company providing an [the] optional retirement program for

1-39     that institution not later than the third business day after the

1-40     date the funds become legally available.  If possible, the

1-41     disbursing officer shall send the state's contributions and the

1-42     participants' contributions together, and otherwise shall send the

1-43     participants' contributions at the time of withholding and the

1-44     state's contributions on receipt from the comptroller.

1-45           (e)  The disbursing officer of an institution of higher

1-46     education and, if applicable, of the Texas Education Agency, shall:

1-47                 (1)  send contributions to a company providing an

1-48     optional retirement program for the institution by electronic

1-49     transfer; or

1-50                 (2)  certify to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating

1-51     Board that the company is unable to receive funds by electronic

1-52     transfer and send  contributions by paper check.

1-53           (f)  At least once each fiscal year, an institution of higher

1-54     education and the Texas Education Agency shall give notice to each

1-55     participant in the optional retirement program at the institution

1-56     or agency indicating which companies are unable to receive funds by

1-57     electronic transfer.

1-58           SECTION 2.  (a)  In addition to the substantive changes made

1-59     by this Act, this Act conforms Section 830.202(c), Government

1-60     Code, to Section 80, Chapter 260, Acts of the 74th Legislature,

1-61     Regular Session, 1995.

1-62           (b)  To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over

1-63     another Act of the 75th Legislature, Regular Session, 1997,

1-64     relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted

 2-1     codes.

 2-2           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 2-3           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-4     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-5     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 2-6     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 2-7     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

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