By Rangel                                       H.B. No. 1701

      75R4540 CAS-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to service credit in the Teacher Retirement System of

 1-3     Texas for accumulated personal or sick leave.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 823.403, Government Code, is amended to

 1-6     read as follows:

 1-7           Sec. 823.403.  CREDIT FOR ACCUMULATED PERSONAL OR SICK LEAVE.

 1-8     (a)  A member who is eligible to retire under Section 824.202(a)

 1-9     and who retires from an employer as defined by Section 821.001(7)

1-10     based on  service or a disability is entitled to membership service

1-11     credit in the retirement system for the member's state personal or

1-12     sick leave that has accumulated and is unused on the last day of

1-13     employment pursuant to the terms of this section.  State personal

1-14     or sick leave is creditable in the retirement system in the amount

1-15     of one year of service credit for 50 days or more, or 400 hours or

1-16     more, of accumulated state personal or sick leave.  An accumulation

1-17     of less than 50 days is not creditable.  Not more than five days of

1-18     unused state personal or sick leave may be accumulated per year.

1-19     Credit established under this section may be used only for the

1-20     purpose of calculating benefits under Section 824.203.

1-21           (b)  The employer shall, under rules adopted by the

1-22     retirement system, certify the amount of a member's accumulated

1-23     state personal or sick leave on the last day of employment before

1-24     retirement.

 2-1           (c)  On receipt of a certification under Subsection (b) [and

 2-2     payment under Subsection (d) of this section], the retirement

 2-3     system shall grant any credit to which a retiree who is a subject

 2-4     of the certification is entitled.  The increase in the annuity

 2-5     payment begins with the first payment that becomes due after

 2-6     certification [and payment].

 2-7           [(d)  In order to receive credit, the member shall pay to the

 2-8     retirement system at the time service credit is granted under this

 2-9     section the actuarial present value of the additional standard

2-10     retirement annuity benefits under the option selected by the member

2-11     that would be attributable to the conversion of the unused state

2-12     personal or sick leave into the service credit based on rates and

2-13     tables recommended by the actuary and adopted by the board of

2-14     trustees.]

2-15           [(e)  In accordance with local policy, the employer from

2-16     which the retiring member was compensated on the member's last day

2-17     of employment may reimburse an employee for all or part of the cost

2-18     of purchasing service credit under this section.]

2-19           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

2-20           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-21     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-22     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-23     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-24     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.