By Torres                                       H.B. No. 1744

      75R5184 GCH-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to survivor's benefits from certain municipal retirement

 1-3     systems for police officers.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 11(h), Chapter 76, Acts of the 50th

 1-6     Legislature, 1947 (Article 6243g-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),

 1-7     is amended to read as follows:

 1-8           (h)  A retiree who receives a service or disability

 1-9     retirement pension under this Act is entitled to receive an

1-10     additional amount each month equal to $88.05, beginning on the

1-11     person's retirement date or on the effective date of the 1989

1-12     amendment of this Act, whichever is later, and continuing until the

1-13     end of the month in which the retiree dies.  A surviving spouse who

1-14     receives a survivor's benefit under this Act is entitled to receive

1-15     an additional amount each month equal to $88.05, beginning with the

1-16     first payment of the survivor's benefit and continuing until the

1-17     end of the month in which the surviving spouse dies.  This amount

1-18     is intended to defray the retiree's or surviving spouse's group

1-19     medical  insurance costs and will be paid directly by the Pension

1-20     Fund to the retiree or surviving spouse for the person's lifetime.

1-21           SECTION 2.  Section 17(c), Article 6243g-3, Revised Statutes,

1-22     is amended to read as follows:

1-23           (c)  A retiree who receives a service or disability

1-24     retirement pension under this article is entitled to receive an

 2-1     additional amount each month equal to $88.05, beginning on the

 2-2     person's retirement date or on the effective date of the 1989

 2-3     amendment of this article, whichever is later, and continuing until

 2-4     the end of the month in which the retiree dies.  A surviving spouse

 2-5     who receives a survivor's benefit under this article is entitled to

 2-6     receive an additional amount each month equal to $88.05, beginning

 2-7     with the first payment of the survivor's benefit and continuing

 2-8     until the end of the month in which the surviving spouse dies.

 2-9     This amount is intended to defray the retiree's or surviving

2-10     spouse's group  medical insurance costs and will be paid directly

2-11     by the pension fund to the retiree or surviving spouse for the

2-12     person's lifetime.

2-13           SECTION 3.  Notwithstanding Section 11(h), Chapter 76, Acts

2-14     of the 50th Legislature, 1947 (Article 6243g-1, Vernon's Texas

2-15     Civil Statutes), and Section 17(c), Article 6243g-3, Revised

2-16     Statutes, as amended by this Act, a person receiving a survivor's

2-17     benefit under either of those sections on the effective date of

2-18     this Act is entitled to the additional amount provided by those

2-19     sections beginning with the first benefit payment that becomes due

2-20     on or after the effective date of this Act.

2-21           SECTION 4.  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,

2-26     and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its

2-27     passage, and it is so enacted.