By McClendon H.B. No. 3114
75R7420 ESH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to benefits administered by the Teacher Retirement System
1-3 of Texas.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 823.403(c), Government Code, is amended
1-6 to read as follows:
1-7 (c) On receipt of a certification under Subsection (b) [and
1-8 payment under Subsection (d) of this section], the retirement
1-9 system shall grant any credit to which a retiree who is a subject
1-10 of the certification is entitled. The increase in the annuity
1-11 payment begins with the first payment that becomes due after
1-12 certification [and payment].
1-13 SECTION 2. Sections 824.203(a) and (e), Government Code, are
1-14 amended to read as follows:
1-15 (a) Except as provided by Subsections (c), (d), and (e), the
1-16 standard service retirement annuity is an amount computed on the
1-17 basis of the member's average annual compensation for the three
1-18 years of service, whether or not consecutive, in which the member
1-19 received the highest annual compensation, times 2.25 [two] percent
1-20 for each year of service credit in the retirement system.
1-21 (e) The annual standard service retirement annuity for a
1-22 person who immediately before retirement holds a position as a
1-23 classroom teacher or full-time librarian, or the annual death
1-24 benefit annuity based on the service of a member who at the time of
2-1 death held a position as a classroom teacher or full-time
2-2 librarian, may not be less than an amount computed on the basis of
2-3 the minimum annual salary provided by the Education Code for a
2-4 classroom teacher or full-time librarian, multiplied by 2.25 [two]
2-5 percent for each year of service credit in the retirement system.
2-6 SECTION 3. The heading to Article 3.50-4, Insurance Code, is
2-7 amended to read as follows:
2-8 Art. 3.50-4. TEXAS PUBLIC SCHOOL [RETIRED] EMPLOYEES GROUP
2-9 INSURANCE PROGRAM
2-10 SECTION 4. Section 7, Article 3.50-4, Insurance Code, is
2-11 amended to read as follows:
2-12 Sec. 7. PARTICIPATION. (a) Each retiree and active
2-13 employee must be enrolled in a basic plan offered in the program
2-14 unless:
2-15 (1) the person [retiree] rejects enrollment in the
2-16 program in writing on a form provided by the trustee; or
2-17 (2) the person [retiree] has been found under Section
2-18 18A of this article to have defrauded or attempted to defraud the
2-19 program.
2-20 (b) For each retiree or active employee who participates in
2-21 the program, the state through the trustee shall contribute from
2-22 money in the fund the total cost for the basic plan covering the
2-23 person [retiree].
2-24 SECTION 5. Sections 8(b) and (e), Article 3.50-4, Insurance
2-25 Code, are amended to read as follows:
2-26 (b) The group insurance coverages provided under the plan or
2-27 plans must provide at least the benefits provided under comparable
3-1 coverages under the Texas Employees Uniform Group Insurance
3-2 Benefits Act (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance Code) and
3-3 may include but are not limited to life insurance, accidental death
3-4 and dismemberment, hospital care and benefits, surgical care and
3-5 treatment, medical care and treatment, dental care, eye care,
3-6 obstetrical benefits, prescribed drugs, medicines, and prosthetic
3-7 devices, and other supplemental benefits, supplies, and services as
3-8 provided by this article, protection against loss of salary, and
3-9 other coverages considered advisable.
3-10 (e) The trustee may contract for and make available to all
3-11 retirees, active employees, dependents, surviving spouses, and
3-12 surviving dependent children optional group health insurance
3-13 benefit plans in addition to the basic plans. The optional
3-14 coverage may include a smaller deductible, lower coinsurance, or
3-15 additional categories of benefits permitted under Subsection (b) of
3-16 this section to provide additional levels of coverages and
3-17 benefits. The trustee may utilize a portion of the funds received
3-18 for the Texas Public School Employees Group Insurance Program to
3-19 offset some portion of costs paid by the retiree or active employee
3-20 for optional coverage if such utilization does not reduce the
3-21 period the program is projected to remain financially solvent by
3-22 more than one year in a biennium. Any additional contributions for
3-23 these optional plans shall be paid for by the retiree, active
3-24 employee, surviving spouse, or surviving dependent children.
3-25 SECTION 6. Section 16, Article 3.50-4, Insurance Code, is
3-26 amended to read as follows:
3-27 Sec. 16. CONTRIBUTIONS. (a) [For the state fiscal year
4-1 beginning September 1, 1985, and for each subsequent state fiscal
4-2 year, each active employee, as a condition of employment, shall
4-3 contribute to the fund an amount equal to .25 percent of the
4-4 employee's salary. Each month the employer of an active employee
4-5 shall deduct the contributions from the employee's salary and shall
4-6 remit the contributions to the trustee as provided by any
4-7 procedures that the trustee may require. In lieu of deducting the
4-8 contributions from salaries, an employer may assume and pay the
4-9 total contributions due from its active employees for any month.]
4-10 [(b)] The state shall contribute as the state's contribution
4-11 to the fund for each retiree or active employee an amount equal to
4-12 the amount of the state's contribution for an employee or annuitant
4-13 under the Texas Employees Uniform Group Insurance Benefits Act
4-14 (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance Code) [the following
4-15 amounts:]
4-16 [(1) for the state fiscal year beginning September 1,
4-17 1986, an amount equal to .35 percent of the salary of each active
4-18 employee;]
4-19 [(2) for the state fiscal year beginning September 1,
4-20 1987, an amount equal to .40 percent of the salary of each active
4-21 employee;]
4-22 [(3) for the state fiscal year beginning September 1,
4-23 1988, an amount equal to .45 percent of the salary of each active
4-24 employee;]
4-25 [(4) for the state fiscal year beginning September 1,
4-26 1989, an amount equal to .50 percent of the salary of each active
4-27 employee; and]
5-1 [(5) for the state fiscal year beginning September 1,
5-2 1990, and each subsequent fiscal year, an amount equal to .50
5-3 percent of the salary of each active employee].
5-4 [(c) If after the state fiscal year beginning September 1,
5-5 1990, the amount of state and active employee contributions to the
5-6 fund is raised by the legislature above the percentages provided by
5-7 Subsections (a) and (b) of this section to provide adequate
5-8 funding for the program, the ratio between the state's contribution
5-9 and the active employees' contributions must be maintained at two
5-10 to one].
5-11 (b) [(d)] Contributions from active employees for optional
5-12 coverages become the property of the fund on receipt by the
5-13 trustee and may not be refunded to the active employee under any
5-14 circumstances, including termination of employment.
5-15 (c) [(e)] Contributions to the fund for optional coverages
5-16 deducted from the salary of an active employee are included in
5-17 "annual compensation" for purposes of the Teacher Retirement System
5-18 of Texas.
5-19 (d) [(f)] Before the first day of November preceding each
5-20 regular session of the legislature, the trustee shall certify to
5-21 the Legislative Budget Board and the budget division of the
5-22 governor's office the amounts necessary to pay the contributions of
5-23 the state to the fund under this article for information and
5-24 review. Not later than August 31 of each year, the trustee shall
5-25 certify to the comptroller [of public accounts] the estimated
5-26 amount of state contributions to be received by the fund for the
5-27 next fiscal year under the appropriations authorized by this
6-1 article.
6-2 (e) [(g)] Contributions allocated and appropriated under
6-3 this section shall be paid from the General Revenue Fund in equal
6-4 monthly installments, based on the annual estimate certified by the
6-5 trustee to the comptroller [of public accounts] for that year, and
6-6 subject to any express limitations specified in the Act making the
6-7 appropriation. Variations between the certified amount and the
6-8 actual amount due for the year shall be reconciled at the close of
6-9 the fiscal year and proper adjustments in the annual contributions
6-10 to the fund shall be made.
6-11 (f) [(h)] An employing district that fails to remit, before
6-12 the 11th day after the last day of the month, all member
6-13 contributions for optional coverages [deposits] required by this
6-14 section to be remitted by the district for the month shall pay to
6-15 the [Texas public school retired employees group insurance] fund,
6-16 in addition to the contributions [deposits], interest on the unpaid
6-17 amounts at the annual rate of six percent compounded monthly.
6-18 (g) [(i)] An employing district and its trustees hold
6-19 amounts due to the [Texas public school retired employees group
6-20 insurance] fund under this article in trust for the fund and its
6-21 participants and may not divert the amounts for any other purpose.
6-22 SECTION 7. Section 18(a), Article 3.50-4, Insurance Code, is
6-23 amended to read as follows:
6-24 (a) Any retiree or active employee participating in the
6-25 program is entitled to secure for the person's [his] dependents
6-26 group insurance coverages provided for the person [retiree] under
6-27 this article, as determined by the trustee. The additional
7-1 contribution payments for the coverages for dependents shall be
7-2 deducted from the compensation or annuities of the person [retiree]
7-3 in the manner and form determined by the trustee.
7-4 SECTION 8. Section 22.004(a), Education Code, is amended to
7-5 read as follows:
7-6 (a) Each district may [shall] make available to its
7-7 employees group health coverage provided by a risk pool established
7-8 by one or more school districts under Chapter 172, Local Government
7-9 Code, or under a policy of insurance or group contract issued by an
7-10 insurer, a company subject to Chapter 20, Insurance Code, or a
7-11 health maintenance organization under the Texas Health Maintenance
7-12 Organization Act (Chapter 20A, Vernon's Texas Insurance Code). The
7-13 coverage, if any, must meet the substantive coverage requirements
7-14 of Article 3.51-6, Insurance Code, and any other law applicable to
7-15 group health insurance policies or contracts issued in this state.
7-16 The coverage must include major medical treatment but may exclude
7-17 experimental procedures. In this subsection, "major medical
7-18 treatment" means a medical, surgical, or diagnostic procedure or
7-19 intervention that has a significant recovery period, presents a
7-20 significant risk, employs a general anesthetic, or, in the opinion
7-21 of the primary physician, involves a significant invasion of bodily
7-22 integrity that requires the extraction of bodily fluids or an
7-23 incision or that produces substantial pain, discomfort, or
7-24 debilitation. The coverage may include managed care or preventive
7-25 care and must be comparable to the basic health coverage provided
7-26 under the Texas Employees Uniform Group Insurance Benefits Act
7-27 (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance Code). The cost of the
8-1 coverage may be shared by the employees and the district. [Each
8-2 district shall certify the district's compliance with this
8-3 subsection to the executive director of the Teacher Retirement
8-4 System of Texas in the manner required by the board of trustees of
8-5 the Teacher Retirement System of Texas. The certification must
8-6 include a copy of the district's current contract for group health
8-7 coverage.]
8-8 SECTION 9. Sections 823.403(d) and (e), Government Code, are
8-9 repealed.
8-10 SECTION 10. Section 7A, Article 3.50-4, Insurance Code, is
8-11 repealed.
8-12 SECTION 11. Section 4, Chapter 882, Acts of the 72nd
8-13 Legislature, Regular Session, 1991, is repealed.
8-14 SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
8-15 SECTION 13. Section 823.403, Government Code, as amended by
8-16 this Act, applies only to credit for accumulated personal or sick
8-17 leave of a member of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas who
8-18 retires on or after September 1, 1997.
8-19 SECTION 14. The importance of this legislation and the
8-20 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-21 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-22 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-23 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.