By:  Fraser                                           S.B. No. 1328

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

                                       AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the eligibility of certain higher education employees

 1-2     to participate in group programs under the Texas Employees Uniform

 1-3     Group Insurance Benefits Act.

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

 1-5           SECTION 1.  The Texas Employees Uniform Group Insurance

 1-6     Benefits Act (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance Code) is

 1-7     amended by adding Section 13C to read as follows:

 1-8           Sec. 13C.  CERTAIN EMPLOYEES INELIGIBLE.  (a)  An employee of

 1-9     a public community/junior college who is employed to perform

1-10     services outside of this state is not eligible to participate in

1-11     the group programs provided under this Act unless the college

1-12     elects, in accordance with procedures adopted by the trustee, to

1-13     permit such employees to participate in those programs.

1-14           (b)  For purposes of this section, an employee is employed to

1-15     perform services outside of this state if 75 percent or more of the

1-16     services performed by the employee are performed outside of this

1-17     state.

1-18           SECTION 2.  Subsection (c), Section 13, Texas Employees

1-19     Uniform Group Insurance Benefits Act (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's

1-20     Texas Insurance Code), is amended to read as follows:

1-21           (c)  Unless expelled from the program under Section 13A of

1-22     this Act or ineligible for the program under Section 13C of this

1-23     Act, each part-time employee and each employee of an institution of

 2-1     higher education who is described by Section 3(a)(5)(A)(x)

 2-2     [3(a)(5)(A)(viii)] of this Act is eligible for participation in the

 2-3     group programs provided under this Act upon execution of

 2-4     appropriate payroll deduction authorization for the required

 2-5     payment of premiums.  An institution of higher education shall, at

 2-6     the time of employment, notify each employee of the institution who

 2-7     is described by Section 3(a)(5)(A)(x) [3(a)(5)(A)(viii)] of this

 2-8     Act of the employee's eligibility to participate in the group

 2-9     programs provided under this Act.

2-10           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

2-11     applies only to an employee of a public community/junior college

2-12     who is newly hired by the college on or after September 1, 1997.

2-13     An employee described in Section 13C, Texas Employees Uniform Group

2-14     Insurance Benefits Act (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance

2-15     Code), as added by this Act, and who is an employee of the college

2-16     on August 31, 1997, is governed by the law as it existed

2-17     immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is

2-18     continued in effect for this purpose.

2-19           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the

2-20     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

2-21     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-22     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-23     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.