Floor Packet Page No. 43
Amend CSSB 4 as follows:
(1) In SECTION 1.18 of the bill, strike the introductory
language (house committee report, page 15, lines 7-9) and
substitute "Subsection (e), Section 42.253, Education Code, is
amended to read as follows:".
(2) In SECTION 1.18 of the bill, strike added Section
42.253(e-1), Education Code (house committee report, page 16, lines
2-17).
(3) In SECTION 1.19 of the bill, in amended Section
42.302(a), Education Code (house committee report, page 17, line
4), strike "$24.75" and substitute "$24".
(4) In SECTION 1.32 of the bill, strike the introductory
language (house committee report, page 32, lines 1-3) and
substitute "Subsection (i), Section 26.08, Tax Code, is amended to
read as follows:".
(5) In SECTION 1.32 of the bill, strike added Sections
26.08(j)-(n) (house committee report, page 32, line 19, through
page 34, line 18).
(6) Add the following new appropriately numbered article to
the bill and renumber existing articles accordingly:
ARTICLE __. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS
SECTION ____. Subchapter E, Chapter 3, Insurance Code, is
amended by adding Article 3.50-7 to read as follows:
Art. 3.50-7. TEXAS SCHOOL EMPLOYEES UNIFORM GROUP HEALTH
INSURANCE BENEFITS ACT
Sec. 1. SHORT TITLE. This article may be cited as the Texas
School Employees Uniform Group Health Insurance Benefits Act.
Sec. 2. DEFINITIONS. In this article:
(1) "Administering firm" means any firm designated by
the trustee to administer any coverages, services, benefits, or
requirements under this article and the trustee's rules adopted
under this article.
(2) "Basic coverage" means the program of group
coverages determined by the trustee in which every full-time
employee and every retiree participates automatically unless
participation is specifically waived.
(3) "Cafeteria plan" means a plan as defined and
authorized by Section 125, Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
(4) "Employee" means a participating member of the
Teacher Retirement System of Texas who is employed by a
participating school district and who is not covered by a group
insurance program under the Texas Employees Uniform Group Insurance
Benefits Act (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance Code) or the
Texas State College and University Employees Uniform Insurance
Benefits Act (Article 3.50-3, Vernon's Texas Insurance Code). The
term does not include a person performing personal services for a
school district as an independent contractor.
(5) "Health benefits plan" means any group policy or
contract, medical, dental, or hospital service agreement,
membership or subscription contract, salary continuation plan,
health maintenance organization agreement, preferred provider
arrangement, or any similar group arrangement or any combination of
those policies, plans, contracts, agreements, or arrangements
provided for the purpose of providing, paying for, or reimbursing
expenses for health care services, including comparable health care
services for employees and retirees who rely solely on spiritual
means through prayer for healing in accordance with the teaching of
a recognized church or denomination.
(6) "Participating school district" means a public
school district that is not exempt under Section 4 of this article
from participation in the program provided under this article.
(7) "Retiree" means a person who:
(A) has retired under the Teacher Retirement
System of Texas with at least 10 years of credit for service in
public schools of this state or has retired under the Teacher
Retirement System of Texas for disability and is entitled to
receive an annuity from the system based on the person's service;
and
(B) is not eligible to participate in the group
insurance program provided under the Texas Employees Uniform Group
Insurance Benefits Act (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance
Code) or the Texas State College and University Employees Uniform
Insurance Benefits Act (Article 3.50-3, Vernon's Texas Insurance
Code).
(8) "Trustee" means the Employees Retirement System of
Texas.
Sec. 3. ADMINISTRATION. (a) The Employees Retirement
System of Texas, as trustee, shall implement and administer the
statewide uniform group insurance program described by this
article.
(b) The trustee may hire and compensate employees.
(c) The trustee may, on a competitive bid basis, contract
with a qualified, experienced firm of group insurance specialists
or an administering firm who will act for the trustee in the
capacity of independent administrators and managers of the programs
authorized under this article. The independent administrator
selected by the trustee shall assist the trustee to ensure the
proper administration of this article and the coverages, services,
and benefits provided for or authorized by this article and shall
be paid by the trustee.
(d) The trustee may enter into interagency contracts with
any agency of the state, including the Teacher Retirement System of
Texas, for the purpose of assistance in implementing the program
provided by this article.
(e) The trustee has the powers with regard to the program
described by this article that the trustee has in administering the
Texas Employees Uniform Group Insurance Benefits Act (Article
3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance Code), including the power to
adjudicate claims, expel participants from the program for cause,
and adopt rules to administer this article.
Sec. 4. PARTICIPATION IN PROGRAM. (a) Beginning September
1, 2004, a public school district is required to participate in the
program provided by this article unless the executive director of
the trustee determines under Section 22.004(h), Education Code,
that the district's coverage is comparable to the coverage provided
under this article.
(b) Each full-time employee or retiree of a participating
school district is automatically covered by the basic plan for
employees or retirees, as applicable, unless the employee or
retiree specifically waives coverage or unless the employee or
retiree is expelled from the program.
(c) Each part-time employee of a participating school
district is eligible to participate in the program provided by this
article on application in the manner provided by the trustee,
unless the employee has been expelled from the program. A
participating school district shall notify each of its part-time
employees of their eligibility for participation in the program.
Sec. 5. GROUP COVERAGES. (a) The trustee shall establish
plans of group coverages for employees and retirees of
participating school districts and their dependents. The coverages
shall be comparable in scope and, to the greatest extent possible,
in cost to the coverages provided under the Texas Employees Uniform
Group Insurance Benefits Act (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas
Insurance Code) and may include group life coverages, health
benefit plans, accidental death and dismemberment coverages,
coverages against short-term or long-term loss of salary, and other
coverages considered advisable by the trustee. Comparable plans of
each type of coverage established must be offered to employees and
retirees of all participating school districts.
(b) The trustee by rule may define the basic coverage in
which each full-time employee or retiree participates unless
specifically waived. Basic coverage must include a health benefits
plan. The trustee also by rule may define optional coverage, which
must include coverage for dependents, and voluntary coverage.
(c) The trustee may provide a cafeteria plan for employees
of participating school districts.
(d) The trustee may determine that plans of coverages be
provided directly from the fund rather than through the purchase of
insurance. Any self-funded plan of coverages is exempt from any
other insurance law unless the law specifically applies to the plan
or this article.
Sec. 6. PAYMENT OF CONTRIBUTIONS. (a) Contributions shall
be made for basic coverage for each employee participating in the
program according to the following schedule:
(1) for the fiscal year beginning September 1, 2000,
the state shall pay 60 percent and the employing school district
shall pay 40 percent of the cost of the coverage;
(2) for the fiscal year beginning September 1, 2001,
the state shall pay 65 percent and the employing school district
shall pay 35 percent of the cost of the coverage;
(3) for the fiscal year beginning September 1, 2002,
the state shall pay 75 percent and the employing school district
shall pay 25 percent of the cost of the coverage;
(4) for the fiscal year beginning September 1, 2003,
the state shall pay 85 percent and the employing school district
shall pay 15 percent of the cost of the coverage; and
(5) for each fiscal year beginning on or after
September 1, 2004, the state shall pay 100 percent of the cost of
the coverage.
(b) The state shall pay 100 percent of the cost of basic
coverage for each retiree participating in the program.
(c) The state shall pay 50 percent of the cost of optional
dependent coverage for each employee and retiree participating in
the program. Each employee and retiree participating in the
program shall pay 50 percent of the premium for optional dependent
coverage and 100 percent of the premium for any voluntary coverage
selected.
Sec. 7. FUND. (a) Contributions collected under Section 6
of this article and any amounts appropriated by the legislature for
contingency reserves or administrative expenses shall be deposited
in the Texas school employees uniform group insurance trust fund.
The fund is created with the comptroller. The trustee may use
amounts in the fund only to provide group coverages under this
article and to pay the expenses of administering the program.
(b) The trustee may invest assets of the fund in the manner
provided by Section 67(a)(3), Article XVI, Texas Constitution.
SECTION ____. Article 3.50-4, Insurance Code, is amended by
adding Section 3A to read as follows:
Sec. 3A. TERMINATION OF PROGRAM AND TRANSFER OF PROPERTY.
The trustee shall transfer to the Employees Retirement System of
Texas all assets and liabilities of the program, all coverages
provided under the program, and all records pertaining to the
program on September 1, 2000. On the transfer of property
described by this section, the program provided by this article is
terminated.
SECTION ____. Section 22.004, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
(h) Notwithstanding Subsections (a), (b), and (d), group
health coverage provided by a district must be comparable to the
basic coverage provided under Article 3.50-7, Insurance Code, if
that program of coverages has been implemented, rather than to the
basic coverage provided under the Texas Employees Uniform Group
Insurance Benefits Act (Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance
Code). If the program of coverages has been implemented under
Article 3.50-7, Insurance Code, the board of trustees and the
executive director of the Employees Retirement System of Texas have
the powers and duties granted by this section to the board of
trustees and the executive director, as applicable, of the Teacher
Retirement System of Texas, except that the executive director may
not certify a district's coverage as comparable unless the
executive director determines that the district's coverage results
in a lower average cost to participants than the basic coverage
provided under Article 3.50-7, Insurance Code. If the executive
director determines that a district's coverage is not comparable,
the district is required to begin participating in the program
provided under Article 3.50-7, Insurance Code, on the latest of
September 1, 2004, the date the next state fiscal year begins, or
the date the district's contract for group health insurance
coverage expires.
SECTION ____. The Employees Retirement System of Texas shall
begin enrollment in the program provided under Article 3.50-7,
Insurance Code, as added by this article, to be effective beginning
September 1, 2000.