HBA-SEB C.S.H.B. 3660 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 3660
By: Maxey
Pensions and Investments
5/4/1999
Committee Report (Substituted)


BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law entitles career or technology education teachers to salary step
credit for up to two years of work experience as if it were teaching
experience in public schools if such experience is required for
certification in a career technology field.  Those teachers, however, may
not purchase credit in the Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) for the
years for which they are given salary step credit.  C.S.H.B. 3660
authorizes a certified career or technology education teacher to establish
credit in TRS for up to two years of related work experience.   

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter E, Chapter 823, Government Code, by adding
Section 823.404, as follows: 

Sec. 823.404.  WORK EXPERIENCE BY CAREER OR TECHNOLOGY TEACHER.  (a)
Authorizes an eligible member of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
(TRS) to establish equivalent membership service credit for employment for
which  the member is entitled to salary step credit under Section
21.403(b), Education Code, which entitles a certified career or technology
teacher to a salary step for each year of work experience in a related
field for up to two years.   

(b)   Provides that a member is eligible to establish equivalent membership
service credit if the member has at least five years of membership service
credit. 
 
(c)  Authorizes a member to establish equivalent membership service credit
by depositing a specific amount with TRS for each year of service.
Provides that the amount is the actuarial present value of the additional
standard retirement annuity benefits that would be attributable to the
conversion of the work experience into service credit based on rates and
tables recommended by the actuary and adopted by the board of trustees of
TRS. 

(d)  Requires TRS, after a member makes the deposit, to grant the member
one year of equivalent membership service credit for each year of service
approved.  

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 823.004(a), Government Code, to require credit
for work experience in a career or technology field to be computed on a
September 1 through August 31 school year. 

SECTION 3.  Amends Section 825.307(a), Government Code, to make conforming
and nonsubstantive changes. 

SECTION 4.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 5.  Emergency clause.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 1 to modify proposed
Section 823.404, Government Code, as follows: 

The substitute adds a new Subsection (b), which provides that a member is
eligible to establish equivalent membership service credit if the member
has at least five years of membership service credit.  The substitute then
redesignates proposed Subsections (b) and (c) to (c) and (d) in the
substitute.   

Subsection (c), as redesignated, sets forth a different amount that a
member may deposit with TRS in order to establish equivalent membership
service credit.  The original established the amount as equal to the sum of
the rate of member contributions required during the year of work
experience claimed, multiplied by the member's annual rate of compensation
during the member's first year of creditable service following the year of
work experience claimed, plus the amount the state would have contributed
had the member performed membership service during the year of work
experience claimed at the member's annual rate of compensation during the
member's first year of creditable service following the year of work
experience claimed, plus a fee of eight percent of the sum of the
aforementioned amounts from the first date of eligibility to the date of
deposit of the amounts.  The substitute provides that the amount is the
actuarial present value of the additional standard retirement annuity
benefits that would be attributable to the conversion of the work
experience into service credit based on rates and tables recommended by the
actuary and adopted by the board of trustees of TRS. 

The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 3 to make a conforming
change.