1-1     By:  Culberson (Senate Sponsor - Lindsay)             H.B. No. 2344
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 1999;
 1-3     May 12, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Education; May 14, 1999, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-5     Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 14, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to the transfer of funds to optional retirement programs
 1-9     for certain employees of public schools.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.  Chapter 22, Acts of the 57th Legislature, 3rd
1-12     Called Session, 1962 (Article 6228a-5, Vernon's Texas Civil
1-13     Statutes), is amended by adding Section 4 to read as follows:
1-14           Sec. 4.  (a)  Local boards of education of the public schools
1-15     of this  state shall send an employee's funds covered under Section
1-16     1 of this Act to the  employee's designee not later than the fifth
1-17     day after the date the funds become legally available.
1-18           (b)  Local boards of education of the public schools of this
1-19     state shall:
1-20                 (1)  send funds  under Section 1 of this Act to an
1-21     employee's designee by electronic transfer; or
1-22                 (2)  certify to the comptroller that the employee's
1-23     designee is unable to receive funds by electronic transfer and send
1-24     contributions by paper check.
1-25           (c)  At least once each fiscal year, local boards of
1-26     education of the public schools of this state shall give notice to
1-27     each participating employee indicating whether the employee's
1-28     designee is able to receive funds by electronic transfer.
1-29           SECTION 2.  Subchapter B, Chapter 609, Government Code, is
1-30     amended by adding Section 609.1085 to  read as follows:
1-31           Sec. 609.1085.  INVESTMENT OF DEFERRED AMOUNTS AND INCOME BY
1-32     INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICTS.  (a)  The plan administrator of an
1-33     independent school district shall send an employee's deferred
1-34     amount or investment income for investment in the employee's
1-35     qualified investment product not later than the fifth day after the
1-36     date the deferred amount or investment income becomes legally
1-37     available.
1-38           (b)  The plan administrator of an independent school district
1-39     shall:
1-40                 (1)  send a deferred amount or investment income for
1-41     investment in an employee's qualified investment product by
1-42     electronic transfer; or
1-43                 (2)  certify to the comptroller that the employee's
1-44     qualified investment product is unable to receive the deferred
1-45     amount or investment income by electronic transfer and send the
1-46     deferred amount or investment income by paper check.
1-47           (c)  At least once each fiscal year, the plan administrator
1-48     of an independent school district shall give notice to each
1-49     participating employee indicating whether the employee's qualified
1-50     investment product is able to receive the employee's deferred
1-51     amounts or investment income by electronic transfer.
1-52           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-53           SECTION 4.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-54     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-55     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-56     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-57     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-58                                  * * * * *