By Barrientos                                         S.B. No. 1762
         76R7586 GJH-D                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to service credit in the Employees Retirement System of
 1-3     Texas for accumulated sick leave.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1.  Section 813.509, Government Code, is amended by
 1-6     amending Subsections (a), (c), and (e) and by adding Subsection (h)
 1-7     to read as follows:
 1-8           (a)  A member who holds a position included in the employee
 1-9     class of membership during the month that includes the effective
1-10     date of the member's termination of employment [retirement and who
1-11     retires based on service or a disability] is entitled to service
1-12     credit in the retirement system for the member's sick leave that
1-13     has accumulated and is unused on the last day of employment.  Sick
1-14     leave is creditable in the retirement system at the rate of one
1-15     month of service credit for each 20 days, or 160 hours, of
1-16     accumulated sick leave and one month for each fraction of days or
1-17     hours remaining after division of the total hours of accumulated
1-18     sick leave by 160.
1-19           (c)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), the disbursing
1-20     officer of each department or agency shall, before the 11th day
1-21     after the effective date of employment termination [retirement] of
1-22     one or more employees of the department or agency, certify to the
1-23     retirement system:
1-24                 (1)  the name of each person whose termination of
 2-1     employment [retirement] from the department or agency, and from
 2-2     state service, became effective during the preceding month; and
 2-3                 (2)  the amount of the person's accumulated sick leave
 2-4     on the last day of employment.
 2-5           (e)  On receipt of a certification under Subsection (c) or
 2-6     (d), the retirement system shall grant any credit to which a
 2-7     [retiring] member whose employment has been terminated or retiree
 2-8     who is a subject of the certification is entitled.  An increase in
 2-9     the computation of an annuity because of credit provided by this
2-10     section after a certification under Subsection (c) begins with the
2-11     first payment that becomes due after certification.
2-12           (h)  If a member returns to employment with the state before
2-13     the first anniversary of the date of the member's termination of
2-14     employment, the member is not entitled to service credit previously
2-15     credited.
2-16           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1999, and
2-17     applies only to a termination of employment that occurs on or after
2-18     that date.
2-19           SECTION 3.  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.