HBA-MPM C.S.H.B. 2122 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2122 By: Tillery Pensions & Investments 4/24/2001 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE In 1997, the 75th Legislature redesignated the Texas Statewide Volunteer Fire Fighters Retirement Fund as the Texas Statewide Emergency Services Personnel Retirement Fund to extend benefits from a statewide retirement system to volunteer firefighters and other emergency services personnel. C.S.H.B. 2122 makes technical and administrative changes to the Texas Statewide Emergency Services Retirement Act to facilitate the efficient operation of the fund. 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. ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 2122 amends the Texas Statewide Emergency Services Retirement Act to specify that six members rather than all nine members of the state board of trustees must be active members of the fund, and that five members of the local board of trustees representing emergency services personnel are active. The bill requires the board to determine the appeal of a decision of a local board of trustees based on the hearing record of the state office of administrative hearings. EFFECTIVE DATE September 1, 2001. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE C.S.H.B. 2122 differs from the original bill to remove the provision that increased the amount of a monthly retirement annuity from six to seven times the governing body's average monthly contribution over the member's term of qualified service. The substitute also removes provisions in the original that increased the percentage of a member's monthly pension compounded annually to which a member is entitled for each year of additional qualified service in excess of 15 years from seven to 7.5 percent. The substitute adds provisions regarding active members and the appeal process.