By Armbrister S.B. No. 273
77R929 GJH-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to systems and programs administered by the Teacher
1-3 Retirement System of Texas.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 803.402, Government Code, is amended to
1-6 read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 803.402. RECORDS. Records [Except as provided by
1-8 Section 825.507, records] of members and beneficiaries of a
1-9 retirement system to which this chapter applies that are in the
1-10 custody of any retirement system to which this chapter applies are
1-11 confidential and not subject to disclosure and are exempt from the
1-12 public access provisions of Chapter 552. The records or
1-13 information in the records may be transferred between retirement
1-14 systems to which this chapter applies to the extent necessary to
1-15 administer the proportionate retirement program provided by this
1-16 chapter.
1-17 SECTION 2. Sections 824.203(a) and (e), Government Code, are
1-18 amended to read as follows:
1-19 (a) Except as provided by Subsections (c), (d), and (e), the
1-20 standard service retirement annuity is an amount computed on the
1-21 basis of the member's average annual compensation for the three
1-22 years of service, whether or not consecutive, in which the member
1-23 received the highest annual compensation, times 2.3 [2.2] percent
1-24 for each year of service credit in the retirement system.
2-1 (e) The annual standard service retirement annuity for a
2-2 person who immediately before retirement holds a position as a
2-3 classroom teacher or full-time librarian, or the annual death
2-4 benefit annuity based on the service of a member who at the time of
2-5 death held a position as a classroom teacher or full-time
2-6 librarian, may not be less than an amount computed on the basis of
2-7 the minimum annual salary provided by the Education Code for a
2-8 classroom teacher or full-time librarian, multiplied by 2.3 [2.2]
2-9 percent for each year of service credit in the retirement system.
2-10 SECTION 3. Section 825.408(a), Government Code, is amended
2-11 to read as follows:
2-12 (a) An employing district that fails to remit, before the
2-13 fourth [11th] day after the last day of a month, all member and
2-14 employer deposits and documentation of the deposits required by
2-15 this subchapter to be remitted by the district for the month shall
2-16 pay to the retirement system, in addition to the deposits, interest
2-17 on the unpaid or undocumented amounts at an annual rate compounded
2-18 monthly. The rate of interest is the rate established under
2-19 Section 825.313(b)(1), plus two percent. Interest required under
2-20 this section is creditable to the interest account.
2-21 SECTION 4. The heading of Section 825.507, Government Code,
2-22 is amended to read as follows:
2-23 Sec. 825.507. RECORD CONFIDENTIALITY [OF INFORMATION ABOUT
2-24 MEMBERS, RETIREES, ANNUITANTS, BENEFICIARIES, OR ALTERNATE PAYEES].
2-25 SECTION 5. Sections 825.507(a)-(d), Government Code, are
2-26 amended to read as follows:
2-27 (a) Records of a member, retiree, annuitant, beneficiary, or
3-1 alternate payee [Information contained in records] that are in the
3-2 custody of the retirement system or of an administrator, carrier,
3-3 or other governmental agency acting in cooperation with or on
3-4 behalf of the retirement system are [concerning an individual
3-5 member, retiree, annuitant, beneficiary, or alternate payee is]
3-6 confidential and not subject to public disclosure and are exempt
3-7 from the public access provisions of Chapter 552, except as
3-8 otherwise provided by this section.
3-9 (b) The retirement system may release records to [under
3-10 Section 552.101, and may not be disclosed in a form identifiable
3-11 with a specific individual unless]:
3-12 (1) a member, retiree, annuitant, beneficiary, or
3-13 alternate payee or to an authorized attorney, family member, or
3-14 representative acting on behalf of the member or annuitant [the
3-15 information is disclosed to:]
3-16 [(A) the individual or the individual's
3-17 attorney, guardian, executor, administrator, conservator, or other
3-18 person who the executive director determines is acting in the
3-19 interest of the individual or the individual's estate];
3-20 (2) [(B)] a spouse or former spouse of the individual
3-21 if the executive director determines that the information is
3-22 relevant to the spouse's or former spouse's interest in member
3-23 accounts, benefits, or other amounts payable by the retirement
3-24 system;
3-25 (3) an administrator, carrier, or agent or attorney
3-26 acting on behalf of the retirement system;
3-27 (4) another governmental agency having a legitimate
4-1 need for the information to perform the purposes of the retirement
4-2 system [(C) a governmental official or employee if the executive
4-3 director determines that disclosure of the information requested is
4-4 reasonably necessary to the performance of the duties of the
4-5 official or employee; or]
4-6 [(D) a person authorized by the individual in
4-7 writing to receive the information]; or
4-8 (5) a party in response [(2) the information is
4-9 disclosed pursuant] to a subpoena issued under applicable law [and
4-10 the executive director determines that the individual will have a
4-11 reasonable opportunity to contest the subpoena].
4-12 (c) The records of a member, retiree, annuitant,
4-13 beneficiary, or alternate payee remain confidential after release
4-14 to a person as authorized by this section.
4-15 (d) [(b)] This section does not prevent the disclosure of:
4-16 (1) the status or identity of an individual as a
4-17 member, former member, retiree, deceased member or retiree,
4-18 beneficiary, or alternate payee of the retirement system; or
4-19 (2) information that does not identify a specific
4-20 individual.
4-21 [(c) The executive director may designate other employees of
4-22 the retirement system to make the necessary determinations under
4-23 Subsection (a).]
4-24 [(d) A determination and disclosure under Subsection (a) may
4-25 be made without notice to the individual member, retiree,
4-26 annuitant, beneficiary, or alternate payee.]
4-27 SECTION 6. Notwithstanding Section 824.601, Government Code,
5-1 the retirement system may not withhold a monthly benefit payment
5-2 from a retiree who:
5-3 (1) before January 1, 2001, retired under Section
5-4 824.202(a), Government Code, without a reduction for retirement at
5-5 an early age;
5-6 (2) is employed as a classroom teacher in a Texas
5-7 public educational institution that is in an acute shortage area as
5-8 defined by the commissioner of education; and
5-9 (3) is certified under Subchapter B, Chapter 21,
5-10 Education Code, to teach the subjects that the retiree is assigned
5-11 to teach.
5-12 SECTION 7. Chapter 22, Acts of the 57th Legislature, 3rd
5-13 Called Session, 1962 (Article 6228a-5, Vernon's Texas Civil
5-14 Statutes), is amended by adding Section 4 to read as follows:
5-15 Sec. 4. (a) In this section, "educational institution" means
5-16 a political subdivision organized to provide general elementary or
5-17 secondary public education, including an open-enrollment charter
5-18 school that has been granted a charter under Subchapter D, Chapter
5-19 12, Education Code, and an institution of higher education as
5-20 defined by Section 61.003, Education Code.
5-21 (b) In addition to the annuities or investments offered
5-22 under Section 1 of this Act, each educational institution shall
5-23 offer the investments that are approved by the board of trustees of
5-24 the Teacher Retirement System of Texas under Subsection (c) of this
5-25 section.
5-26 (c) The board of trustees of the Teacher Retirement System
5-27 of Texas shall create a list of retirement investments in order to
6-1 offer employees a reasonable selection of quality investment
6-2 products.
6-3 (d) To the greatest degree possible, employers of employees
6-4 who participate in the program offered under this section shall
6-5 require that contributions to investments be made by automatic
6-6 payroll deduction and deposited directly in the investment
6-7 accounts.
6-8 (e) The board of trustees of the Teacher Retirement System
6-9 of Texas may adopt rules to administer this section.
6-10 SECTION 8. Section 16(h), Article 3.50-4, Insurance Code, is
6-11 amended to read as follows:
6-12 (h) An employing district that fails to remit, before the
6-13 fourth [11th] day after the last day of the month, all member
6-14 deposits required by this section to be remitted by the district
6-15 for the month shall pay to the Texas public school retired
6-16 employees group insurance fund, in addition to the deposits,
6-17 interest on the unpaid amounts at the annual rate of six percent
6-18 compounded monthly.
6-19 SECTION 9. Article 3.50-4a, Insurance Code, as added by
6-20 Chapter 372, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999,
6-21 is amended by adding Subsection (f) to read as follows:
6-22 (f) A premium or contribution on a policy, insurance
6-23 contract, or agreement authorized as provided by this article is
6-24 not subject to any state tax, regulatory fee, or surcharge,
6-25 including a premium or maintenance tax or fee.
6-26 SECTION 10. Article 3.50-4a, Insurance Code, as added by
6-27 Chapter 1540, Acts of the 76th Legislature, Regular Session, 1999,
7-1 is amended by adding Section 6 to read as follows:
7-2 Sec. 6. EXEMPTION FROM STATE TAXES AND FEES. A premium or
7-3 contribution on a policy, insurance contract, or agreement
7-4 authorized as provided by this article is not subject to any state
7-5 tax, regulatory fee, or surcharge, including a premium or
7-6 maintenance tax or fee.
7-7 SECTION 11. (a) Monthly payments of a death or retirement
7-8 benefit annuity by the Teacher Retirement System of Texas are
7-9 increased in accordance with this section beginning with the
7-10 payment due at the end of September 2001.
7-11 (b) The increase does not apply to payments under Section
7-12 824.304(a), 824.404, or 824.501, Government Code.
7-13 (c) For the purpose of computing the monthly payments of
7-14 annuities for retirees who retired on or before August 31, 2000,
7-15 the amount of the monthly payment is equal to the amount of the
7-16 last monthly payment made before the effective date of this Act
7-17 multiplied by 1.06.
7-18 (d) After making the computations required by Subsection (c)
7-19 of this section, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas shall
7-20 increase the monthly payment of each annuity made by the system
7-21 beginning on September 1, 2001, other than an annuity under Section
7-22 824.304(a), 824.404, or 824.501, Government Code, by 4.5 percent,
7-23 which is a benefit equivalent to the benefit provided by using a
7-24 2.3-percent multiplier for computing annuities.
7-25 SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.