LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                              March 26, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Teel Bivins, Chair, Senate Committee on
               Education
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  SB978  by Lucio (Relating to the salary and retirement
               benefits of certain retirees of the Teacher Retirement
               System of Texas who are employed as classroom
               teachers.), As Introduced
  
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*  No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.        *
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Local Government Impact
  
The bill amends Section 824.602(a) Government Code to remove the
requirement that a retiree be separated from service in the public
schools for at least 12 months before being re-employed as a teacher on
as much as a full-time basis without the loss of monthly retirement
benefits.

Under the bill, retirees hired by public schools would not be subject to
statutory minimum salary requirements.  However, school districts would
have to pay retirees an amount that when added to the retiree's monthly
retirement benefit produces a total at least equal to the monthly minimum
that would be required under statutory minimum salary requirements.

No significant local costs are anticipated.  Although the retirees would
not have to be paid in accordance with statutory minimum salary
requirements, districts would have to provide supplemental payment
amounts based on individual retirement benefits.  While this practice in
theory could result in some payroll savings to districts, it is not
clear that retirees would have an incentive to return to the classroom
since monthly retirement benefits would constitute a portion of the
minimum compensation amount.
  
  
Source Agencies:   701   Texas Education Agency, 323   Teacher
                   Retirement System
LBB Staff:         JK, CT, PF, RN