By: Hochberg H.B. No. 2445
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to contributions by a school district and certain charter
schools to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 825.405, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), (e), and (f) and adding Subsection
(a-1) to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "employer" means a school district or
an open-enrollment charter school that has been granted a charter
under Subchapter D, Chapter 12, Education Code.
(a-1) During each school year, an employer [For members
entitled to the minimum salary for certain school personnel under
Section 21.402, Education Code, and for members who would have been
entitled to the minimum salary for certain school personnel under
former Section 16.056, Education Code, as that section existed on
January 1, 1995, the employing district] shall contribute to the
retirement system an amount equal to 0.57 percent of the aggregate
annual compensation of all members of the retirement system who are
employed by the employer during that school year [pay the state's
contribution on the portion of the member's salary that exceeds the
statutory minimum or former statutory minimum, as applicable].
(c) Monthly, employers shall:
(1) report to the retirement system in a form
prescribed by the system a certification of the total amount of
salary paid to members who are employed by the employer [above the
statutory minimum salary] and the total amount of employer
contributions due under this section for the payroll period; and
(2) retain information, as determined by the
retirement system, sufficient to allow administration of this
section, including salary information for each member [employee
showing the applicable minimum salary] as well as aggregate annual
compensation.
(e) After the end of each school year, the retirement system
shall certify to the commissioner of education:
(1) the names of any employers [employing districts]
that have failed to remit, within the period required by Section
825.408, all contributions required under this section for the
school year; and
(2) the amounts of the unpaid contributions.
(f) If the commissioner of education receives a
certification under Subsection (e), the commissioner shall direct
the comptroller of public accounts to withhold the amount
certified, plus interest computed at the rate and in the manner
provided by Section 825.408, from the first state money payable to
the employer [school district]. The amount withheld shall be
deposited to the credit of the appropriate accounts of the
retirement system.
SECTION 2. Section 12.106, Education Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) Notwithstanding subsections (a) and (b), the agency
shall withhold and remit to the Teacher Retirement System of Texas a
portion of any payment that the agency makes to a charter holder as
follows:
(1) Remittances made by the agency to the retirement
system under this subsection shall be applied by the retirement
system toward the obligations of the charter holder to remit to the
retirement system contributions required from active members of the
retirement system for the pension trust under Government Code
Section 825.403 and for the fund established under the Texas Public
School Retired Employees Group Insurance Act under Insurance Code
article 3.50-4 Section 16 and the portion of the state's
contributions required to be paid by the charter holder.
(2) The agency shall calculate the amount to be
remitted to the retirement system by estimating the number of
employees of the respective charter holder and the salary of each
employee, and by multiplying each salary by the percentages
specified in the law as the current active member contribution
rates and as the current rate or portion of the state's contribution
to be paid by the charter holder. The charter holder shall provide
any information requested by the agency for the purpose of
calculating the estimated payment.
(3) The retirement system may provide relevant
information to the agency. In making its estimate, the agency shall
consider any information provided by the retirement system and
shall adjust future calculations, as necessary, with regard to a
charter holder.
(4) The retirement system and the charter holder may
agree on a specified amount or methodology for calculating the
payment to be remitted by the agency. Provided the agency receives
a timely notice signed by both the retirement system and the charter
holder, the agency may rely on such notice and make the payment to
the retirement system in accordance with such notice. The
retirement system may unilaterally cancel the payment notice by
giving the agency written notice. The agency shall remit funds in
accordance with the notice until the retirement system cancels the
payment notice. If the payment notice is cancelled, the agency
shall resume calculating the payment as provided in subparagraph
(2).
(5) Upon written notice from the retirement system
agreeing to forego any payment from the agency with regard to a
specific charter holder, the agency may rely on such notice to
suspend payments to the retirement system with regard to that
specific charter holder. The retirement system may unilaterally
terminate any suspension notice by giving the agency written
notice, in which event, the agency shall again commence making
remittances to the retirement system calculated in accordance with
subparagraph (2).
(6) The retirement system by rule shall establish
procedures for making refunds to charter holders if the retirement
system determines that amounts received from the agency exceed
amounts owed by the charter holder.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 825.405, Government Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 825.405. CONTRIBUTIONS BY SCHOOL DISTRICTS AND CERTAIN
CHARTER SCHOOLS [BASED ON COMPENSATION ABOVE STATUTORY MINIMUM].
SECTION 4. Section 825.405(b), Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 5. This Act applies beginning with the 2003-2004
school year.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.