79R9481 T

By:  Madden                                                       H.B. No. 3200



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to single employer benefit plans.                                    
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 810.001, Chapter 810, Government Code, 
is amended to read as follows:
	Sec. 810.001.  ESTABLISHMENT OF PUBLIC RETIREMENT 
SYSTEM.  (a)  In this section:
		(1)  "Political entity" means a municipality or any 
agency thereof, a junior college district, river authority, water 
district, appraisal district, or other special purpose district or 
authority that is created pursuant to state law and that is not an 
agency of the state.
		(2)  "Public retirement system" means a continuing, 
organized program or plan (including a plan qualified under Section 
401(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) of service retirement, 
disability retirement, or death benefits for officers or employees 
of a political entity, other than:
			(A)  a program providing only workers' 
compensation benefits;              
			(B)  a program administered by the federal 
government;                     
			(C)  an individual retirement account or 
individual retirement annuity within the meaning of Section 408 or 
a retirement bond within the meaning of Section 409 of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Sections 408, 409);
			(D)  an individual account plan consisting of an 
annuity contract described by Section 403(b) of the Internal 
Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section 403); or
			(E)  an eligible state deferred compensation plan 
described by Section 457(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 
U.S.C. Section 457).
	(b)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), the governing body 
of a political entity may establish and maintain a public 
retirement system for its appointive officers and employees and 
determine the benefits, funding source and amount, and 
administration of the system.  Each active member of a public 
retirement system established under the authority provided by this 
section shall contribute to the system an amount, if any, 
determined by the political entity.  The political entity shall 
contribute for each active member in a defined contribution plan or 
a defined benefit plan an amount determined by the political entity 
to be required to meet the system's benefit plan.
	(c)  The governing body of the political entity may arrange 
for administration of the system by a private provider of public 
retirement benefits, whether or not the provider is also a source of 
benefits provided for under the system.
	(d)  The authority granted by Subsections (b) and (c) does 
not apply to a political entity to the extent that the entity, by 
specific statute, is:
		(1)  required to establish or participate exclusively 
in a particular public retirement system; or
		(2)  prohibited from establishing or participating in 
any public retirement system or in a particular retirement system.
	(e)  The authority granted by Subsections (b) and (c) is in 
addition to any other statutory authority to provide a public 
retirement system or programs specifically excluded from the 
definition of a public retirement system.
	(f)  Every political entity which establishes or maintains a 
public retirement system covered under this Act shall file all 
reports with the State Pension Review Board required by Chapter 
802.  If a political subdivision establishes a retirement program 
that would be a "public retirement system" within the meaning 
ascribed to that term by Section 801.001, but for the fact that the 
program is administered by a life insurance company, the 
subdivision shall notify the State Pension Review Board of the 
establishment of the program and the name of the administering 
company.
	(g)  "Civil union" means any relationship status that grants 
to the parties of the relationship the same legal protections, 
benefits, and responsibilities as are granted to the spouses of a 
marriage.
	(h)  For purposes of this title, the state may not give 
effect to a:         
		(1)  public act, record, or judicial proceeding that 
recognizes or validates a marriage or civil union between persons 
of the same sex;  or
		(2)  right or claim asserted as a result of the 
purported marriage or civil union.
	(i)  Subsection (h) does not preclude the enforcement in this 
state of an order issued in another state relating to child custody, 
child support, or property division, including a qualified domestic 
relations order.
	(j)  A person is not receiving benefits under more than one 
public retirement system if, a single employer participates in a 
state wide public retirement system and also provides;
		(a)  benefits established by the employer subsequent to 
the employer's withdrawal from the social security program; or
		(b)  benefits provided under supplemental retirement 
programs including those funded by the employer, employee, or a 
combination thereof which are uniformly available to all qualified 
employees.

The additional benefits under (a) and (b) above shall not be 
credited to another public retirement system.
	SECTION 2.  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, 2005.