BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 934
80R6752 DLF-F By: Jackson, Mike
AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Due to the small size and limited ranks structure of the Texas Ranger division, promotion opportunities are limited for the Rangers in comparison with other, larger divisions of law enforcement. Once a member of the Texas Department of Public Safety (DPS) is appointed as a Ranger, that individual is not eligible for promotional opportunities within DPS, even if qualified. This limits the options for the individual to improve the individual's retirement benefits.
As proposed, S.B. 934 authorizes a Texas Ranger, or the Director of DPS as overall commander of the Texas Rangers, who has served for a certain period of time, to have that individual's retirement calculated on the salary of a like position within DPS, rather than using the average of the individual's 36 highest months of compensation, in the retirement formula.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 814.107, Government Code, by amending Subsections (b) and (f) and by adding Subsections (b-1), (b-2), and (b-3), as follows:
(b) Provides that the standard service retirement annuity (annuity) payable
for at least 20 years of service credit as a law enforcement or custodial
officer (officer) is computed by either the member's average monthly compensation
for the 36 months of highest compensation in the employee class, or the
applicable amount specified by Subsections (b-1) through (b-3), multiplied by
the sum of a certain percentage factor specified under Section 814.105 (Waiver
of Benefits), Government Code, plus .5 percent.
(b-1) Authorizes an officer to elect to have the person's annuity computed under Subsection (b) based on the monthly compensation the position or employee classification that was held by the person at the time of retirement or by the classification that is most similar to the person's classification at the time of retirement.
(b-2) Provides that a person is eligible for an annuity computed as provided by Subsection (b-1) if the person meets certain criteria relating to the person's service.
(b-3) Provides that if compensation for a given classification is stated as a range, the amount of monthly compensation used to compute the annuity under Subsection (b-1) is the average monthly compensation paid to all persons holding that position or employee classification.
(f) Makes a conforming change.
SECTION 2. Effective date: upon passage or September 1, 2007.