By: Wentworth S.B. No. 1628

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the pension retirement system in certain municipalities for firefighters and police.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 1.02, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Subdivisions (1-a), (4-b), (4-c), (11-a), (12-b), and (12-c) and amending Subdivisions (11) and (12-a) to read as follows:

(1-a) "Alternate payee" has the meaning assigned by Section 804.001, Government Code, or any successor statute.

(4-b) "Class" means the trainee class of a fire fighter or police officer training academy of a municipality to which this Act applies from which a member graduated, as determined by the board.

(4-c) "Class graduation date" means the date the graduates of any class graduated, as determined by the board.

(11) "Member" means a fire fighter or police officer who has become a member of the fund as provided by Section 4.01(a) or 4.011 of this Act and has not retired, died, or forfeited the person's interest in the fund.

(11-a) "Member buyback contribution amount" means the amount of the first contribution by a member to the fund for a full pay period, multiplied by 26, divided by 12, and multiplied by 3.

(12-a) "Probationary period" means the period beginning on the graduation date of a graduate of a class and ending on the date the graduate becomes a member.

(12-b) "Qualified funds" means pretax funds that are part of an eligible rollover distribution, as described in Section 402(f)(2) of the code, or funds that have been transferred to the fund in accordance with Section 403(b)(13) or Section 457(e)(17) of the code to purchase years or fractions of years of service.

(12-c) "Qualified mayoral designee" means an individual designated by the mayor of a municipality to which this Act applies who is a member or former member of the city council of, or an employee of, a municipality to which this Act applies.

SECTION 2. Subsection (c), Section 3.02, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:

(c) Any contributing member of the fund who is in good standing in the fire or police department may:

(1) appear in person or by attorney to contest the application for membership participation in the fund or for an annuity or benefit by any person claiming to be entitled to an annuity or benefit, either as a member, [or] beneficiary, or alternate payee; and

(2) offer supporting testimony.

SECTION 3. Subsections (c) and (d), Section 3.03, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), are amended to read as follows:

(c) Each member, retiree, [and] beneficiary, and alternate payee shall provide bank depository information to the board so that the board can disburse benefits by electronic transfer.

(d) Except as provided by Section 802.1024, Government Code, the board may reduce the amount of a benefit to which a retiree, [or] beneficiary, or alternate payee is otherwise entitled in order to reimburse the fund for an overpayment or incorrect payment of benefits to the retiree, [or] beneficiary, or alternate payee.

SECTION 4. Article 4, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by adding Section 4.011 to read as follows:

Sec. 4.011. MEMBERSHIP OF FIRE CHIEF AND POLICE CHIEF. (a) Subject to Subsection (d) of this section, not later than the 30th day after the date a fire chief or a police chief of a municipality to which this Act applies assumes office, the fire chief or police chief may make an irrevocable election to not become a member of the fund.

(b) An election under this section must be made by delivering written notice of the election to the secretary of the board.

(c) A fire chief or police chief who does not make an election under this section becomes a member of the fund.

(d) A fire chief or police chief who was a member of the fund at any time during the two years preceding the date the fire chief or police chief assumes office may not make an election under this section.

SECTION 5. Section 5.01, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subsection (g) and adding Subsections (k), (l), and (m) to read as follows:

(g) A member may not receive an award from the fund for service retirement until the member has at least 20 years of service in the fire or police department and has also contributed the required amount of money for at least 20 years. In determining the number of years of service in a department, the member shall be given full credit for the period the member was an active member plus the time the member was actively engaged in service with any uniformed service in accordance with Section 4.03 of this Act and for absences taken under the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (29 U.S.C. Section 2601 et seq.), in accordance with Section 4.02 of this Act. Disciplinary suspensions of 15 days or less may not be subtracted from a member's service credit under this Act if the member has paid into the fund, within 30 days after the later of the termination date of each suspension or the exhaustion of any appeal with respect to the suspension, a sum of money equal to the amount of money that would have been deducted from that person's salary during that period of suspension if it had not been for that suspension. A municipality to which this Act applies shall double-match a payment made under this subsection. Members of the fund at the time of their retirement shall also receive service credit for all unused sick leave accumulated by them under Chapter 143, Local Government Code, but only to the extent the unused sick leave exceeds 90 days. Service credit for unused sick leave shall be prorated based on each full month of sick leave. A member's service credit under this section includes any service credit purchased in accordance with Subsections (k)-(m) of this section.

(k) A member employed for a probationary period by a municipality to which this Act applies may elect to purchase one month of service credit for each full month in the member's probationary period, up to a maximum of 10 months. For each month of service credit the member elects to purchase, the member shall pay to the fund, on or before September 30, 2010, an amount equal to the sum of:

(1) the member buyback contribution amount for the member; and

(2) interest on the amount determined under Subdivision (1) of this subsection at the rate of eight percent per annum, compounded annually, calculated for the period beginning on the first day after the class graduation date for the member's class and ending on the earlier of December 31, 2009, or the date the fund receives the payment required under this subsection.

(l) A member may not elect to purchase a partial month of service credit under Subsection (k) of this section. A member is not required to elect to purchase more than one month of service credit under Subsection (k) of this section. A member may make the payment required under Subsection (k) of this section only with qualified funds. A member must make an election under Subsection (k) of this section on or before December 31, 2009, in accordance with policies and procedures adopted by the board.

(m) An election under Subsection (k) of this section is void unless the member makes the full required payment before the earlier of the date of the member's retirement or the date of the member's death. If a member makes only partial payment before the earlier of the date of the member's retirement or the date of the member's death, the fund shall refund all payments received, without interest, to the member, if the member is alive, or to the member's estate, if the member is dead. The fund shall refund payment under this subsection not later than the 60th day after the date of the member's retirement or the date of the member's death, as applicable.

SECTION 6. Subsection (b), Section 5.015, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:

(b) The Back DROP election:

(1) results in a lump-sum payment for a number of full months of service elected by the member that does not exceed the lesser of the number of months of service credit the member has in excess of 20 years or 60 [48] months;

(2) is available only to a member who takes a service retirement; and

(3) must be made at the time of application for retirement.

SECTION 7. Subsection (a-1), Section 5.03, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:

(a-1) An active member of the fund is eligible to retire and receive a catastrophic injury disability retirement annuity if the member:

(1) makes a written application for catastrophic injury disability retirement with the board;

(2) is permanently so disabled as a result of a catastrophic injury as to:

(A) be unable to secure any type of third-party employment, or engage in any self-employment, other than sporadic third-party or self-employment; and

(B) have, as a result of the lack of third-party employment or self-employment, an annual income less than the poverty level for one person in the 48 contiguous states of the United States as provided under the poverty guidelines published from time to time by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, or similar guidelines selected by the board;

(3) has had all member contributions required by this Act made on the member's behalf;

(4) is not on indefinite suspension as described in Subsection (d) [(e)] of this section; and

(5) has authorized the release to the board of all medical records dated on or after the date of initial application for employment with the department.

SECTION 8. Subsection (a), Section 5.07, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:

(a) The board shall require each disability retiree retiring after August 29, 1979, to provide the board annually not later than May 1 of each year with a true and complete copy of the retiree's income tax return for the previous year, except for a retiree who is 65 years of age or older as of December 31 of the previous year.

SECTION 9. Section 5.09, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) At or before its regular meeting in the month of March, the board annually shall review the Consumer's Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City Average or the nearest equivalent published by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics for the preceding calendar year. If that index shows an increase during the preceding calendar year in the cost of living as compared with that index at the close of the previous year, the board shall order an increase of all service, disability, and death benefit retirement annuities by a percentage that varies by the date of the member's service or disability retirement, or, in the case of a member who died before retirement, the date on which the member died. If the member's service retirement, disability retirement, or death before retirement occurred before August 30, 1971, the annuity shall be increased by a percentage equal to the percentage increase in the cost of living index. If the member's service retirement, disability retirement, or death before retirement occurred on or after August 30, 1971, but before October 1, 1999 [1997], the annuity shall be increased as follows: if the percentage increase in the cost of living index is eight percent or less, the annuity shall be increased by a percentage equal to the percentage increase, and if the percentage increase in the cost of living index is more than eight percent, the annuity shall be increased by eight percent plus a percentage equal to 75 percent of the percentage increase that is more than eight percent. If the member's service retirement, disability retirement, or death before retirement occurred on or after October 1, 1999 [1997], the annuity shall be increased by a percentage equal to 75 percent of the percentage increase in the cost of living index. A percentage increase in annuities shall be rounded to the nearest one-tenth percentage point for a cost of living increase.

(a-1) The cost of living increases described by this section do not apply to an annuity payable under Section 6.02(g-3) of this Act until the annuity becomes effective.

SECTION 10. Section 6.02, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended by amending Subsections (d), (g), and (g-1) and adding Subsections (d-1), (d-2), and (g-3) to read as follows:

(d) Subject to Subsection (d-2) of this section, if [If], at the time a death benefit annuity becomes payable under Subsection (a) or (c) of this section, the deceased member or retiree leaves a surviving spouse and at least one dependent child, the board shall award:

(1) 75 percent [one-half] of the annuity to the surviving spouse; and

(2) 25 percent [one-half] of the annuity:

(A) to the dependent child, if there is only one; or

(B) if there is more than one dependent child, in equal shares to each child.

(d-1) The allocation of an annuity under Subsection (d) of this section is effective as to all annuities payable by the fund as of October 1, 2009, that are payable in part to a surviving spouse and in part to one or more surviving children. This subsection applies only to benefits payable by the fund after September 30, 2009, and does not affect benefits paid or payable by the fund before October 1, 2009.

(d-2) If, at the time a death benefit annuity becomes payable under Subsection (a) or (c) of this section, a deceased member or retiree leaves a surviving spouse who is not entitled to an annuity on the date of death under Subsection (g-1) of this section and one or more dependent children, the dependent child or children shall be awarded 100 percent of the death benefit annuity until the annuity to the surviving spouse becomes effective under Subsection (g-3) of this section.

(g) A child who is born after the date of retirement of the member is not entitled to a death benefit annuity under this Act unless the retiree was married to the other parent of the child on the date of retirement. A surviving spouse of a retiree whose status as a surviving spouse resulted from a marriage after the date of the [who was not married to the retiree until after the retiree's] retirement of the retiree is entitled to receive only the benefits, if any, provided under Subsection (g-1) of this section or Section 6.08 of this Act.

(g-1) Subject to Subsection (g-3) of this section, a [A] surviving spouse of a retiree whose status as a surviving spouse resulted from a marriage [who was not married to the retiree until] after the date of the [retiree's] retirement of the retiree is entitled to receive the entire death benefit of a surviving spouse in this section if the surviving spouse was married to the retiree for a period of at least the five consecutive years preceding the date of the retiree's death. A surviving spouse of a retiree whose status as a surviving spouse resulted from a marriage after the date of the [who was not married to the retiree until after the retiree's] retirement of the retiree and was not married to the retiree for a period of the five consecutive years preceding the date of the retiree's death is entitled to receive only the benefits, if any, provided under Section 6.08 of this Act. The benefit provided by this subsection applies only with respect to a retiree death that occurs on or after October 1, 2007.

(g-3) The death benefit to which a surviving spouse is entitled under Subsection (g-1) of this section as a result of a retiree's death that occurs on or after October 1, 2009, is payable by the fund on the date of the retiree's death if the surviving spouse is 55 years of age or older on the date of the retiree's death. If the surviving spouse is not 55 years of age or older on the date of the retiree's death, the annuity shall be payable by the fund on the date the surviving spouse reaches age 55. A surviving spouse who is not 55 years of age or older on the date of the retiree's death is not entitled to benefits from the fund during the period beginning on the date of the retiree's death and ending on the date the surviving spouse reaches age 55.

SECTION 11. Section 6.06, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 6.06. COMMON-LAW MARRIAGES. Common-law marriages are not recognized under this Act and benefits may not be conferred on common-law spouses as beneficiaries unless a declaration of informal marriage was made and recorded under Sections 2.402 and 2.404 [Section 1.92], Family Code, and their [its] subsequent amendments, or any successor statutes, before the member's death.

SECTION 12. Subsection (a), Section 6.08, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:

(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this section, a surviving spouse of a retiree whose status as such resulted from any marriage after the date of the retirement of the retiree and who has been married to the retiree for a period of [at least the 2-1/2 but] less than the five consecutive years preceding the date of the retiree's death, is entitled to a lump-sum death benefit because of the retiree's death in the amount of $15,000 [$2,500].

SECTION 13. Subsection (f), Section 6.14, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is amended to read as follows:

(f) The surviving spouse must elect the number of months used in computing the lump-sum payment. The number of months may not exceed the lesser of:

(1) the number of months of service credit in excess of 20 years that the deceased member has on the date of death; or

(2) 60 [48] months.

SECTION 14. Subsection (c), Section 4.01, Chapter 824 (S.B. 817), Acts of the 73rd Legislature, Regular Session, 1993 (Article 6243o, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes), is repealed.

SECTION 15. This Act takes effect October 1, 2009.