AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

H.B. 973 enacted by the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, specified that a school district employee who resigns at the end of a school year is entitled to health insurance coverage through the summer.

 

School districts may not diminish or eliminate health insurance coverage before the last date on which the employee was entitled to participate in a group health insurance program.  The majority of school districts begin coverage at the beginning of a school year, which is also the beginning of their health insurance medical plan year; however, not all school district calendar years match with the district's medical plan years.

 

S.B. 155 amends Section 22.004 (Group Health Benefits for School Employees), Education Code, to clarify that the requirement continues no longer than the beginning of the subsequent school year's calendar start date, rather than the end of the medical plan year.

 

As proposed, S.B. 155 amends current law relating to the eligibility of certain school district employees to participate or be enrolled in certain group health benefit programs.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 22.004(k), Education Code, as follows:

 

(k) Provides that, notwithstanding any other law, an employee of a district participating in the uniform group coverage program under Subsection (a) (relating to district participation in the uniform group coverage program) or providing group health coverage under Subsection (b) (relating to group health coverage provided by a risk pool) whose resignation is effective after the last day of an instructional year is entitled to participate or be enrolled in the uniform group coverage plan or the group health coverage through the earlier of:

 

(1) the first anniversary of the date participation in coverage or under the uniform group coverage plan or the group health coverage was first made available to district employees for the last instructional year in which the employee was employed by the district; or

 

(2) the last calendar day before the first day of the instructional year immediately following the last instructional year in which the employee was employed by the district.

 

SECTION 2.  Provides that this Act applies beginning with the 2012-2013 school year.

 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 2011.