By: Truitt (Senate Sponsor - Wentworth) H.B. No. 2460
         (In the Senate - Received from the House May 13, 2011;
  May 13, 2011, read first time and referred to Select Committee on
  Open Government; May 19, 2011, reported favorably by the following
  vote:  Yeas 3, Nays 0; May 19, 2011, sent to printer.)
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
 
  relating to confidentiality of information held by a public
  retirement system.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 552, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 552.0038 to read as follows:
         Sec. 552.0038.  PUBLIC RETIREMENT SYSTEMS SUBJECT TO LAW.  
  (a)  In this section, "governing body of a public retirement system" 
  and "public retirement system" have the meanings assigned those
  terms by Section 802.001.
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsections (c) through (i), the
  governing body of a public retirement system is subject to this
  chapter in the same manner as a governmental body.
         (c)  Records of individual members, annuitants, retirees,
  beneficiaries, alternate payees, program participants, or persons
  eligible for benefits from a retirement system under a retirement
  plan or program administered by the retirement system that are in
  the custody of the system or in the custody of an administering
  firm, a carrier, or another governmental agency, including the
  comptroller, acting in cooperation with or on behalf of the
  retirement system are confidential and not subject to public
  disclosure.  The retirement system, administering firm, carrier, or
  governmental agency is not required to accept or comply with a
  request for a record or information about a record or to seek an
  opinion from the attorney general because the records are exempt
  from the provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise provided
  by this section.
         (d)  Records may be released to a member, annuitant, retiree,
  beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or person
  eligible for benefits from the retirement system or to an
  authorized attorney, family member, or representative acting on
  behalf of the member, annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate
  payee, program participant, or person eligible for benefits.  The
  retirement system may release the records to:
               (1)  an administering firm, carrier, or agent or
  attorney acting on behalf of the retirement system;
               (2)  another governmental entity having a legitimate
  need for the information to perform the purposes of the retirement
  system; or
               (3)  a party in response to a subpoena issued under
  applicable law.
         (e)  A record released or received by the retirement system
  under this section may be transmitted electronically, including
  through the use of an electronic signature or certification in a
  form acceptable to the retirement system.  An unintentional
  disclosure to, or unauthorized access by, a third party related to
  the transmission or receipt of information under this section is
  not a violation by the retirement system of any law, including a law
  or rule relating to the protection of confidential information.
         (f)  The records of an individual member, annuitant,
  retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or
  person eligible for benefits from the retirement system remain
  confidential after release to a person as authorized by this
  section. The records may become part of the public record of an
  administrative or judicial proceeding related to a contested case,
  and the member, annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee,
  program participant, or person eligible for benefits waives the
  confidentiality of the records, including medical records, unless
  the records are closed to public access by a protective order issued
  under applicable law.
         (g)  The retirement system may require a person to provide
  the person's social security number as the system considers
  necessary to ensure the proper administration of all services,
  benefits, plans, and programs under the retirement system's
  administration, oversight, or participation or as otherwise
  required by state or federal law.
         (h)  The retirement system has sole discretion in
  determining whether a record is subject to this section.  For
  purposes of this section, a record includes any identifying
  information about a person, living or deceased, who is or was a
  member, annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee, program
  participant, or person eligible for benefits from the retirement
  system under any retirement plan or program administered by the
  retirement system.
         (i)  To the extent of a conflict between this section and any
  other law with respect to the confidential information held by a
  public retirement system or other entity described by Subsection
  (c) concerning an individual member, annuitant, retiree,
  beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or person
  eligible for benefits from the retirement system, the prevailing
  provision is the provision that provides the greater substantive
  and procedural protection for the privacy of information concerning
  that individual member, annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate
  payee, program participant, or person eligible for benefits.
         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, 2011.
 
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