TO:	Honorable Vicki Truitt, Chair, House Committee on Pensions, Investments & Financial Services
FROM:	John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB3354 by Truitt (Relating to the administration of and benefits payable by the Teacher Retirement System of Texas and to certain domestic relations orders.), As Introduced

The bill would change dates in Section 824.202 of Gevernment Code, thereby making a change to future retirement eligibility for members who joined the Teacher Retirement System between September 1, 2006 and August 31,2007. These members would be eligible for retirement earlier than under current law. There is currently some ambiguity in statute regarding as to which reductions for early retirement would apply to these members. However, if there is a change to retirement eligibility, it would have a material actuarial impact. TRS and the Pension Review Board have not prepared an actuarial analysis of this change. 

 

HB 3354 would provide for the following changes:

 

·         allow TRS to operate more efficiently and clarify certain statutory references by amending several sections of the Government Code to enact recommendations made by the board relating to the administration of and benefits payable by TRS.

 

·         amend the Government Code to allow TRS to obtain access to criminal history records relating to employees, applicants, and persons doing business with TRS, from law enforcement agencies.

 

·         adds Government Code Section 551.130, stating that the Board is not prohibited from holding an open or closed meeting by telephone conference call, and that a conference call may only be held if a quorum of the board in physically present at a single location that is open to the public.

 

·         allow a public retirement system to assess administrative fees on a party who is subject to a domestic relations order for the review of the order under this subchapter and, as applicable, for the administration of payments under an order that is determined to be qualified. In addition to other methods of collecting fees that a retirement system may establish, the retirement system may deduct fees from payments made under the order.

 

·         amends the Government Code to add sections clarifying a member’s duty to notify the retirement system for service that has not been properly credited on an annual statement. HB 3354 also clarifies a beneficiary’s entitlement to a member’s benefits upon death.

 

The provisions and recommendations in the bill address several administrative issues and other than the issue regarding improved retirement eligibility for members joining between September 1, 2006 and August 31, 2007, would not have an actuarial impact on TRS.

 

SOURCES:

Email correspondence from Betsey Jones, TRS, March 22, 2011.