83R18631 SGA-F
 
  By: Callegari, Murphy H.B. No. 3357
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the administration of and benefits payable by the
  Teacher Retirement System of Texas.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Sections 551.130(e) and (j), Government Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (e)  The location where a quorum is physically present must
  be open to the public during the open portions of a telephone
  conference call meeting.  The open portions of the meeting must be
  audible to the public at the location where the quorum is present
  and be recorded [tape-recorded] at that location.  The [tape]
  recording shall be made available to the public.
         (j)  A person who is not a member of the board may [not] speak
  at the meeting from a remote location by telephone conference
  call[, except as provided by Section 551.129].
         SECTION 2.  The heading to Section 824.1012, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 824.1012.  POST-RETIREMENT CHANGE IN RETIREMENT
  PAYMENT PLAN [REVOCATION OF BENEFICIARY DESIGNATION] FOR CERTAIN
  RETIREMENT BENEFIT OPTIONS.
         SECTION 3.  Sections 824.1012(a) and (b), Government Code,
  are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  As an exception to Section 824.101(c), a retiree who
  selected an optional service retirement annuity under Section
  824.204(c)(1), (c)(2), or (c)(5) or an optional disability
  retirement annuity under Section 824.308(c)(1), (c)(2), or (c)(5)
  and who has received at least one payment under the plan selected
  may change the optional annuity selection made by the retiree to a
  standard service or disability retirement annuity as provided for
  in this section. If the beneficiary is the spouse or former spouse
  of the retiree, the beneficiary must sign a notarized consent to the
  change, or [may revoke the designation of the beneficiary to
  receive the annuity on the death of the retiree, if] a court in a
  divorce proceeding involving the retiree and beneficiary must
  approve or order the change [approves or orders the revocation] in
  the divorce decree or acceptance of a property settlement [or if the
  beneficiary is the spouse, a former spouse, or an adult child of the
  retiree and signs a notarized consent to the revocation]. The
  change in plan selection [revocation] takes effect when the
  retirement system receives it.
         (b)  A change [revocation] described by Subsection (a)
  cancels the optional annuity selection made by the retiree,
  effective with the beginning of payments of the annuity as
  recomputed under this subsection. The retiree is entitled to
  receive payments of a standard service or disability retirement
  annuity, as applicable, reduced for early retirement, if
  applicable, beginning with the payment for the month after the
  month in which the retirement system receives the notice of change
  [revocation] and ending on the death of the retiree. The change
  also cancels the designation of beneficiary with respect to the
  optional annuity benefit but does not cancel a designation with
  respect to any other benefit payable by the retirement system on the
  death of the retiree.
         SECTION 4.  Section 824.1013(b), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  If the beneficiary designated at the time of the
  retiree's retirement is the spouse [or former spouse] of the
  retiree at the time of the designation:
               (1)  the spouse [or former spouse] must give written,
  notarized consent to the change; [or]
               (2)  if the parties divorce after the designation, the
  former spouse who was designated beneficiary must give written,
  notarized consent to the change; or
               (3)  a court with jurisdiction over the marriage must
  have ordered the change.
         SECTION 5.  Sections 825.002(c), (e), and (e-1), Government
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (c)  The governor shall appoint two members of the board from
  a slate of three members of the retirement system who are currently
  employed by a public school district, charter school, or regional
  education service center and who have been nominated in accordance
  with Subsection (f) by the members of the retirement system whose
  most recent credited service was performed for a public school
  district, charter school, or regional education service center.
  The two members hold office for staggered terms.
         (e)  The governor shall appoint one member of the board from
  a slate of three persons who have been nominated in accordance with
  Subsection (f) by the following groups collectively:
               (1)  members of the retirement system whose most recent
  credited service was performed for an institution of higher
  education;
               (2)  members of the retirement system whose most recent
  credited service was performed for a public school district,
  charter school, or regional education service center; and
               (3)  persons who have retired and are receiving
  benefits from the retirement system.
         (e-1)  A person may be nominated for appointment to the board
  under Subsection (e) if the person is:
               (1)  a member of the retirement system who is currently
  employed by an institution of higher education;
               (2)  a member of the retirement system who is currently
  employed by a public school district, charter school, or regional
  education service center; or
               (3)  a former member of the retirement system who has
  retired and is receiving benefits from the system.
         SECTION 6.  Section 825.103, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (h) to read as follows:
         (h)  The board of trustees may accept on behalf of the
  retirement system gifts of money, services, or other property from
  any public or private source.
         SECTION 7.  Section 825.115, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subsections (d) and (e) to read as follows:
         (d)  The board of trustees or its audit committee may conduct
  a closed meeting in accordance with Subchapter E, Chapter 551, with
  the retirement system's internal or external auditors to discuss:
               (1)  governance, risk management or internal control
  weaknesses, known or suspected compliance violations or fraud,
  status of regulatory reviews or investigations, or identification
  of potential fraud risk areas and audits for the annual internal
  audit plan; or
               (2)  the auditors' ability to perform duties in
  accordance with the Internal Audit Charter, relevant auditing
  standards, and Chapter 2102.
         (e)  The board of trustees may conduct a closed meeting in
  accordance with Subchapter E, Chapter 551, to deliberate or confer
  with one or more employees, consultants, or legal counsel of the
  retirement system or a third party regarding a procurement to be
  awarded by the board of trustees if, before conducting the closed
  meeting, a majority of the trustees in an open meeting vote that
  deliberating or conferring in an open meeting would have a
  detrimental effect on the position of the retirement system in
  negotiations with a third person. The board of trustees is required
  to vote or take final action on the procurement in an open meeting.
         SECTION 8.  Section 825.204, Government Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  The medical board is not subject to subpoena regarding
  findings it makes in assisting the executive director or board of
  trustees under this section, and its members may not be held liable
  for any opinions, conclusions, or recommendations made under this
  section.
         SECTION 9.  Sections 825.212(a), (b), and (c), Government
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  The [In addition to any other requirements provided by
  law, the] board of trustees shall adopt a code or codes of [enforce
  an] ethics, including standards of ethical conduct and disclosure
  requirements, applicable to:
               (1)  trustees;
               (2)  [policy as provided by this section for]
  employees; and
               (3)  any contractors or any categories of contractors
  that the board of trustees determines provide:
                     (A)  advice or opinion [of and consultants and
  advisors] to the retirement system that is the basis for a
  significant decision or action by or on behalf of the retirement
  system; or
                     (B)  significant services to the retirement
  system that relate to the administration and operation of the
  retirement system.
         (b)  In any code of ethics adopted under this section, [Each
  employee of the retirement system who exercises significant
  decisionmaking or fiduciary authority, as determined by] the board
  of trustees may:
               (1)  impose enhanced[, shall file financial]
  disclosure requirements on employees that [statements with a person
  designated by] the board of trustees determines exercise
  significant fiduciary authority;
               (2)  impose disclosure requirements on contractors for
  expenditures on behalf of retirement system trustees or employees
  in amounts equal to or greater than a minimum amount considered
  material by the board of trustees; or
               (3)  address topics related to ethical conduct,
  including prohibited conduct, conflicts of interest, waivers of
  conflicts of interest, remedies for conflicts of interest, and
  sanctions. [The content of a financial disclosure statement must
  comply substantially with the requirements of Subchapter B, Chapter
  572. A statement must be filed not later than the 30th day after the
  date a person is employed in a significant decisionmaking or
  fiduciary position and annually after employment not later than
  April 30. The filing deadline may be postponed by the executive
  director for not more than 60 days on written request or for an
  additional period for good cause, as determined by the chairman of
  the board. The retirement system shall maintain a financial
  disclosure statement for at least five years after the date of its
  filing.]
         (c)  This section preempts the common law of conflicts of
  interest as applied to trustees, employees, and contracts of [An
  employee who has a business or commercial relationship that could
  reasonably be expected to diminish the employee's independence of
  judgment in the performance of the employee's responsibilities to]
  the retirement system [shall disclose that relationship in writing
  to a person designated by the board].
         SECTION 10.  Section 825.312(b), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  The retirement system shall pay from the account all
  administrative expenses of the retirement system [that exceed the
  amounts appropriated under Section 825.404(d) and] that are
  required to perform the fiduciary duties of the board.
         SECTION 11.  The heading to Section 825.313, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 825.313.  TRANSFERS FROM INTEREST [OR STATE
  CONTRIBUTION] ACCOUNT.
         SECTION 12.  Section 825.313(d), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (d)  The board of trustees, by resolution recorded in its
  minutes, may transfer from the interest account to the expense
  account an amount necessary to cover the expenses of the retirement
  system for the fiscal year [that exceed the amount of operating
  expenses appropriated under Section 825.404(d) and] that are
  required to perform the fiduciary duties of the board[, including
  the expense of servicing mortgages insured by the Federal Housing
  Administration under the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. Section
  1701 et seq.)].
         SECTION 13.  Section 825.314, Government Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 825.314.  USE [AND REPORTING] OF STATE CONTRIBUTIONS
  [AND OTHER APPROPRIATIONS AND ASSETS]. [(a)] The retirement
  system shall use all assets contributed by the state[, other than
  operating expenses appropriated under Section 825.404(d),] to pay
  benefits authorized by this subtitle.
         [(b)     The staff of the retirement system shall report to the
  board at each board meeting the amounts and uses since the preceding
  board meeting of any money expended by the system from amounts
  transferred under Section 825.313(d) and include an explanation of
  why the amounts were needed to perform the fiduciary duties of the
  board. The retirement system annually shall prepare and issue to
  each contributing member and annuitant and to the governor,
  lieutenant governor, and speaker of the house of representatives a
  summary of the reports presented during the preceding year to the
  board.]
         SECTION 14.  The heading to Section 825.404, Government
  Code, is amended to read as follows:
         Sec. 825.404.  COLLECTION OF STATE CONTRIBUTIONS [AND
  APPROPRIATED OPERATING EXPENSES].
         SECTION 15.  Section 825.404(e), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (e)  All money appropriated by the state to the retirement
  system shall be paid to the state contribution account in equal
  monthly installments as provided by Section 403.093(c)[,
  Government Code, except money appropriated under Subsection (d),
  which remains in the general revenue fund until expenses are
  approved under Chapter 2103].
         SECTION 16.  Section 825.410(b), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (b)  Service credit shall be established pursuant to the
  following provisions:
               (1)  The retirement system shall credit a member's
  payments made under this section to a suspense account in the trust
  fund until the sum of the payments equals the amount required for
  one year of service credit, at which time the retirement system
  shall deposit the payments in the appropriate accounts in the trust
  fund and grant the applicable amount of service credit. No credit
  shall be established for service pursuant to Section 823.501 [or
  Section 825.403] until a lump sum has been paid or all payroll
  deduction or installment payments have been completed.
               (2)  No credit shall be established for other service
  when the cost of establishing the service has been determined by
  using withdrawn service to be reinstated pursuant to Section
  823.501 [or previously unreported service to be established
  pursuant to Section 825.403] until a lump sum or all payroll
  deductions or installments for the withdrawn [or previously
  unreported] service have been paid.
               (3)  All other service shall be credited when
  sufficient payroll deductions or installments have been completed
  to satisfy the cost requirements for a year of service.
         SECTION 17.  Sections 825.507(a), (b), (c), (f), and (g),
  Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (a)  Records of a participant and information about the
  records of a participant that are in the custody of the retirement
  system or of an administrator, carrier, attorney, consultant, or
  governmental agency, including the comptroller, acting in
  cooperation with or on behalf of the retirement system are
  confidential and not subject to public disclosure [in a form that
  would identify an individual and are exempt from the public access
  provisions of Chapter 552, except as otherwise provided by this
  section].  Because the records and information described by this
  section [subsection] are exempt from the public access provisions
  of Chapter 552, the retirement system or an administering firm,
  carrier, attorney, consultant, or governmental agency, including
  the comptroller, acting in cooperation with or on behalf of the
  retirement system, 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, except as otherwise provided by
  this section.
         (b)  The retirement system may release records of a
  participant, or information about the records of a participant,
  including a participant to which Chapter 803 applies, to:
               (1)  the participant or the participant's attorney or
  guardian or another person who the executive director determines is
  acting on behalf of the participant;
               (2)  the executor or administrator of the deceased
  participant's estate, including information relating to the
  deceased participant's beneficiary, or if an executor or
  administrator of the deceased participant's estate has not been
  named, a person or entity who the executive director determines is
  acting in the interest of the deceased participant's estate, or an
  heir, legatee, or devisee of the deceased participant;
               (3)  a spouse or former spouse of the participant if the
  executive director determines that the information is relevant to
  the spouse's or former spouse's interest in member accounts,
  benefits, or other amounts payable by the retirement system;
               (4)  an administrator, carrier, consultant, attorney,
  or agent acting on behalf of the retirement system;
               (5)  a governmental entity, an employer, or the
  designated agent of an employer, only to the extent the retirement
  system needs to share the information to perform the purposes of the
  retirement system, as determined by the executive director;
               (6)  a person authorized by the participant in writing
  to receive the information;
               (7)  a federal, state, or local criminal law
  enforcement agency that requests a record for a law enforcement
  purpose;
               (8)  the attorney general to the extent necessary to
  enforce child support; or
               (9)  a party in response to a subpoena issued under
  applicable law if the executive director determines that the
  participant will have a reasonable opportunity to contest the
  subpoena.
         (c)  The records of a participant and information about the
  records remain confidential after release to a person as authorized
  by this section. This section does not prevent the retirement
  system or administering firm or carrier acting in cooperation with
  or on behalf of the retirement system from disclosing or confirming
  [disclosure or confirmation], on an individual basis, [of] the
  status or identity of a participant as a member, former member,
  retiree, deceased member or retiree, beneficiary, or alternate
  payee of the retirement system.
         (f)  This section does not authorize the retirement system to
  compile or disclose a list of participants' names, addresses,
  including e-mail addresses, or social security numbers unless the
  executive director determines that a compilation or disclosure is
  necessary to administer the retirement system.
         (g)  In this section, "participant" means a member, former
  member, retiree, annuitant, beneficiary, or alternate payee of the
  retirement system, or an employee or contractor of an employer
  covered by the retirement system for whom records were received by
  the retirement system for the purpose of administering the terms of
  the plan, including for audit or investigative purposes.
         SECTION 18.  Section 825.515(a), Government Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (a)  At least annually, the retirement system shall acquire
  and maintain records identifying members and specifying the types
  of positions they hold as members.  Employers shall provide to the
  retirement system information specifying the type of position held
  by each member [The type of position shall be identified] as
  Administrative/Professional, Teacher/Full-Time Librarian,
  Support, Bus Driver, or Peace Officer.  Employers shall also
  provide to the retirement system the work e-mail address for each
  member. For each member identified as a Peace Officer, the records
  must specify whether the member is an employee of an institution of
  higher education or of a public school that is not an institution of
  higher education.  An employer shall provide the information
  required by this section in the form and manner specified by the
  retirement system.
         SECTION 19.  Section 1575.003(1), Insurance Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
               (1)  "Dependent" means:
                     (A)  the spouse of a retiree;
                     (B)  a [an unmarried] child of a retiree or
  deceased active member if the child is younger than 26 [25] years of
  age, including:
                           (i)  an adopted child or child who is
  lawfully placed for legal adoption;
                           (ii)  a foster child, stepchild, or other
  child who is in a regular parent-child relationship; or
                           (iii)  a [recognized] natural child;
                     (C)  a retiree's [recognized] natural child,
  adopted child, foster child, stepchild, or other child who is in a
  regular parent-child relationship and who lives with or has his or
  her care provided by the retiree or surviving spouse on a regular
  basis regardless of the child's age, if the child has a mental
  disability or is physically incapacitated to an extent that the
  child is dependent on the retiree or surviving spouse for care or
  support, as determined by the trustee; or
                     (D)  a deceased active member's [recognized]
  natural child, adopted child, foster child, stepchild, or other
  child who is in a regular parent-child relationship, without regard
  to the age of the child, if, while the active member was alive, the
  child:
                           (i)  lived with or had the child's care
  provided by the active member on a regular basis; and
                           (ii)  had a mental disability or was
  physically incapacitated to an extent that the child was dependent
  on the active member or surviving spouse for care or support, as
  determined by the trustee.
         SECTION 20.  Section 1575.205(c), Insurance Code, is amended
  to read as follows:
         (c)  The trustee may spend a part of the money received for
  the group program to offset a part of the costs for optional
  coverage paid by retirees if [the expenditure does not reduce the
  period] the group program is projected to remain financially
  solvent during the currently funded [by more than one year in a]
  biennium.
         SECTION 21.  Section 1579.004, Insurance Code, is amended to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 1579.004.  DEFINITION OF DEPENDENT.  In this chapter,
  "dependent" means:
               (1)  a spouse of a full-time employee or part-time
  employee;
               (2)  a [an unmarried] child of a full-time or part-time
  employee if the child is younger than 26 [25] years of age,
  including:
                     (A)  an adopted child or child who is lawfully
  placed for adoption;
                     (B)  a foster child, stepchild, or other child who
  is in a regular parent-child relationship; and
                     (C)  a [recognized] natural child;
               (3)  a full-time or part-time employee's [recognized]
  natural child, adopted child, foster child, stepchild, or other
  child who is in a regular parent-child relationship and who lives
  with or has his or her care provided by the employee or the
  surviving spouse on a regular basis, regardless of the child's age,
  if the child has a mental disability or is physically incapacitated
  to an extent that the child is dependent on the employee or
  surviving spouse for care or support, as determined by the board of
  trustees; and
               (4)  notwithstanding any other provision of this code,
  any other dependent of a full-time or part-time employee specified
  by rules adopted by the board of trustees.
         SECTION 22.  The following laws are repealed:
               (1)  Section 825.211, Government Code;
               (2)  Sections 825.212(d), (e), (f), (g), and (h),
  Government Code;
               (3)  Sections 825.402(b), (c), and (d), Government
  Code;
               (4)  Section 825.404(d), Government Code; and
               (5)  Section 825.411, Government Code.
         SECTION 23.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.