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INTRODUCED
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HOUSE COMMITTEE
SUBSTITUTE
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SECTION 1. Section
822.201(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
(b) "Salary and
wages" as used in Subsection (a) means:
(1) normal periodic payments
of money for service the right to which accrues on a regular basis in
proportion to the service performed;
(2) amounts by which the
member's salary is reduced under a salary reduction agreement authorized by
Chapter 610;
(3) amounts that would
otherwise qualify as salary and wages under Subdivision (1) but are not
received directly by the member pursuant to a good faith, voluntary written
salary reduction agreement in order to finance payments to a deferred
compensation or tax sheltered annuity program specifically authorized by
state law or to finance benefit options under a cafeteria plan qualifying
under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, if:
(A) the program or benefit
options are made available to all employees of the employer; and
(B) the benefit options in
the cafeteria plan are limited to one or more options that provide deferred
compensation, group health and disability insurance, group term life insurance,
dependent care assistance programs, or group legal services plans;
(4) performance pay awarded
to an employee by a school district as part of a total compensation plan
approved by the board of trustees of the district and meeting the
requirements of Subsection (e);
(5) the benefit replacement
pay a person earns under Subchapter H, Chapter 659, except as provided by
Subsection (c);
(6) stipends paid to teachers
in accordance with Section 21.410, 21.411, 21.412, or 21.413, Education
Code;
(7) amounts by which the
member's salary is reduced or that are deducted from the member's salary as
authorized by Subchapter J, Chapter 659;
(8) a merit salary increase
made under Section 51.962, Education Code;
(9) amounts received under
the relevant parts of the educator excellence awards program under
Subchapter O, Chapter 21, Education Code, or a mentoring program under
Section 21.458, Education Code, that authorize compensation for service;
(10) salary amounts
designated as health care supplementation by an employee under Subchapter
D, Chapter 22, Education Code; and
(11) to the extent required
by Sections 3401(h) and 414(u)(12) [414(u)(2)], Internal
Revenue Code of 1986, differential wage payments received by an individual
from an employer on or after January 1, 2009, while the individual is
performing qualified military service as defined by Section 414(u),
Internal Revenue Code of 1986.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 2. Section 823.006,
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 823.006. LIMITS ON ANNUAL
CONTRIBUTIONS FOR PURCHASE OF SERVICE CREDIT. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this subtitle, the retirement system shall [may]
limit the purchase of service credit to the extent required by applicable
limits on the amount of annual contributions a participant may make to a
qualified plan under Sections 401(a) and 415(c), Internal Revenue Code of
1986.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 3. Section
824.202(f), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
(f) Except as provided by
Chapter 803 or 805, a member is not eligible to receive service retirement
benefits from the retirement system unless the member has at least five
years of service credit in the retirement system for actual service in
public schools or other service the board by rule may prescribe.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4. Sections
825.002(a), (d), and (e), Government Code, are amended to read as follows:
(a) The governor shall
appoint, with the advice and consent of the senate and as provided by this
section, nine [seven] members of the board of trustees.
(d) The governor shall
appoint two members [one member] of the board from a slate of
three former members of the retirement system who have retired and are
receiving benefits from the retirement system and who have been nominated
in accordance with Subsections (f) and (g) by the persons who have retired
and are receiving benefits from the retirement system.
(e) The governor shall
appoint two members [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.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 5. Section 825.408(a),
Government Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) An employer that fails to
remit, before the 10th [seventh] day after the last day of a
month, all member and employer deposits and documentation of the deposits
required by this subchapter to be remitted by the employer for the month
shall pay to the retirement system, in addition to the deposits, interest
on the unpaid or undocumented amounts at an annual rate compounded monthly.
The rate of interest is the rate established under Section 825.313(b)(1),
plus two percent. Interest required under this section is creditable to the
interest account. On request, the retirement system may grant a waiver of
the deadline imposed by this subsection based on an employer's financial or
technological resources.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 6. Section
1579.255(a), Insurance Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) A participating entity
that does not remit to the trustee all contributions required by this
subchapter before the 10th [seventh] day after the last day
of the month shall pay to the Texas school employees uniform group coverage
trust fund:
(1) the contributions; and
(2) interest on the unpaid
amounts at the annual rate of six percent compounded monthly.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 7. Section 825.002,
Government Code, as amended by this Act, applies only to an election of a
member of the board of trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas
that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 8. The board of
trustees of the Teacher Retirement System of Texas shall study the
benefits, funding, and administration of the retirement system and adopt
findings and recommendations that will improve the administration and
performance of the retirement system. Not later than December 1, 2016, the
board shall report the board's findings and recommendations to the
governor, lieutenant governor, speaker of the house of representatives, and
standing committees of the house of representatives and senate that have primary
jurisdiction over state pension systems.
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No
equivalent provision.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 1. CREATION OF JOINT
INTERIM COMMITTEE. (a) A joint interim committee is created to study and
review the health benefit plans, including TRS-Care and TRS-ActiveCare,
operated under Chapters 1575 and 1579, Insurance Code, and propose reforms
to address issues described by Section 2 of this Act.
(b) The joint interim
committee shall be composed of three senators appointed by the lieutenant
governor and three members of the house of representatives appointed by the
speaker of the house of representatives.
(c) The lieutenant governor
and speaker of the house of representatives shall each designate a co-chair
from among the joint interim committee members.
(d) The joint interim
committee shall convene at the joint call of the co-chairs.
(e) The joint interim
committee has all other powers and duties provided to a special or select
committee by the rules of the senate and house of representatives, by
Subchapter B, Chapter 301, Government Code, and by policies of the senate
and house committees on administration.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 2. INTERIM STUDY
REGARDING CERTAIN HEALTH BENEFIT PLANS. The joint interim committee created
by Section 1 of this Act shall study the health benefit plans, including
TRS-Care and TRS-ActiveCare, operated under Chapters 1575 and 1579,
Insurance Code, to examine and assess the following issues:
(1) the financial soundness
of the plans;
(2) the cost and
affordability of plan coverage to persons eligible for coverage under the
plans; and
(3) the sufficiency of access
to physicians and health care providers under the plans.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 3. COMMITTEE FINDINGS
AND RECOMMENDATIONS. (a) Not later than January 15, 2017, the joint interim
committee shall report the committee's findings and recommendations to the
lieutenant governor, the speaker of the house of representatives, and the
governor. The joint interim committee shall include in its recommendations
specific statutory and regulatory changes that appear necessary from the
results of the committee's study under Section 2 of this Act.
(b) Not later than the 60th
day after the effective date of this Act, the lieutenant governor and
speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint the members of the
joint interim committee created under Section 1 of this Act in accordance
with that section.
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No
equivalent provision.
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SECTION 4. ABOLITION OF
COMMITTEE. The joint interim committee created by this Act is abolished and
this Act expires January 20, 2017.
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SECTION 9. This Act takes
effect September 1, 2015.
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SECTION 5. EFFECTIVE DATE. 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, 2015.
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