84R769 SGA-F
 
  By: Sheets H.B. No. 681
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the eligibility for service retirement annuities of
  certain persons, including elected officials convicted of certain
  crimes.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 814, Government Code, is
  amended by adding Section 814.1021 to read as follows:
         Sec. 814.1021.  CERTAIN ELECTED MEMBERS INELIGIBLE FOR
  RETIREMENT ANNUITY. (a)  In this section, "qualifying felony" 
  means any felony involving:
               (1)  bribery;
               (2)  the embezzlement, extortion, or other theft of
  public money;
               (3)  perjury; or
               (4)  conspiracy or the attempt to commit any of the
  above crimes.
         (b)  This section applies only to a member of the elected
  class of the retirement system as described by Section
  812.002(a)(1) or (2).
         (c)  Except as provided by Subsection (d), a member is not
  eligible to receive a service retirement annuity for service credit
  in the elected class under the retirement system if the member is
  convicted of a qualifying felony committed while in office and
  arising directly from the official duties of that elected office.
         (d)  The retirement system shall suspend payments of an
  annuity to a person ineligible to receive the annuity under
  Subsection (c).  A person whose conviction is overturned on appeal
  or who meets the requirements for innocence under Section
  103.001(a)(2), Civil Practice and Remedies Code:
               (1)  is entitled to receive an amount equal to the
  accrued total of payments and interest earned on the payments
  withheld during the suspension period; and
               (2)  may resume receipt of annuity payments on payment
  to the retirement system of an amount equal to the contributions
  refunded to the person under Subsection (e).
         (e)  A member who is not eligible to receive a service
  retirement annuity under Subsection (c) is entitled to a refund of
  the member's retirement annuity contributions, including interest
  earned on those contributions.
         (f)  Benefits payable to an alternate payee under Chapter 804
  who is recognized by a domestic relations order established before
  September 1, 2015, are not affected by a member's ineligibility to
  receive a retirement annuity under Subsection (c).
         (g)  On conviction of a member for a qualifying felony, a
  court may, in the interest of justice and in the same manner as in a
  divorce proceeding, award half of the service retirement annuity
  forfeited by the member as the separate property of an innocent
  spouse if the annuity is partitioned or exchanged by written
  agreement of the spouses as provided by Subchapter B, Chapter 4,
  Family Code. The amount awarded to the innocent spouse may not be
  converted to community property.
         (h)  Ineligibility for a retirement annuity under this
  section does not impair a person's right to any other retirement
  benefit for which the person is eligible.
         (i)  The board of trustees of the retirement system shall
  adopt rules and procedures to implement this section.
         SECTION 2.  Article 6220, Revised Statutes, is repealed.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  Section 814.1021, Government Code, as added
  by this Act, applies only to a member of the Employees Retirement
  System of Texas who is or was a member of the state legislature or
  holds or has held a statewide elected office and, on or after the
  effective date of this Act, commits an offense that is a qualifying
  felony as defined by that section.  A person who commits a
  qualifying felony before the effective date of this Act is subject
  to the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the
  former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         (b)  For purposes of this section, an offense was committed
  before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense
  occurred before that date.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.