BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

 

C.S.H.B. 3263

By: Rodriguez, Justin

Pensions

Committee Report (Substituted)

 

 

 

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

 

According to interested parties, certain retired judicial officers who resume service are currently prohibited from rejoining or receiving credit in the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan Two, which means that service retirement annuity payments once resumed do not reflect credit for the subsequent service. C.S.H.B. 3263 seeks to address this issue by providing for the recomputation of the service retirement annuity for certain members of the retirement system who resume service.

 

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

 

ANALYSIS

 

C.S.H.B. 3263 amends the Government Code to authorize a retiree of the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan Two who resumes service as a judicial officer other than by appointment or assignment to elect to rejoin and receive service credit in the retirement system for resuming service as a judicial officer if, before taking the oath of office, the retiree has been separated from judicial service for at least 12 full consecutive months. The bill requires the retiree to provide notice of the election to the retirement system in a manner prescribed by the retirement system. The bill requires the retirement system, on the resumption of annuity payments to a retiree who makes such an election, to recompute the service retirement annuity of the retiree to include the retiree's additional service credit. The bill authorizes the retiree, on retirement from the retiree's subsequent service, to elect a service retirement annuity as if the retiree were retiring for the first time and requires the retirement system, if the retiree elects an optional service retirement annuity payable for the greater of the rest of the retiring member's life or either 60 or 120 months, as applicable, to reduce the number of months of payments by the number of months for which the annuity was paid before the retiree resumed service. The bill applies to a retiree of the retirement system who resumes service as a judicial officer before, on, or after the bill's effective date.

 

EFFECTIVE DATE

 

September 1, 2017.

 

 

 

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

 

While C.S.H.B. 3263 may differ from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following comparison is organized and formatted in a manner that indicates the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

 

INTRODUCED

HOUSE COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE

SECTION 1. Section 837.102, Government Code, is amended.

SECTION 1. Same as introduced version.

 

No equivalent provision.

 

SECTION 2. Section 837.102, Government Code, as amended by this Act, applies to a retiree of the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan Two who resumes service as a judicial officer before, on, or after the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2017.

SECTION 3. Same as introduced version.