Bill Text: TX HB2821 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Relating to credit in, benefits from, and administration of the Texas Municipal Retirement System.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-05-03 - Laid on the table subject to call [HB2821 Detail]

Download: Texas-2019-HB2821-Introduced.html

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86R5929 LED-F
By: Flynn H.B. No. 2821

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to credit in, benefits from, and administration of the
Texas Municipal Retirement System.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 851.001, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subdivisions (8) and (15) and adding Subdivision (8-a) to
read as follows:
(8) "Employee," unless the context requires
otherwise, means a person, including a person serving a period of
probationary employment, who receives compensation from and is
certified by a municipality as being regularly engaged in the
performance of duties of:
(A) an appointive office or position that
normally requires services from the person for not less than 1,000
hours a year; or
(B) an elective office that normally requires
services from the person for not less than 1,000 hours a year, in a
municipality that began participating in the retirement system
after December 31, 1981, or that has adopted a membership
requirement under Section 852.107.
(8-a) "Excluded prior service credit" means prior
service credit described by Section 853.0015.
(15) "Amortization period" means, as to a particular
municipality, the expiration of the maximum number of years, not to
exceed 30 years, [time ending with the later of:
[(A) the expiration of 25 years after the
effective date of the municipality's participation in the
retirement system;
[(B) the expiration of 25 years] after the most
recent actuarial valuation date for the municipality[; or
[(C) the period determined under Section
855.407(h)].
SECTION 2. Section 851.004, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 851.004. POWERS, [AND] PRIVILEGES, AND IMMUNITIES.
(a) The retirement system has the powers, privileges, and
immunities of a corporation, as well as the powers, privileges, and
immunities conferred by this subtitle.
(b) The board of trustees, director, members of an advisory
committee or medical board appointed by the board of trustees, and
employees of the retirement system are not liable for any action
taken or omission made or suffered by them in good faith in the
performance of any duty in connection with any program, system, or
benefit administered by the retirement system.
SECTION 3. The heading to Section 853.003, Government Code,
is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 853.003. BUY BACK OF CREDITED SERVICE PREVIOUSLY
CANCELED.
SECTION 4. Subchapter A, Chapter 853, Government Code, is
amended by adding Sections 853.0015 and 853.004 to read as follows:
Sec. 853.0015. EXCLUDED PRIOR SERVICE CREDIT. If a member
is only entitled to receive excluded prior service credit under
this chapter, the prior service credit certified to the member:
(1) may only be used to satisfy length of service
requirements for vesting and retirement eligibility; and
(2) may not be used to determine eligibility for or
computation of updated service credits.
Sec. 853.004. RULES FOR CREDITABLE SERVICE. The board of
trustees shall adopt rules necessary to implement this chapter.
SECTION 5. Section 853.105, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsection (d-1)
to read as follows:
(a) After receiving a certification of prior service and
average prior service compensation under Section 853.104, the
retirement system [board of trustees] shall determine the member's
prior service credit.
(c) The [For an employee of a municipality having an
effective date of participation in the retirement system after
December 31, 1975, the] prior service credit is an amount computed
as a percentage determined as provided by Subsection (d) or, if
applicable, Subsection (d-1), times a base credit equal to the
accumulation at three percent interest of a series of monthly
amounts for the number of months of approved prior service, times
the sum of:
(1) the rate of contributions required of employees of
the municipality for current service; plus
(2) the rate described in Subdivision (1) times the
municipal current service matching ratio.
(d) The governing body of a municipality [having an
effective date of retirement system participation after December
31, 1975,] shall determine in the ordinance providing for
participation the percentage to be applied against the base credit
in computing a prior service credit under Subsection (c). Except as
provided by Subsection (d-1), the [The] percentage adopted may be
any multiple of 10 percent that does not exceed 100 percent of the
base credit, with 10 percent being the minimum percentage a
municipality may adopt. A governing body may not adopt a percentage
under this subsection until the actuary first determines, and the
retirement system [board of trustees] concurs in the determination,
that the municipality is able to fund, before the 30th [25th]
anniversary of the effective date of its participation in the
retirement system, all prior service obligations that the
municipality proposes to assume under this section.
(d-1) The governing body of a municipality shall adopt, by
ordinance, a zero percent prior service credit under Subsection (c)
entitling the member to excluded prior service credit if, before
joining the retirement system, the municipality provided
retirement benefits to its employees that were funded partly or
wholly by the municipality.
SECTION 6. Section 853.106, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 853.106. PRIOR SERVICE CERTIFICATE. (a) After
determining a member's prior service credit under Section 853.105,
the retirement system [board of trustees] shall issue to the member
a prior service certificate stating:
(1) the number of months of prior service credited;
(2) the average prior service compensation; and
(3) the prior service credit.
(b) As long as a person remains a member, the person's prior
service certificate is, for purposes of retirement, conclusive
evidence of the information it contains, except that a member or
participating municipality[, before the first anniversary of its
issuance or modification,] may request that the retirement system
correct an error in the prior service [board of trustees to modify
the] certificate in accordance with Section 852.110.
SECTION 7. Section 853.303, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (a-1), (a-2), and (a-3) and amending Subsections
(c) and (d) to read as follows:
(a-1) This subsection applies to a municipality that is
required to adopt a zero percent prior service credit under Section
853.105(d-1). If the governing body of a municipality subject to
this subsection authorizes the granting of prior service credit to
an employee under Subsection (a), the employee is only entitled to
receive excluded prior service credit.
(a-2) This subsection applies to a municipality that,
before having a department of the municipality begin participating
in the retirement system, provided other retirement benefits to its
employees in that department funded partly or wholly by the
municipality. If, on or after January 1, 2020, the governing body
of a municipality subject to this subsection authorizes the
granting of prior service credit to an employee under Subsection
(a), the employee is only entitled to receive excluded prior
service credit.
(a-3) This subsection applies to a municipality that
elected to discontinue the participation in the retirement system
of persons employed or reemployed after the date of an election to
discontinue under Section 852.006(a), provided other retirement
benefits to those employees funded partly or wholly by the
municipality, and subsequently elects, by ordinance, to have those
employees resume participating in the retirement system. If, on or
after January 1, 2020, the governing body of a municipality subject
to this subsection authorizes prior service credit under Subsection
(a) to an employee described by this subsection, the employee is
only entitled to excluded prior service credit.
(c) As soon as practicable after a member has filed a
statement of prior service under this section, the municipality
shall verify the prior service claimed and certify to the
retirement system [board of trustees] the creditable prior service
approved and the average monthly compensation paid to the member
during the period of the service.
(d) After receiving a certification of prior service and
average monthly compensation under this section, the retirement
system [board of trustees] shall:
(1) determine the prior service credit allowable to
the member in the manner provided by Section 853.105; and
(2) issue to the member a prior service certificate as
provided by Section 853.106.
SECTION 8. Section 853.401(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) and Sections
853.105 and 853.303, the governing body of a participating
municipality by ordinance may authorize the crediting in the
retirement system of updated service credits for service performed
for the municipality by members who are contributing employees of
the municipality on the date prescribed by Section 853.402(e). An
updated service credit authorized under this section replaces any
updated service credit or prior service credit previously
authorized for part of the same service.
SECTION 9. Section 853.402, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (g) to read as follows:
(g) The retirement system may recalculate updated service
credit for purposes of determining a member's retirement annuity
if:
(1) the member reestablishes credited service in
accordance with Section 853.003 and retires in the same calendar
year; and
(2) any municipality for which the member performed
creditable service adopts an ordinance authorizing updated service
credits under Section 853.401 or 853.404 with an effective date of
January 1 of the same calendar year.
SECTION 10. Section 853.601(a), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(a) The governing body of a participating municipality in
ordinances authorizing updated service credits under Section
853.401 [on or after January 1, 1984,] may provide that those
members who are eligible for such credits on the basis of service
with the granting municipality, who have unforfeited credit for
prior service or current service with another participating
municipality or municipalities by reason of previous employment,
and who are contributing members on the date prescribed by Section
853.402(e), shall be credited in the retirement system with updated
service credit calculated in the manner prescribed by Sections
853.401 and 853.402, except that in determining the base updated
service credit of the member under Section 853.402(c)(1), all
unforfeited credited service performed by the member by reason of
previous employment in other participating municipalities prior to
the date prescribed by Section 853.402(e) shall be treated as if
performed in the service of the municipality adopting the
ordinance, and that amount shall be reduced by an amount equal to
the sum of:
(1) 2 times the amount credited to the member's
individual account on the date prescribed in Section 853.402(e),
which any participating municipality has undertaken to match on a 1
to 1 ratio; plus
(2) 2.5 times the amount credited to the member's
individual account, subject to a 1.5 to 1 matching ratio by any
participating municipality; plus
(3) 3 times the amount credited to the member's
individual account, subject to a 2 to 1 matching ratio by any
participating municipality; and plus
(4) the sum of all updated service credits, prior
service credits, special prior service credits, and antecedent
service credits allowed to the member by any other participating
municipality by which the member was previously employed and to
which the member is entitled.
SECTION 11. Section 854.006(f), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(f) If a divorce decree or a qualified domestic relations
order, as that term is defined by Section 804.001, so provides, the
benefit payable to a retiree who is receiving payments of an annuity
for the retiree's life with payments to continue after the retiree's
death until the death of another person under Section
854.104(c)(1), (2), or (5), 854.305(c)[(1), (2), or (5)], or
854.410(c)[(1), (2), or (5)] may be increased to the amount that
would have been payable if the retiree had selected an annuity
payable only during the retiree's lifetime if:
(1) the proceeding in which the decree or order is
entered terminates the marriage between the retiree and the person
who was designated to receive the continued payment after the
retiree's death;
(2) the decree or order awards the retiree all
benefits resulting from the retiree's participation in the
retirement system; and
(3) the decree or order is signed after December 31,
1999.
SECTION 12. Section 854.301, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(d) A member may not apply for a disability retirement
annuity under this subchapter after the date the member's
participating municipality begins participation in the
occupational disability benefits program under Subchapter E.
SECTION 13. Sections 854.408(a) and (b), Government Code,
are amended to read as follows:
(a) The standard occupational disability retirement annuity
payable under this subchapter is the sum of the member's prior
service annuity and current service annuity. A prior service
annuity is subject to reduction under Section 855.308(f). A
standard occupational disability retirement annuity[:
[(1)] is payable throughout the life of the retiree
except as otherwise provided by this subchapter[; and
[(2) is reducible as to any month or series of months
as provided by this section].
(b) The standard occupational disability retirement annuity
of a disability retiree may not be suspended under this subchapter
after the date the disability retiree attains 60 years of age
[During any month in which a retiree who is less than 60 years old
receives earned income subject to taxation under the Federal
Insurance Contributions Act or that would be subject to those taxes
if the employer were not an exempt organization, the standard
occupational disability retirement annuity may not exceed the
greater of the following amounts:
[(1) the amount that is required to be added to the
retiree's earned income for the month to equal the highest average
compensation on which the retiree made membership contributions to
the retirement system during any 12 consecutive months during the
three calendar years immediately preceding the year in which the
retiree retired for disability, when the highest average
compensation is multiplied by the percentage increase, if any, in
the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the United States Department of Labor
from December of the year immediately preceding the effective date
of the person's retirement to the December that is 13 months before
a computation is made under this subsection; or
[(2) the monthly annuity attributable to the retiree's
accumulated contributions at the time of the person's retirement].
SECTION 14. Section 854.409, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 854.409. MEDICAL EXAMINATION [REPORTS REQUIRED] OF
RETIREES. (a) The retirement system may require, by written
request, a disability retiree under this subchapter who is younger
than 60 years of age to undergo a medical examination and provide
current medical and other relevant information reaffirming the
status of the retiree as meeting the requirements for certification
of occupational disability under Section 854.407(b). The
retirement system or medical board may designate a physician to
perform the examination. The retiree shall pay the cost of the
examination, unless the director, at the director's discretion,
waives that requirement and has the retirement system pay the cost
of the examination [A disability retiree who is less than 60 years
old and who accepts employment or during any month receives income
that is subject to taxation under the Federal Insurance
Contributions Act shall promptly notify the board of trustees in
writing if the amount of the earnings, when added to the amount of
the standard occupational disability retirement benefit, produces
a sum in excess of the average monthly compensation on which the
retiree made member contributions during the 12-month period
preceding the date of the person's retirement].
(b) [Each retiree who is receiving an occupational
disability retirement annuity and is less than 60 years old shall
make annual reports to the board of trustees on such form as the
board may prescribe, concerning receipt by the retiree of income
that is subject to taxation under the Federal Insurance
Contributions Act or that would be subject to those taxes if the
employer were not an exempt organization, along with any supporting
information as may be required by the board of trustees.] If a
retiree refuses to submit to a medical examination or fails to
provide current medical or other [the] information requested under
Subsection (a) [required under this section], the retirement system
[director] may suspend payments of the annuity as provided by this
section [until the retiree provides the required information].
(c) If a retiree refuses to submit to a medical examination
or fails to provide current medical or other information requested
under Subsection (a) by the first anniversary of the date the
retirement system requested the medical examination or
information, the retirement system may suspend payments of the
annuity until the earlier of the date the retiree:
(1) attains 60 years of age; or
(2) submits to a medical examination and provides the
requested information.
(d) If a retiree submits to a medical examination and
provides the requested information before the fourth anniversary of
the date the retirement system requested the medical examination or
information, the retirement system may pay the suspended payments
of the annuity in a lump sum.
(e) If the medical board finds that a retiree under this
subchapter has experienced medical improvement to the extent that
the retiree no longer meets the requirements for certification of
occupational disability under Section 854.407(b), the medical
board shall certify the medical board's findings and submit the
findings to the director. If the director concurs in the medical
board's findings under this section, the director may adopt the
findings, and the retirement system may suspend payments of the
annuity and take other action as the retirement system, in the
retirement system's discretion, considers equitable and
appropriate to address the situation, until the disability retiree
attains 60 years of age.
(f) The retirement system may not suspend a benefit under
this section payable to an alternate payee under a qualified
domestic relations order.
SECTION 15. Section 854.410(e), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(e) To select an optional occupational disability
retirement annuity, a member or retiree must make the selection and
designate a beneficiary on a form prescribed by and filed with the
retirement system [board of trustees] before the 31st day after the
effective date of retirement.
SECTION 16. Subchapter E, Chapter 854, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 854.411 to read as follows:
Sec. 854.411. RULES FOR OPTIONAL DISABILITY RETIREMENT
ANNUITIES. The board of trustees may adopt rules necessary to
implement this subchapter.
SECTION 17. Section 855.007, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (c) and adding Subsections (e),
(f), (g), (h), (i), (j), and (k) to read as follows:
(a) The board of trustees shall hold at least four [regular]
meetings [in March, June, September, and December of] each year and
additional [special] meetings when called by the director.
(b) Before the fifth day preceding the day of a meeting, the
director shall give written notice of the [a special] meeting to
each trustee unless notice is waived.
(c) Except as otherwise provided by this subtitle, Chapter
551, or other law, all [All] meetings of the board must be open to
the public.
(e) Notwithstanding Chapter 551 or any other law, the board
of trustees may hold an open or closed meeting by telephone
conference call, videoconference, or other similar
telecommunication method. The board may use a telephone conference
call, videoconference, or other similar telecommunication method
for purposes of establishing a quorum or voting or for any other
meeting purpose in accordance with Subsection (f) and this
subsection. This subsection applies without regard to the subject
matter discussed or considered by the board at a meeting.
(f) A meeting of the board of trustees held by telephone
conference call, videoconference, or other similar
telecommunication method:
(1) is subject to the notice requirements applicable
to other board meetings;
(2) may not be held unless notice of the meeting
specifies the location of the meeting at which at least one trustee
of the board will be physically present; and
(3) must be open and audible to the public at the
location specified in the notice under Subdivision (2) during the
open portions of the meeting.
(g) Chapter 551 does not require the board of trustees to
confer with one or more employees, consultants, or legal counsel of
the retirement system or with a third party, including
representatives of an issuer of restricted securities or a private
investment fund, in an open meeting if the only purpose of the
conference is to receive information from or question the
employees, consultants, or legal counsel of the retirement system
or the third party relating to an investment or a potential
investment.
(h) The board of trustees or a committee of the board 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 and relevant auditing
standards.
(i) Notwithstanding Chapter 551 or any other law, the board
of trustees may conduct a closed meeting to consider and discuss:
(1) evaluations or duties of trustees or board
consultants; and
(2) self-evaluations of the board as a whole.
(j) Notwithstanding any other law, Chapter 551 does not
apply to an assembly of the board of trustees or one of the board's
committees while attending a summit, conference, convention,
workshop, or other event held for educational purposes if the
assembly or committee does not deliberate, vote, or take action on a
specific matter of public business or public policy over which the
board of trustees or a committee of the board has supervision or
control. This subsection does not apply to a meeting of the board of
trustees scheduled or called under the board's bylaws.
(k) The board of trustees may adopt rules necessary to
implement this section.
SECTION 18. Section 855.107, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 855.107. AUDIT. (a) In this section:
(1) "Audit" means an internal or independent external
audit authorized or required by this section or initiated or
commissioned by the board of trustees or a committee of the board of
trustees. The term includes a financial audit, compliance audit,
economy and efficiency audit, effectiveness audit, performance
audit, security or risk audit, attestation, management-directed
engagement, or investigation.
(2) "Audit working paper" includes all information,
documentary or otherwise, prepared or maintained in conducting an
audit or preparing an audit report, including:
(A) internal or external communications relating
to the audit that are made or received in the course of the audit;
(B) drafts of an audit report or portions of
those drafts;
(C) drafts of audit plans; and
(D) records of risk assessments.
(b) Annually, or more often, the board of trustees shall
have the accounts of the retirement system audited by a certified
public accountant.
(c) In addition to the financial audit required by
Subsection (b), the board of trustees may initiate or commission an
audit or investigation of activities, functions, or operations of
the retirement system as the board determines appropriate.
(d) Audit working papers prepared, maintained, or assembled
by the retirement system or an agent of the retirement system are
not a record of the board of trustees for purposes of Section
855.112, and are confidential and excepted from the disclosure
requirements of Chapter 552.
(e) Unless made confidential under other law, an audit
report, when received by the board of trustees in its final form, is
public information not excepted from the requirements of Section
552.021.
SECTION 19. Section 855.110(c), Government Code, is amended
to read as follows:
(c) The board of trustees, after consultation with the
actuary, by rule or by funding policy adopted by the board of
trustees, may:
(1) set open or closed amortization periods not to
exceed 30 [25] years;
(2) change the period for amortizing a municipality's
unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities from an open period to a
closed period or from a closed period to an open period;
(3) decrease or increase the amortization period,
provided the amortization period may not exceed 30 years; and
(4) set different amortization periods for unfunded
actuarial accrued liabilities arising from different types of
events giving rise to liabilities and ladder the amortization of
the liabilities.
SECTION 20. Section 855.112, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 855.112. RECORDS [OF BOARD OF TRUSTEES]. (a) The
retirement system [board of trustees] shall keep, in convenient
form, data necessary for required computations and valuations by
the actuary.
(b) The board of trustees shall keep a permanent record of
all of its proceedings.
(c) Records of the board of trustees are open to the public.
SECTION 21. Section 855.114, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 855.114. OBTAINING INFORMATION. (a) In this section,
"participant" means a member, former member, retiree, annuitant,
beneficiary, or alternate payee of the retirement system.
(b) The board of trustees shall obtain from participants
[members] or participating municipalities information necessary
for the proper operation of the retirement system.
(c) Each participant and participating municipality shall
timely provide, in the form and manner specified by the retirement
system, information necessary for the proper operation and
administration of the retirement system.
SECTION 22. Section 855.115, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (c), and (d) and adding Subsections
(a-1), (b-1), (e), (f), (g), and (h) to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "participant" has the meaning assigned
by Section 855.114.
(a-1) Information contained in records that are in the
custody of the retirement system or maintained in the custody of
another governmental entity or an administrator or carrier acting
in cooperation with or on behalf of the retirement system
concerning a participant [an individual member, retiree,
annuitant, or beneficiary] is confidential and not subject to
public disclosure. Except as otherwise provided by this section,
the retirement system is not required to accept or comply with a
request for a record or information about a record of a participant,
or to seek an opinion from the attorney general because the records
of a participant are not public records and are exempt from
disclosure and the public information provisions of Chapter 552.
Participant information [under Section 552.101, and] may not be
disclosed [in a form identifiable with a specific individual]
unless:
(1) the information is disclosed to:
(A) the participant [individual] or the
participant's [individual's] attorney, guardian, executor,
administrator, conservator, or other person who the director
determines is acting in the interest of the participant
[individual] or the participant's [individual's] estate;
(B) a spouse or former spouse of a participant
[the individual] after the director determines that the information
is relevant to the spouse's or former spouse's interest in
participant [member] accounts, benefits, or other amounts payable
by the retirement system;
(C) a governmental official or employee after the
director determines that disclosure of the information requested is
reasonably necessary to:
(i) the performance of the duties of the
official or employee; or
(ii) perform the purposes of the retirement
system; or
(D) a person authorized by the participant
[individual] in writing to receive the information; or
(2) the information is disclosed pursuant to a
subpoena and the director determines that the participant
[individual] will have a reasonable opportunity to contest the
subpoena.
(b-1) This section does not require the retirement system to
compile or disclose a list of participants' names, addresses,
social security numbers, or other descriptive or demographic
information.
(c) The director may designate other employees of the
retirement system to make the necessary determinations under
Subsection (a-1) [(a)].
(d) A determination and disclosure under Subsection (a-1)
[(a)] may be made without notice to the participant [individual
member, retiree, annuitant, or beneficiary].
(e) A record released or received by the retirement system
under this section may be transmitted electronically, including
through the use of an electronic signature or certification in a
form acceptable to the retirement system. An unintentional
disclosure to, or unauthorized access by, a third party related to
the transmission or receipt of information under this section is
not a violation by the retirement system of any law, including any
law or rule relating to the protection of confidential information.
(f) The records of a participant remain confidential after
release to a person, including a governmental official or employee,
as authorized by this section. The records of the participant may
become part of a public record of an administrative or judicial
proceeding, and the participant waives the confidentiality of the
records, including medical records, unless the records are closed
to public access by a protective order issued under applicable law.
(g) The retirement system may require a participant to
provide the participant's social security number as the retirement
system considers necessary to ensure the proper administration of
all services, benefits, plans, and programs under the retirement
system's administration or as otherwise required by state or
federal law.
(h) The retirement system has sole discretion in
determining if a record is subject to this section. For purposes of
this section, a record includes any record of the retirement system
containing information about a participant, living or deceased.
SECTION 23. Section 855.116, Government Code, is amended to
read as follows:
Sec. 855.116. ELECTRONIC INFORMATION [FILING OF CERTAIN
DOCUMENTS]. (a) In this section:
(1) "Electronic [, "electronic] filing" means the
filing of data by the communication of information by facsimile or
in the form of digital electronic signals transformed by computer
and stored on microfilm, magnetic tape, magnetic or solid state
[optical] disk, or any other electronic storage or other medium.
(2) "Electronic record" means any information that is
recorded in a form for computer processing.
(b) The board of trustees may adopt rules and procedures
relating to the electronic filing of documents with the retirement
system and the delivery of information electronically by the
retirement system. A document that is electronically filed in
accordance with those rules and procedures is considered to have
been properly filed with the retirement system.
(c) The retirement system may provide confidential
information electronically to participating municipalities,
members, retirees, beneficiaries, annuitants, alternate payees,
and other persons authorized to receive the information and may
receive information electronically from the individuals or
entities, as applicable, including by use of an electronic
signature or certification in a form acceptable to the retirement
system. An unintentional disclosure to, or unauthorized access by,
a third party related to the transmission or receipt of information
under this section is not a violation by the retirement system of
any law, including a rule relating to the protection of
confidential information.
(d) Subject to Subsection (f), the retirement system may
provide to a member, retiree, or annuitant any information that is
required to be provided, distributed, or furnished under Section
802.106(a), (b), (d), or (e) by:
(1) sending the information to an e-mail address or
other electronic address furnished to the retirement system by the
member, retiree, or annuitant; or
(2) directing the member, retiree, or annuitant
through a written notice, e-mail, or other electronic notice to an
Internet website address to access the information.
(e) Subject to Subsection (f), the retirement system may
provide to a member, retiree, or annuitant the information that is
required to be provided under Section 802.106(c) by directing the
member, retiree, or annuitant through a written notice, e-mail, or
other electronic notice to an Internet website address to access
the information.
(f) Electronic notice sent under this section by e-mail or
other means may only be sent to an e-mail address or other
electronic address furnished to the retirement system by the
member, retiree, or annuitant.
(g) The retirement system may:
(1) photograph, microphotograph, film, or make an
electronic record of any record in the retirement system's
possession; or
(2) preserve the record through electronic document
imaging.
(h) If a record is reproduced under Subsection (g), the
retirement system may destroy or dispose of the original record if
the system first:
(1) places the reproduction or electronic record in a
file that is conveniently accessible to retirement system
personnel; and
(2) provides for the preservation, examination, and
use of the reproduction or stored electronic record.
(i) A photograph, microphotograph, film, electronic record,
or electronic document image of a record received by the retirement
system or reproduced under Subsection (g) is equivalent to the
original record for all purposes, including introduction as
evidence in all courts and administrative agency proceedings. A
certified or authenticated copy of the photograph,
microphotograph, film, electronic record, or electronic document
image is admissible as evidence to the same extent as the original
record.
(j) The director or an authorized representative may
certify the authenticity of a record reproduced under this section
and may charge a fee for the certified copy as provided by law.
(k) Certified records shall be furnished to any person who
is authorized by law to receive them.
SECTION 24. The heading to Section 855.202, Government
Code, is amended to read as follows:
Sec. 855.202. LEGAL REPRESENTATION [ADVISER].
SECTION 25. Section 855.202, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(b) The attorney shall act as the legal adviser to the board
of trustees [and shall represent the system in all litigation].
(c) Subject to Section 402.0212, the board of trustees, the
director, or the director's designee may employ or obtain the
services of other attorneys or outside legal counsel to represent
the retirement system in litigation or advise the retirement system
on fiduciary or legal matters.
SECTION 26. Section 855.301, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(a) The board of trustees shall invest and reinvest the
assets of the retirement system without distinction as to their
source in accordance with Section 67, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution. For purposes of the investment authority of the
board of trustees under Section 67, Article XVI, Texas
Constitution, "security" or "securities" means any investment
instrument within the meaning of the term as defined by Section 4,
The Securities Act (Article 581-4, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes),
15 U.S.C. Section 77b(a)(1), or 15 U.S.C. Section 78c(a)(10). An
interest in a limited partnership or investment contract is
considered a security without regard to the number of investors or
the control, access to information, or rights granted to or
retained by the retirement system. Any instrument or contract
intended to manage transaction, currency exchange, or interest rate
risk in purchasing, selling, or holding securities, or that derives
all or substantially all of its value from the value or performance
of one or more securities, including an index or group of
securities, is considered to be a security.
(d) The board of trustees may:
(1) delegate discretionary investment authority to
and contract with external investment managers to invest and manage
the assets held in trust by the retirement system; and
(2) contract with external investment advisors and
consultants to assist and advise the board and the staff of the
retirement system.
SECTION 27. Section 855.407, Government Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (f) and (h) and adding Subsection (i) to read
as follows:
(f) The governing body of a municipality that is determined
by the actuary to be unable to finance all obligations charged
against its account in the benefit accumulation fund within the
municipality's current amortization period [25 years after its most
recent actuarial valuation date] may elect to have the municipality
contribute to its account in the benefit accumulation fund at a rate
that does not exceed in any year the sum of two percent and the
maximum contribution rate specified by Subsection (a) and by
Section 855.501, if applicable, and that the actuary annually may
determine as necessary to finance the existing levels of benefits
before the expiration of the municipality's current amortization
period [25 years after the most recent actuarial valuation date].
(h) Subject to Subsection (i), if [If] the board of trustees
adopts any actuarial changes, including changes [change] in
actuarial assumptions or in actuarial method, that would result in
any municipality having an increase in its combined contribution
rate of more than one-half of one percent of the total compensation
paid to its employees based on its current amortization period, the
board may, after consultation with the actuary, take any or all of
the following actions [and if its governing body adopts a
resolution requesting a new amortization period, the municipality
will be assigned a new amortization period equal to the lesser of]:
(1) phase in the increase in the contribution rate for
the municipality over a reasonable period of time;
(2) increase the period for amortizing the
municipality's unfunded actuarial accrued liabilities for a period
that does not exceed 30 years; or
(3) allow the municipality to request in writing an
increase in the municipality's amortization period, provided that
the new amortization period the municipality may be assigned equals
the lesser of:
(A) the number of years required to limit the
increase in the combined rate to one-half of one percent of the
total compensation paid to its employees; or
(B) [(2)] the maximum number of years, not to
exceed 30 [40] years, specified by the board of trustees.
(i) A municipality may decline to phase in the increase in
the municipality's contribution rate or increase the municipality's
amortization period under Subsection (h).
SECTION 28. Sections 853.105(b), 854.408(c) and (d), and
854.410(f), Government Code, are repealed.
SECTION 29. The changes in law made to Chapter 854,
Government Code, as amended by this Act, apply to a retiree
regardless of whether the person retired before, on, or after the
effective date of this Act.
SECTION 30. This Act takes effect January 1, 2020.