HBA-SEB H.B. 2763 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2763
By: Haggerty
Pensions and Investments
3/24/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, in cities of 500,000 to 600,000, a person who is transferred
involuntarily from a position that does not participate in the pension fund
for fire fighters and police officers to a position that does participate
in that fund may not elect to remain with the person's original pension
fund.  The city of El Paso, for example, may merge the city's emergency
medical services department and airport rescue department with the city's
fire department, and those employees who are transferred to the fire
department would not have the option to remain with the city's pension
fund.  As a result, employees may lose time or credit within a pension
fund. 

H.B. 2763 authorizes a person who is involuntarily transferred from a
position that does not participate in the aforementioned fire fighters' and
police officers' pension fund to a position that does participate in that
fund to elect to continue to be a member of the person's original pension
fund.  This bill also provides that a public retirement system that elects
to participate in the proportionate retirement program, which is a program
of proportionate benefits to qualified members of more than one public
retirement system, may do so without the approval of the participants of
the retirement system making the election. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 803.101(f), Government Code, to provide that an
election to participate in the proportionate retirement program does not
require the approval of the participants in the public retirement system
making the election.   

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 803.003, Government Code, to authorize a person
to make an irrevocable election to continue membership in a municipal
retirement system if the person is involuntarily transferred from a
position included in a retirement system operated by a municipality that
does not participate in a statewide retirement system governed by Article
6243b, V.T.C.S. (Firemen and Policemen Pension Fund in Cities of 500,000 to
600,000), to a position included in the coverage of a retirement system
governed by that article.  Establishes that the decision must be made at
the time of transfer and that this authorization applies notwithstanding
any other law. Provides that an involuntary transfer is determined by the
employment rules that apply to the person immediately before the time of
the involuntary transfer. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.