HBA-TYH H.B. 362 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 362
By: Hupp
Pensions and Investments
2/17/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, state law requires schools to give insurance benefits to
out-of-state employees.  The impact of this bill is, for the most part,
limited to the University of Central Texas, which competes against many
non-Texas colleges for federal contracts to provide educational instruction
abroad to U.S. servicemen and women.  Most other states do not require
their colleges to give insurance benefits to out-of-state employees under
their state plans, which allows those schools to submit much lower bids for
projects.  Moreover, many of the benefits provided by the Texas program are
not applicable to foreign residents.  H.B.  362 gives community/junior
colleges the flexibility to decide whether they want to give out-of-state
employees insurance benefits under the Texas Uniform Group Insurance
Benefits Act. 

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 Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance Code (Texas
Employees Uniform Group Insurance Benefits Act), by adding Section 13C, as
follows: 

Sec. 13C. CERTAIN EMPLOYEES INELIGIBLE.  Provides that an employee of a
public community/junior college who is employed to perform services outside
of this state is not eligible to participate in group programs under this
Act, unless the college, in accordance with adopted procedures, permits the
employee to participate.  Provides that, under this section, an employee is
considered employed to perform services outside of this state if 75 percent
or more of the services rendered are performed outside of this state.
Exempts from this section a person employed by the public community/junior
college on August 31, 1999, and specifies that the person remains eligible
to participate in the group programs provided by this Act even if the
person's employment by the college is not continuous. 

SECTION 2.  Amends Section 13(c), Article 3.50-2, Vernon's Texas Insurance
Code (Texas Employees Uniform Group Insurance Benefits Act), to make
conforming changes. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: August 31, 1999.

SECTION 4.  Specifies that, not withstanding Section 13C, an employee hired
after the effective date of this Act, to perform services outside of this
state, is still eligible to participate in the group program if the program
is provided under an insurance policy, contract, or other agreement that is
in effect on the effective date of this Act and requires that the employee
be eligible to participate in the program provided.  Provides that this
eligibility terminates on the date that the insurance policy, contract, or
other agreement is terminated or renewed. 

SECTION 5.  Emergency clause.