HBA-SEB C.S.S.B. 1664 76(R)BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.S.B. 1664 By: Shapleigh Pensions and Investments 5/6/1999 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, in cities with populations of 500,000 to 600,000, an individual who is transferred involuntarily from a position that does not participate in a municipal retirement system for firefighters and police officers to a position that does participate in such a system may not elect to remain with the individual's original retirement system. As a result, some employees may lose time or credit within a pension fund. C.S.S.B. 1664 authorizes a person who is involuntarily transferred from a position that does not participate in such a municipal retirement system to a position that does participate in a system to elect to continue to be a member of the person's original municipal retirement system. 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 is irrevocable, 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. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The substitute makes a conforming change in the caption. The substitute modifies the original by removing SECTION 1 of the original. SECTION 1 of the original would have amended Section 803.0021, Government Code, to provide that Sections 803.101(g) and 803.102(b) apply only to a retirement system existing under Article 6243b, V.T.C.S (Firemen and Policemen Pension Fund in Cities of 500,000 to 600,000). The substitute redesignates SECTIONS 2-5 of the original to SECTIONS 1-4 of the substitute. The substitute modifies SECTION 1, as redesignated, to amend 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. The substitute would have established the same provision by adding a Subsection (g). The substitute modifies the original in SECTION 2, as redesignated, by amending Section 803.003, Government Code, rather than Section 803.102, Government Code. The substitute specifies that the election authorized to be made is irrevocable. The substitute makes nonsubstantive changes to the original in this section.