HBA-TBM, MPM H.B. 2176 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2176
By: Homer
Pensions & Investments
3/11/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current state law does not permit certain peace officers with out-of-state
law enforcement experience to apply that experience toward service credit
in the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS).  This may create an
obstacle to the recruitment of experienced officers for service in Texas.
House Bill 2176 authorizes law enforcement or custodial officers to apply
previous out-of-state service toward service credit in ERS. 

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. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 2176 amends the Government Code to authorize a law enforcement
or custodial officer who is an eligible member of the Employees Retirement
System of Texas (ERS) to establish service credit for previous out-of-state
service performed as a peace officer if the member performing the service
was licensed by a governmental entity equivalent of the Commission on Law
Enforcement Officer Standards and Education or was not required to be
licensed by the equivalent entity and was commissioned by a municipal
police department or county sheriff's office in another state.  A person is
eligible to establish service credit if the person is a contributing member
as a law enforcement or custodial officer and the person applies for
previous out-of-state service credit before the second anniversary of the
date the member becomes a law enforcement or custodial officer. 

H.B. 2176 authorizes a member to establish out-of-state service credit by
depositing a contribution amount with ERS for each month of service claimed
and sets forth the method for calculating the contribution and interest on
the contribution.   The bill provides that the amount of service credit a
member is authorized to establish may not be less than 24 months or more
than 60 months of service credit.   The bill specifies the manner in which
previous service credit may or may not be established and used.   

H.B. 2176 provides that the state is not required to make contributions for
out-of-state service credit.  The bill authorizes ERS to require applicants
for out-of-state service credit to submit any information necessary for
purposes of determining eligibility, amount of credit, or amounts of
required contributions.  

A person who on the effective date of this Act has been a member of ERS as
a law enforcement or custodial officer for two years or more is authorized
to apply for previous out-of-state service credit before January 1, 2002.   

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.