Bill Text: TX HB2887 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to eligibility for custodial officer service in the Employees Retirement System of Texas by certain juvenile correctional officers and caseworkers employed by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-03-14 - Referred to Pensions, Investments & Financial Services [HB2887 Detail]
Download: Texas-2023-HB2887-Introduced.html
88R9394 BDP-D | ||
By: A. Johnson of Harris | H.B. No. 2887 |
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relating to eligibility for custodial officer service in the | ||
Employees Retirement System of Texas by certain juvenile | ||
correctional officers and caseworkers employed by the Texas | ||
Juvenile Justice Department. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 811.001, Government Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subdivision (8) and adding Subdivision (8-b) to read as | ||
follows: | ||
(8) "Custodial officer" means a member of the | ||
retirement system who is employed by the Board of Pardons and | ||
Paroles or the Texas Department of Criminal Justice as a parole | ||
officer or caseworker, who is employed by the Texas Juvenile | ||
Justice Department as a juvenile correctional officer or | ||
caseworker, or who is employed by the correctional institutions | ||
division of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and certified | ||
by the department as having a normal job assignment that requires | ||
frequent or infrequent regularly planned contact with, and in close | ||
proximity to, inmates or defendants of the correctional | ||
institutions division without the protection of bars, doors, | ||
security screens, or similar devices and includes assignments | ||
normally involving supervision or the potential for supervision of | ||
inmates in inmate housing areas, educational or recreational | ||
facilities, industrial shops, kitchens, laundries, medical areas, | ||
agricultural shops or fields, or in other areas on or away from | ||
property of the department. The term includes a member who | ||
transfers from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice to the | ||
managed health care unit of The University of Texas Medical Branch | ||
or the Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center pursuant to | ||
Section 9.01, Chapter 238, Acts of the 73rd Legislature, 1993, | ||
elects at the time of transfer to retain membership in the | ||
retirement system, and is certified by the managed health care unit | ||
or the health sciences center as having a normal job assignment | ||
described by this subdivision. | ||
(8-b) "Juvenile correctional officer" has the meaning | ||
assigned by Section 242.009, Human Resources Code. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 813.0015, Government Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 813.0015. PROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO CASH BALANCE GROUP | ||
MEMBERS. The following provisions of this chapter do not apply to a | ||
cash balance group member: | ||
(1) Sections 813.102, 813.104, 813.106, 813.202, | ||
813.402, 813.403, 813.404, 813.502, 813.504, 813.505, [ |
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813.509, 813.511, 813.513, and 813.514; and | ||
(2) Subchapter D. | ||
SECTION 3. Sections 813.506(b) and (c), Government Code, | ||
are amended to read as follows: | ||
(b) To be creditable as custodial officer service, service | ||
performed must be performed as a parole officer, [ |
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or juvenile correctional officer or must meet the requirements of | ||
the rules adopted under Subsection (a) and be performed by persons | ||
in one of the following job categories: | ||
(1) all persons classified as Correctional Officer I | ||
through warden, including training officers and special operations | ||
reaction team officers; | ||
(2) all other employees assigned to work on a unit and | ||
whose jobs require routine contact with inmates or defendants, | ||
including but not limited to farm managers, livestock supervisors, | ||
maintenance foremen, shop foremen, medical assistants, food | ||
service supervisors, stewards, education consultants, commodity | ||
specialists, and correctional counselors; | ||
(3) employees assigned to administrative offices | ||
whose jobs require routine contact with inmates or defendants at | ||
least 50 percent of the time, including but not limited to | ||
investigators, compliance monitors, accountants routinely required | ||
to audit unit operations, sociologists, interviewers, | ||
classification officers, and supervising counselors; and | ||
(4) administrative positions whose jobs require | ||
response to emergency situations involving inmates or defendants, | ||
including but except as specified not limited to the director, | ||
deputy directors, assistant directors, and not more than 25 | ||
administrative duty officers. | ||
(c) The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, the managed | ||
health care unit of The University of Texas Medical Branch or the | ||
Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, the Texas Juvenile | ||
Justice Department, or the Board of Pardons and Paroles, as | ||
applicable, shall determine a person's eligibility to receive | ||
credit as a custodial officer. A determination under this | ||
subsection [ |
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by an employee but is subject to change by the retirement system. | ||
SECTION 4. Section 815.505, Government Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
Sec. 815.505. CERTIFICATION OF NAMES OF LAW ENFORCEMENT AND | ||
CUSTODIAL OFFICERS. Not later than the 12th day of the month | ||
following the month in which a person begins or ceases employment as | ||
a law enforcement officer or custodial officer, the Public Safety | ||
Commission, the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission, the Parks and | ||
Wildlife Commission, the office of inspector general at the Texas | ||
Juvenile Justice Department, the Texas Juvenile Justice | ||
Department, the Board of Pardons and Paroles, or the Texas Board of | ||
Criminal Justice, as applicable, shall certify to the retirement | ||
system, in the manner prescribed by the system, the name of the | ||
employee and such other information as the system determines is | ||
necessary for the crediting of service and financing of benefits | ||
under this subtitle. | ||
SECTION 5. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply: | ||
(1) to a member of the Employees Retirement System of | ||
Texas who is employed by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department as a | ||
juvenile correctional officer or caseworker on or after the | ||
effective date of this Act regardless of whether the member was | ||
hired by the department before, on, or after the effective date of | ||
this Act; and | ||
(2) except as provided by Subsection (b) of this | ||
section, only to service credit that is established on or after the | ||
effective date of this Act. | ||
(b) Service credit established by a member who is employed | ||
by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department as a juvenile correctional | ||
officer or caseworker and who is not subject to Chapter 820, | ||
Government Code, that was earned by the member in the position of a | ||
juvenile correctional officer or caseworker before the effective | ||
date of this Act, is considered service credit established as a | ||
custodial officer for purposes of determining the benefits payable | ||
from the law enforcement and custodial officer supplemental | ||
retirement fund. | ||
(c) Notwithstanding Subsection (b) of this section, a | ||
member subject to that subsection may not receive benefits payable | ||
from the law enforcement and custodial officer supplemental | ||
retirement fund based on the service credit described by that | ||
subsection if the member retires before September 1, 2025. | ||
(d) As soon as practical after the effective date of this | ||
Act, the board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System of | ||
Texas, in consultation with the Texas Juvenile Justice Department, | ||
shall adopt rules necessary to implement the changes in law made by | ||
this Act. | ||
(e) The Texas Juvenile Justice Department shall: | ||
(1) as soon as practical after the effective date of | ||
this Act, certify to the Employees Retirement System of Texas, in | ||
the form and manner prescribed by the board of trustees of the | ||
retirement system: | ||
(A) the name of each member who is employed by the | ||
department as a juvenile correctional officer or caseworker on the | ||
effective date of this Act; | ||
(B) if the member is subject to Subsection (b) of | ||
this section, the amount of service credit established by the | ||
member as a juvenile correctional officer or caseworker before the | ||
effective date of this Act; and | ||
(C) any other information the retirement system | ||
determines is necessary to credit custodial officer service in | ||
accordance with the changes in law made by this Act; and | ||
(2) beginning with the first pay period that occurs | ||
after the effective date of this Act and with respect to each member | ||
employed by the department as a juvenile correctional officer or | ||
caseworker, begin making deductions and collecting contributions | ||
for the law enforcement and custodial officer supplemental | ||
retirement fund as prescribed by Section 815.402(h), Government | ||
Code. | ||
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |