Bill Text: TX HB1698 | 2015-2016 | 84th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the nonconfidential status of certain state pension information.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2015-03-12 - Referred to Pensions [HB1698 Detail]
Download: Texas-2015-HB1698-Introduced.html
84R191 SGA-D | ||
By: Capriglione | H.B. No. 1698 |
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relating to the nonconfidential status of certain state pension | ||
information. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 552.0038, Government Code, is amended by | ||
amending Subsections (c), (h), and (i) and adding Subsection (h-1) | ||
to read as follows: | ||
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (h-1), records | ||
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beneficiaries, alternate payees, program participants, or persons | ||
eligible for benefits from a retirement system under a retirement | ||
plan or program administered by the retirement system that are in | ||
the custody of the system or in the custody of an administering | ||
firm, a carrier, or another governmental agency, including the | ||
comptroller, acting in cooperation with or on behalf of the | ||
retirement system are confidential and not subject to public | ||
disclosure. The retirement system, administering firm, carrier, or | ||
governmental agency is not required to accept or comply with a | ||
request for a record or information about a record or to seek an | ||
opinion from the attorney general because the records are exempt | ||
from the provisions of this chapter, except as otherwise provided | ||
by this section. | ||
(h) Except as provided by Subsection (h-1), the [ |
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retirement system has sole discretion in determining whether a | ||
record is subject to this section. For purposes of this section, a | ||
record includes any identifying information about a person, living | ||
or deceased, who is or was a member, annuitant, retiree, | ||
beneficiary, alternate payee, program participant, or person | ||
eligible for benefits from the retirement system under any | ||
retirement plan or program administered by the retirement system. | ||
(h-1) This subsection applies only to a person who is or was | ||
a member of the legislature and receives a service retirement | ||
annuity from the Employees Retirement System of Texas. For a person | ||
to whom this subsection applies, the Employees Retirement System of | ||
Texas may not withhold as confidential the person's name or the | ||
amount of the person's annuity. | ||
(i) Except as provided by Subsection (h-1), to [ |
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extent of a conflict between this section and any other law with | ||
respect to the confidential information held by a public retirement | ||
system or other entity described by Subsection (c) concerning an | ||
individual member, annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate | ||
payee, program participant, or person eligible for benefits from | ||
the retirement system, the prevailing provision is the provision | ||
that provides the greater substantive and procedural protection for | ||
the privacy of information concerning that individual member, | ||
annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, alternate payee, program | ||
participant, or person eligible for benefits. | ||
SECTION 2. Sections 815.503(a) and (e), Government Code, | ||
are amended to read as follows: | ||
(a) Except as provided by Section 552.0038(h-1), records | ||
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alternate payees under retirement plans administered by the | ||
retirement system that are in the custody of the system or of an | ||
administering firm, carrier, or other governmental agency acting in | ||
cooperation with or on behalf of the retirement system are | ||
confidential and not subject to public disclosure, and the | ||
retirement system, administering firm, carrier, or governmental | ||
agency is not required to accept or comply with a request for a | ||
record or information about a record or to seek an opinion from the | ||
attorney general, because the records are exempt from the | ||
provisions of Chapter 552, except as otherwise provided by this | ||
section. | ||
(e) Except as provided by Section 552.0038(h-1), the [ |
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retirement system has sole discretion in determining if a record is | ||
subject to this section. For purposes of this section, a record | ||
includes any identifying information about a person, living or | ||
deceased, who is or was a member, annuitant, retiree, beneficiary, | ||
or alternate payee, under any retirement plan or program | ||
administered by the retirement system. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 552.0038(h-1), Government Code, as added | ||
by this Act, applies only to a request for information received by | ||
the Employees Retirement System of Texas on or after the effective | ||
date of this Act. A request for information received before that | ||
date is governed by the law in effect on the date the request is | ||
received, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives | ||
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as | ||
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this | ||
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this | ||
Act takes effect September 1, 2015. |