Bill Text: TX SB909 | 2013-2014 | 83rd Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the eligibility for service retirement annuities of certain elected officials convicted of certain crimes.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2013-03-05 - Referred to State Affairs [SB909 Detail]
Download: Texas-2013-SB909-Introduced.html
| 83R7917 SGA-F | ||
| By: Schwertner | S.B. No. 909 | |
|
|
||
|
|
||
| relating to the eligibility for service retirement annuities of | ||
| certain elected officials convicted of certain crimes. | ||
| BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
| SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 814, Government Code, is | ||
| amended by adding Section 814.1021 to read as follows: | ||
| Sec. 814.1021. CERTAIN ELECTED MEMBERS INELIGIBLE FOR | ||
| RETIREMENT ANNUITY. (a) In this section, "qualifying felony" | ||
| means any felony involving: | ||
| (1) bribery; | ||
| (2) the embezzlement, extortion, or other theft of | ||
| public money; | ||
| (3) perjury; or | ||
| (4) conspiracy or the attempt to commit any of the | ||
| above crimes. | ||
| (b) This section applies only to a member of the elected | ||
| class of the retirement system as described by Section | ||
| 812.002(a)(1) or (2). | ||
| (c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a member is not | ||
| eligible to receive a service retirement annuity for service credit | ||
| in the elected class under the retirement system if the member is | ||
| convicted of a qualifying felony committed while in office and | ||
| arising directly from the official duties of that elected office. | ||
| (d) The retirement system shall suspend payments of an | ||
| annuity to a person ineligible to receive the annuity under | ||
| Subsection (c). A person whose conviction is overturned on appeal | ||
| or who meets the requirements for innocence under Section | ||
| 103.001(a)(2), Civil Practice and Remedies Code: | ||
| (1) is entitled to receive an amount equal to the | ||
| accrued total of payments and interest earned on the payments | ||
| withheld during the suspension period; and | ||
| (2) may resume receipt of annuity payments on payment | ||
| to the retirement system of an amount equal to the contributions | ||
| refunded to the person under Subsection (e). | ||
| (e) A member who is not eligible to receive a service | ||
| retirement annuity under Subsection (c) is entitled to a refund of | ||
| the member's retirement annuity contributions, including interest | ||
| earned on those contributions. | ||
| (f) Benefits payable to an alternate payee under Chapter 804 | ||
| who is recognized by a domestic relations order established before | ||
| September 1, 2013, are not affected by a member's ineligibility to | ||
| receive a retirement annuity under Subsection (c). | ||
| (g) On conviction of a member for a qualifying felony, a | ||
| court may, in the interest of justice and in the same manner as in a | ||
| divorce proceeding, award half of the service retirement annuity | ||
| forfeited by the member as the separate property of an innocent | ||
| spouse if the annuity is partitioned or exchanged by written | ||
| agreement of the spouses as provided by Subchapter B, Chapter 4, | ||
| Family Code. The amount awarded to the innocent spouse may not be | ||
| converted to community property. | ||
| (h) Ineligibility for a retirement annuity under this | ||
| section does not impair a person's right to any other retirement | ||
| benefit for which the person is eligible. | ||
| (i) The board of trustees of the retirement system shall | ||
| adopt rules and procedures to implement this section. | ||
| SECTION 2. Article 6220, Revised Statutes, is repealed. | ||
| SECTION 3. (a) Section 814.1021, Government Code, as added | ||
| by this Act, applies only to a member of the Employees Retirement | ||
| System of Texas who is or was a member of the state legislature or | ||
| holds or has held a statewide elected office and, on or after the | ||
| effective date of this Act, commits an offense that is a qualifying | ||
| felony as defined by that section. A person who commits a | ||
| qualifying felony before the effective date of this Act is subject | ||
| to the law in effect on the date the offense was committed, and the | ||
| former law is continued in effect for that purpose. | ||
| (b) For purposes of this section, an offense was committed | ||
| before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense | ||
| occurred before that date. | ||
| SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. | ||
