HBA-SEB H.B. 1284 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1284
By: Jones, Delwin
Pensions and Investments
3/1/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Currently, in order for a member of the elected class in the Employees
Retirement System of Texas (ERS) to receive credit for military service,
the member must have at least six years of service credit in that class if
the military service credit was established before January 1, 1978, or have
enough service credit to be eligible for service retirement benefits at age
60, exclusive of the military service credit, if the military service
credit was established on or after January 1, 1978.  H.B. 1284 alters this
provision by specifying that the military service must have been performed,
rather than established, before, on, or after that date for the purposes of
computing military service credit.  In this way, a member of the elected
class of ERS may buy credit for military service performed without being
subjected to the 1978 cut-off date for establishing that credit. 

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 813.304(c), Government Code, to provide that
military service credit was performed, rather than established, for the
purposes of computing service retirement or nonoccupational disability
retirement benefits of a member of the elected class in the Employees
Retirement System of Texas. 

SECTION 2.  Emergency clause.
  Effective date: upon passage.