HBA-MPM H.B. 28 77(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 28 By: McClendon Pensions & Investments 2/19/2001 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Finding and retaining qualified state employees has become increasingly problematic. A primary concern of retired military veterans who work for the State of Texas is retirement benefits. To retain qualified and skilled employees, such as retired veterans, the state may have to provide benefits comparable to employers in the private sectior. House Bill 28 modifies eligibility requirements for a state employee honorably retired from military service to establish military service credit in the Employee Retirement System of Texas. 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 28 amends the Government Code regarding military service credit eligibility requirements for a member of the Employees Retirement System of Texas. The bill removes criteria specifying that a member who does not receive and is ineligible to receive federal retirement payments based on 20 or more years of active federal military duty or its equivalent is eligible to establish credit. H.B. 28 also provides that a member no longer is eligible to receive military credit if released from military duty for a discharge that is not honorable. A member has to be released from military duty under honorable conditions to be eligible to establish military credit. EFFECTIVE DATE On passage.