Legislative Activity Related to ERS
The 87th Texas Legislature started January 12, 2021. Check this page regularly for updates on bills that could affect ERS-administered benefit programs.
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| Bill | Author | Summary | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Board of Trustees | |||
| SB 620 | Lucio | Permits but does not require a retiree to serve as an elected Board member. | Pending in Finance 4/12/21 |
| HB 917 | Hernandez | Permits but does not require one retiree to serve as an elected Board member. | Received in the Senate 4/12/21 |
| Chapter 615 | |||
| (Survivor benefits for officers killed in the line of duty) | |||
| HB 637 | Canales | Would add a presumption that a first responder who died of COVID- 19 acquired the disease while on duty, and that any eligible survivor would be entitles to benefits under Chapter 615, Government Code. | Pending in House Business and Industry 3/30/21 |
| HB 1498 | Martinez | Referred to House Business and Industry 3/5/21 | |
| HB 2946 | Cyrier | Makes survivors of Texas Military Forces members killed while on active duty eligible for Chapter 615 benefits. | Referred to House Appropriations 3/18/21 |
| Funding | |||
| HB 2186 | Gates | Resets the base state contribution to the retirement system to 10%, and adds an additional contribution to require the actuarially determined contribution. | Referred to House Appropriations 3/15/21 |
| HB 3397 | Murphy | Requires the state and member contribution to the ERS trust fund to equal the actuarial detemined contribution. | Voted out of House PIFS 4/9/21 |
| SB 976 | Perry | Requires every base budget prepared by the LBB to include an actuarially determine contribution to the ERS trust fund. | Referred to Finance 3/11/21 |
| HB 3898 | Anchia | Requires ERS to provide updated funding policies to members and retirees. | Voted out of house PIFS 4/9/21 |
| HJR 148 | Bonnen | If approved, would permit the Legislature to appropriate additional contributions to the ERS trust fund. | Referred to House Appropriations 3/29/21 |
| SJR 53 | Huffman | Referred to Finance 3/18/21 | |
| HJR 138 | Murphy | If approved, would limit state contributions to the ERS trust fund. | Referred to House Appropriations 3/22/21 |
| HJR 73 | Canales | Proposes to amend the Texas Constitution to increase the minimum state contribution to the ERS ad TRS to seven percent. | Referred to House Appropriations 3/11/21 |
| HB 2707 | Bonnen | Amends the Government Code to conform the statutorily required contribution to conform with the current 9.5% contribution. | Referred to House Appropriations 3/17/21 |
| SB 321 | Huffman | Referred to Finance 3/9/21 | |
| Insurance | |||
| SB 1127 | Powell | Changes GBP eligibility for members of the state military forces. | Referred to Finance 3/18/21 |
| Insurance - Coverages | |||
| HB 1722 | Goodwin | Requires health plans, including the GBP, to cover mental health services using telemedicine. | Referred to House Insurance 3/10/21 |
| HB 4115 | Oliverson | Prohibits certain ambulance providers from balance billing health plans, including the GBP. | Referred to House Insurance 3/29/21 |
| SB 999 | Hancock | Pending in Senate Business and Commerce 4/7/21 | |
| HB 571 | Gates | Requires ERS to establish a program to bundle certain health-care benefits, such as facility, provider, and drug prices for common procedures, in order to reduce member and plan costs. | Pending in House PIFS 4/7/21 |
| HB 440 | Johnson | Prohibits health plans, including the GBP, from refusing to cover hearing aids that cost more than the plan's covered benefit. | Voted out of House Insurance 3/30/21 |
| HB 240 | Thompson | Requires health plans, including the GBP, to cover the condition known as "serious emotional disturbance" in children. | Referred to Insurance 4/13/21 |
| SB 51 | Zaffirini | Referred to Business & Commerce 3/3/21 | |
| SB 1329 | Hinojosa | Requires health plans, including the GBP, to cover telehealth speech therapy. | Referred to Business & Commerce 3/18/21 |
| Insurance - Other | |||
| HB 1774 | Tinderholt | Requires ERS to develop health care plan for elected officials similar to TRS health plan. | Referred to House PIFS 3/10/21 |
| HB 1427 | Shaheen | Requires health care vendors that contract with the state to disclose rate information to legislators, subject to a non-disclosure agreement. | Voted out of House State Affairs 4/12/21 |
| Insurance - Pharmacy | |||
| HB 82 | Lucio III | Caps a monthly co-pay on insulin for health plans, including the GBP, at $100 a month. | Referred to House Insurance 2/25/21 |
| HB 40 | Talarico | Caps a monthly co-pay on insulin for health plans, including the GBP, at $100 a month. | Referred to House Insurance 4/6/21 |
| HB 907 | Johnson | Prohibits health plans, including the GBP, from requiring preauthorization for prescriptionn drugs used to treat chronic and autoimmune diseases. | Voted out of House Insurance 3/30/21 |
| SB 2043 | Menedez | Referred to Business& Commerce 3/31/21 | |
| Investments | |||
| SB 483 | Schwertner | Requires ERS to produce a biennial report of investment returns. | Referred to Finance 3/9/21 |
| HB 3047 | White | Requires Texa$aver to offer an investment option that excludes investment in Chinese companines. | Referred to House PIFS 3/19/21 |
| HB 1657 | White | Prohibits the investment of certain assets in certain foreign companies that do not have transparency. | Referred to House PIFS 3/9/21 |
| HB 1665 | White | Requires the development of an investment database of companies that do not have transparency. | Referred to House PIFS 3/9/21 |
| HB 2189 | King | Prohibits ERS and other state entities from contracting with or investing in companies that boycott fossil fuel companies. | Voted out of House State Affairs 4/12/21 |
| SB 1372 | Huffman | Adds additional analysis and reporting of a retirement system's investment, including ERS. | Recommended for Local/Uncontested Calendar 4/9/21 |
| Retirement | |||
| Retirement - Elected Class | |||
| HB 2741 | Raymond | Amends eligibilty for certain elected class members to retire. | Referred to House PIFS 3/17/21 |
| HB 4171 | Middleton | Requires legislator to pass a drug test for eligibility to receive a retirement annuity. | Referred to House PIFS 3/29/21 |
| Retirement - Employee Class | |||
| HB 1437 | Gates | Requires the ERS Board to develop and implement a hybrid retirement plan for new members effective not later than 9/1/2023. | Referred to House PIFS 3/5/21 |
| SB 1204 | Schwertner | Requires every actuarial experience study to report on and recomment certain ways to change the retirmenet plan. | Referred to Finance 3/18/21 |
| HB 482 | Schwertner | Requires ERS and TRS to each publish a biennial study about the cost and feasibility of implementing a defined contribution retirement plan, both for current and new members. | Referred to Finance 3/9/21 |
| HB 4534 | Gates | Requires ERS to conduct an interim study regarding the retirement plan and alternatives. | Pending in House PIFS 4/7/21 |
| HB 3685 | Capringlione | Creates an interim legislative study regarding the ERS defined benefit plan and alternative plans. | Referred to House Admin 4/9/21 |
| HB 2936 | Frank | Creates new optional retirement benefit. | Voted out of House PIFS 4/9/21 |
| HB 1028 | Gates | Requires the ERS Board to develop and implement a defined contribution retirement plan for new members effective not later than 9/1/2023. | Referred to House PIFS 3/4/21 |
| HB 1438 | Gates | Requires the ERS Board to develop and implement a cash balance retirement plan for new members effective not later than 9/1/2023. | Referred to House PIFS 3/5/21 |
| HB 1439 | Gates | Requires the ERS Board to develop and implement a lump-sum retirement plan for new members effective not later than 9/1/2023. | Referred to House PIFS 3/5/21 |
| SB 1621 | Bettencourt | Would make public employees ineligible for retirement if they were convicted of certain crimes. | Referred to State Affairs 3/24/21 |
| HB 2187 | Gates | Establishes a new retirement benefit tier for ERS members hired on or after September 1, 2021, and increases the member contribution for those individuals to 10.5%. | Referred to House PIFS 3/15/21 |
| HB 1847 | Allen | Provides for an annuity increase, a COLA, and an additional payment for current ERS retirees. | Referred to House PIFS 3/11/21 |
| Retirement - JRS Plan 1 & Plan 2 | |||
| HB 1876 | Schofield | Adjusts base salaries for state judges and justices. | Pending in House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence 3/17/21 |
| HB 1880 | Schofield | Adjusts base salaries for district judges. | Pending in House Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence 3/17/21 |
| Retirement - Law Enforcement and Custodial Officer Supplemental Retirement Fund (LECOSRF) | |||
| HB 4286 | King | Prohibits peace officers who are dishonorably discharged from receiving a retirement annuity. | Referred to House Homeland Security and Public Safety 4/15/21 |
| SB 1819 | Bettencourt | Referred to Senate Jurisprudence 3/26/21 | |
| SB 1071 | Hinojosa | Adjusts disability retirement benefits for certain peace officers. | Referred to Finance 3/18/21 |
| HB 3393 | Meza | Allows the Board of Trustees to adopt a rule allowing Juvenile Justice correctional officers to participate in LECOS if the ERS trust fund is sound. | Referred to House PIFS 3/22/21 |