| (a) This section is being adopted pursuant to Government
Code §810.003 and applies only to a person who is otherwise eligible
for membership in the system because the person was elected or appointed
to an elected office. In the event that a member or retiree has more
than one membership account in the system through employment with
more than one participating municipality in the system, this section
applies only to the individual account or annuity that is associated
with services for the participating municipality where the member
or retiree was holding elected office when convicted of a qualifying
felony while in that elected office.
(b) Except as expressly provided otherwise, this section
shall not apply to system benefits other than service retirement annuity
benefits to the extent such other benefits are available to a member
or retiree, including but not limited to: occupational disability
benefits, or supplemental death benefits payable to the beneficiary(ies)
or heir(s) of a member or retiree.
(c) In this section, "qualifying felony" means any
felony that is committed on or after June 6, 2017, involving one or
more of the following:
(1) bribery;
(2) embezzlement, extortion, or other theft of public
money;
(3) perjury;
(4) coercion of public servant or voter;
(5) tampering with governmental record;
(6) misuse of official information;
(7) conspiracy or the attempt to commit any of the
offenses described in paragraphs (1) - (6) of this subsection;
(8) abuse of official capacity; or
(9) as otherwise defined in Government Code, §810.003(a)(2).
(d) A participating municipality must provide written
notice to the system of the conviction of any member or retiree of
the system who was elected or appointed to an elected office of the
participating municipality and who is convicted of a qualifying felony
committed while in elected office and arising directly from the official
duties of that elected office. A participating municipality must provide
the notice no later than the 30th day after the conviction of the
member. The notice must:
(1) clearly state the convicted person's name, social
security number or other identifying information, title of elected
office, date of conviction, court of jurisdiction, case number, qualifying
felony violation, date of offense, and an explanation of the connection
of the qualifying felony to the person's performance of his or her
official duties;
(2) include a copy of the official conviction of the
person entered by the court, including the judge's affirmative finding
of fact that the person is an elected or appointed holder of an elected
office of the participating municipality who committed a qualifying
felony while in office and in the course of performing official duties
of that elected office; and
(3) if applicable, include a copy of the court's award
of all or a portion of the convicted person's service retirement annuity
to the person's spouse pursuant to a just and right division upon
the person's conviction or pursuant to a written agreement between
the spouses as provided by Subchapter B, Chapter 4, Family Code, entered
into prior to the person's commission of the offense.
(e) Notwithstanding subsection (d)(3), of this section,
for the system to administer any court order as described in that
paragraph, the order also must meet the requirements for a qualified
domestic relations order under Chapter 804, Government Code, and Chapter
129 of this title ("QDRO").
(f) Upon receipt of notice as provided in Government
Code §810.003 of a conviction of a qualifying felony, substantially
similar to the notice required from a participating municipality,
the system shall suspend payments of a service retirement annuity
to a retiree who the system determines is ineligible to receive the
annuity under Government Code §810.003(c) effective the month
following the month in which the system receives such notice.
(g) Subject to any applicable QDRO, a member who is
ineligible to receive a service retirement annuity under Government
Code §810.003(c) is entitled to a refund of the member's accumulated
contributions, including interest earned on those accumulated contributions,
subject to the convicted person applying for withdrawal of the accumulated
contributions and interest in accordance with the Act and system rules.
Upon such withdrawal, the person no longer shall be a member in the
system in accordance with Government Code §852.104. A retiree
whose service retirement annuity payments are suspended in accordance
with Government Code §810.003(d) is not entitled to any refund
or withdrawal from the system; provided, however, that:
(1) the deceased retiree's beneficiary(ies), his or
her estate or the estate of the deceased retiree whose service retirement
annuity payments were suspended in accordance with Government Code §810.003(d)
may receive a refund of unrecovered accumulated contributions in accordance
with Government Code §854.502, to the extent that section applies;
and
(2) if a retiree also has a member account pursuant
to Government Code §852.108 or §852.109, the person is entitled
to a refund of such member account under this subsection if the person
has not applied for retirement of such member account and is not receiving
a retirement annuity for that member account at the time TMRS receives
notice of the conviction.
(h) System benefits payable to an alternate payee under
a QDRO pursuant to Government Code Chapter 804 or Government Code §810.003(h)
are not affected by:
(1) a member's ineligibility to receive a service retirement
annuity pursuant to Government Code §810.003(c), except to the
extent that the alternate payee of a member who receives a refund
of accumulated contributions and interest is eligible only for a refund
of accumulated contributions and interest as provided in the QDRO;
or
(2) suspension of a retiree's service retirement annuity
payments pursuant to Government Code §810.003(d) unless the alternate
payee of a retiree convicted of a qualifying felony also is convicted
of a felony as a party to the offense as defined by §7.01, Penal
Code, or of another qualifying offense arising out of the same criminal
episode as defined by §3.01, Penal Code, in which case the alternate
payee forfeits the retiree's service retirement annuity and service
retirement contributions to the same extent as the member.
(i) Upon receipt of a notice of a judgment overturning
the conviction of, or determining that the requirements for innocence
under Civil Practice and Remedies Code §103.001(a)(2) are met
for a person previously convicted for a qualifying felony described
in Government Code §810.003, if the person was a retiree at the
time of the conviction, the person is entitled to receive a lump sum
amount equal to the accrued total of payments and interest earned
on the payments withheld during the suspension period and may resume
service retirement annuity payments. Under this subsection, "interest
earned on the payments withheld during the suspension period" shall
mean interest that is applied annually, without compounding, at the
same rate set by the Board as the discount rate for determining the
present value of future cash flows in developing the annuity purchase
rate pursuant to §855.110 of the Act.
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