| (1) Payments by the comptroller through electronic
funds transfers. The comptroller shall pay deducted membership fees
to an eligible organization by electronic funds transfer.
(2) Payments by institutions of higher education.
(A) This paragraph applies only to membership fees
in eligible organizations that have been deducted from salaries or
wages that the comptroller does not pay directly to state employees
of institutions of higher education.
(B) An institution of higher education shall pay deducted
membership fees to an eligible organization by electronic funds transfer
unless it is infeasible to do so.
(C) If it is infeasible for an institution of higher
education to pay deducted membership fees to an eligible organization
by electronic funds transfer, then the institution shall pay the fees
by check. The check must be mailed or delivered to the organization
by no later than the 20th calendar day of the month following the
month when the salary or wages from which the deductions were made
were earned. If the 20th calendar day of a month is not a workday,
then the first workday following the 20th calendar day is the deadline
for the mailing or delivery of checks.
(3) Reconciliation.
(A) An eligible organization shall reconcile the detail
report provided by a state agency under subsection (l)(3) of this
section with:
(i) the amount of membership fees paid to the organization
under this subsection; and
(ii) the organization's membership information.
(B) An eligible organization must submit to the agency,
in a secure manner, a reconciling items report, which identifies:
(i) any discrepancies between the detail report provided
by a state agency under subsection (l)(3) of this section and the
actual amount of membership fees received under this subsection; and
(ii) the name of any employee listed in the detail
report provided by a state agency under subsection (l)(3) of this
section for whom the organization does not already have personal contact
information.
(C) The organization must ensure that the agency receives
the organization's reconciling items report by no later than the 60th
calendar day after the day on which the agency submitted the detail
report to the organization. If the 60th calendar day is not a workday,
the first workday following the 60th calendar day is the deadline.
(D) A state agency that receives a reconciling items
report from an eligible organization shall investigate the reconciling
items described in the organization's reconciling items report, and
notify the organization of the action to be taken to eliminate the
reconciling items. A reconciling item may be eliminated by:
(i) making a retroactive deduction if it is authorized
by subsection (b)(7) of this section;
(ii) recovering an excessive payment to an eligible
organization of amounts deducted under this section from a subsequent
payment to the organization;
(iii) recovering an excessive payment to an eligible
organization of amounts deducted under this section by obtaining a
refund from the organization in accordance with subsection (k)(7)
of this section;
(iv) the agency making corrections to the detail report
if the report is incorrect; or
(v) providing the organization, in a secure manner,
with personal contact information for each employee identified in
the reconciling items report for whom the organization does not already
have personal contact information.
(E) If a state agency timely receives a reconciling
items report that identifies the information described in paragraph
(3)(B)(ii) of this subsection, the agency shall provide the information
described in paragraph (3)(D)(v) of this subsection to the organization
no later than the 10th calendar day after the day on which the agency
received the organization's reconciling items report. If the 10th
calendar day is not a workday, the first workday following the 10th
calendar day is the deadline for providing the information.
(4) Subordinate units of eligible organizations.
(A) A chapter or other subordinate unit of an eligible
organization may receive directly from the comptroller or an institution
of higher education a payment of deducted membership fees if the fees
were deducted under authorization forms that authorized the payment
of the fees to the chapter or other subordinate unit of the organization.
(B) A request to pay deducted membership fees to a
chapter or subordinate unit instead of the parent eligible organization
must be submitted to the comptroller by the organization.
(C) The comptroller may grant a request under subparagraph
(B) of this paragraph only if the membership fee structure of the
chapter or subordinate unit is the same as the membership fee structure
of the parent eligible organization.
(D) The comptroller's granting of a request under subparagraph
(B) of this paragraph is not a certification of the chapter or subordinate
unit as an eligible organization.
(E) The comptroller may require an eligible organization
to submit proof that an entity is a chapter or other subordinate unit
of the organization before a payment of deducted membership fees is
paid directly to the entity. The comptroller may periodically require
the organization to submit proof that the entity is still a chapter
or other subordinate unit of the organization as a condition for continuing
to pay deducted membership fees directly to the entity.
(j) Solicitation. This section does not prohibit the
chief administrator of a state agency from permitting or prohibiting
solicitation by eligible organizations on the premises of the agency.
(k) Responsibilities of eligible organizations.
(1) Disseminating information.
(A) An eligible organization is solely responsible
for the dissemination of relevant information to its representatives
and employees.
(B) An eligible organization must ensure that its representatives
and employees comply with the requirements of this section.
(2) Notification to the comptroller. An eligible organization
must notify the comptroller in writing immediately after a change
occurs to:
(A) the organization's name;
(B) the street address of the headquarters of the organization;
(C) the mailing address of the headquarters of the
organization, if different from the street address;
(D) the full name, title, telephone number, or mailing
address of the organization's primary contact; or
(E) the organization's electronic funds transfer information.
(3) Primary contact. The individual that a state employee
organization designates as its primary contact must represent the
organization for the purposes of:
(A) communicating with the comptroller, including receiving
and responding to correspondence from the comptroller; and
(B) disseminating information, including information
about the requirements of this section, to representatives of the
organization.
(4) Texas identification number. The Texas identification
number of an eligible organization must appear on all correspondence
from the organization to the comptroller or a state agency.
(5) Acceptance of authorization forms. A state agency
must accept an authorization form from a state employee if a refusal
to accept the form would violate a law of the United States or the
State of Texas.
(6) Acceptance of cancellation forms and cancellation
notices. A state agency must accept a cancellation form or cancellation
notice from a state employee unless:
(A) the employee is not a member of the organization;
or
(B) the employee did not properly complete the cancellation
form.
(7) Refunding excessive payments of amounts deducted
under this section.
(A) An eligible organization shall refund a payment
of amounts deducted under this section to the extent the amount exceeds
the amount that should have been paid to the organization if:
(i) the organization receives a written request for
the refund from a state agency;
(ii) the agency provides reasonable evidence of the
overpayment to the organization; and
(iii) no subsequent payments of amounts deducted under
this section are anticipated to be made to the organization.
(B) If a refund is required by subparagraph (A) of
this paragraph, the organization must ensure that the appropriate
state agency receives the refund by no later than the 30th calendar
day after the later of:
(i) the date on which the organization receives the
agency's written request for the refund; and
Cont'd... |
