BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 812

By: Cook

State Affairs

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, the Sunset Advisory Commission is not required to review the Employees Retirement System of Texas (ERS), although at one time ERS was subject to the Texas Sunset Act. Interested parties point out that ERS is responsible for a number of multimillion dollar contracts and has considerable latitude regarding agency operations, and they contend that the oversight provided by sunset review could help to protect state assets, as well as employee and retiree benefits. H.B. 812 seeks to establish this oversight by requiring ERS to be reviewed under the Texas Sunset Act.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 812 amends the Government Code to subject the board of trustees of the Employees Retirement System of Texas to review under the Texas Sunset Act. The bill requires the board to be reviewed during the period in which state agencies abolished in 2015, and every 12th year after that year, are reviewed.

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or, if the bill does not receive the necessary vote, September 1, 2013.