Certain corrections employees can lose eligibility for a service retirement annuity if convicted of a qualifying felony tied to their corrections service.
Sec. 810.004. CERTAIN CORRECTIONS EMPLOYEES INELIGIBLE FOR RETIREMENT ANNUITY. (a) In this section: (1) "Governing body of a public retirement system" and "public retirement system" have the meanings assigned by Section 802.001. (2) "Qualifying felony" means any felony involving an incarcerated member of a criminal street gang as defined by Section 71.01, Penal Code, including: (A) bribery; (B) the embezzlement, extortion, or other theft of public money; (C) perjury; (D) engaging in organized criminal activity; (E) tampering with governmental record; (F) misuse of official information; (G) abuse of official capacity; or (H) conspiracy or the attempt to commit any of the offenses described by Paragraphs (A)-(G). (b) This section applies only to a person who is: (1) a member of the employee class of the Employees Retirement System of Texas as described by Section 812.003 because the person serves as a corrections officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or the Texas Juvenile Justice Department; or (2) otherwise eligible for membership in a public retirement system wholly or partly because the person served as a corrections officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice or the Texas Juvenile Justice Department. (c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), a member of a public retirement system is not eligible to receive a service retirement annuity under the retirement system if the member is convicted of a qualifying felony for conduct arising directly from the member's service as a corrections officer. (d) The retirement system, on receipt of notice of a conviction under Subsection (j), any similar notice of a conviction of a qualifying felony from a United States district court or United States attorney, or any other information that the retirement system determines by rule is sufficient to establish a conviction of a qualifying felony, shall suspend payments of a service retirement annuity to a person the system determines is ineligible to receive the annuity under Subsection (c). A person whose conviction is overturned on appeal or who meets the requirements for innocence under Section 103.001(a)(2), Civil Practice and Remedies Code: (1) is entitled to receive an amount equal to the accrued total of payments and interest earned on the payments withheld during the suspension period; and (2) may resume receipt of annuity payments on payment to the retirement system of an amount equal to the contributions refunded to the person under Subsection (e). (e) A member who is ineligible to receive a service retirement annuity under Subsection (c) is entitled to a refund of the member's service retirement annuity contributions, including interest earned on those contributions. A refund under this subsection is subject to an award of all or part of the member's service retirement annuity contributions to a former spouse, including as a just and right division of the contributions on divorce, payment of child support, or payment of spousal maintenance or contractual alimony or other order of a court. (f) Benefits payable to an alternate payee under Chapter 804 who is recognized by a qualified domestic relations order established before the effective date of this subsection are not affected by a member's ineligibility to receive a service retirement annuity under Subsection (c). (g) On conviction of a member for a qualifying felony: (1) a court may, in the same manner as in a divorce or annulment proceeding, make a just and right division of the member's service retirement annuity by awarding to the member's spouse all or part of the community property interest in the annuity forfeited by the member; and (2) a court shall, if the member's service retirement annuity was partitioned or exchanged by written agreement of the spouses as provided by Subchapter B, Chapter 4, Family Code, before the member's commission of the offense, award the annuity forfeited by the member to the member's spouse as provided in the agreement. (h) Ineligibility for a service retirement annuity under this section does not impair a person's right to any other retirement benefit for which the person is eligible. (i) The governing body of a public retirement system shall adopt rules and procedures to implement this section. (j) A court shall notify the retirement system of the terms of a conviction of a person convicted of an offense described by Subsection (c). (k) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if the spouse of a member convicted of a qualifying felony is convicted of the felony as a party to the offense as defined by Section 7.01, Penal Code, or of another qualifying offense arising out of the same criminal episode as defined by Section 3.01, Penal Code, the spouse forfeits the member's service retirement annuity and service retirement contributions to the same extent as the member. Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 641 (S.B. 1570), Sec. 1, eff. June 10, 2019.