Committee approves expansion of LECO supplemental retirement fund membership

The Committee on Finance voted to report Senate Bill 1737 favorably after Chair Huffman explained the bill would expand membership in the Law Enforcement and Custodial Officers (LECO) supplemental retirement fund to include specified correctional and law enforcement staff.

Chair Huffman said JCOs at the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD) and law enforcement officers for the Comptroller and Attorney General’s offices meet the LECO work‑hazard profile. The bill would provide LECO credit retroactively for ERS Group 1, 2 and 3 members employed at these agencies as of Dec. 1, 2024; ERS Group 4 employees would receive LECO credit only prospectively because of differences in the Group 4 cash-balance structure. The bill takes effect only if liabilities created by the change are pre‑funded by appropriation, and Chair Huffman said figures were accounted for in the budget.

Witnesses who testified in support included representatives of the Texas State Employees Union, the Texas Attorney General peace officer association, and active law‑enforcement officers who described workplace injury and turnover rates; Maggie DeSanza of the Texas State Employees Union cited injury and turnover statistics for juvenile corrections officers and urged passage as an incentive to retain experienced staff. Wesley Hensley, a major with the Attorney General’s Criminal Investigations Division, described being shot nine times in 2018 and said the bill would help officers who face long-term physical impacts of service.

The committee recorded 11 ayes, no nays and reported SB 1737 to the full Senate with a favorable recommendation.