Pension Review Board votes to publish notice to review FSRP rules in Texas Register

The Pension Review Board on Jan. 12 approved publication of a notice of intent to review the Financially Stressed Retirement Plan (FSRP) rules in the Texas Administrative Code, opening a formal public‑comment process and additional stakeholder outreach.

Tamara Ehrenstein, the PRB’s general counsel, told members that statute requires agencies to review administrative rules every four years and that the FSRP rules adopted in 2022 are now due for review. “The purpose of this review is twofold,” she said: to determine whether the rules remain necessary and to identify items that may require statutory recommendations rather than rule changes.

Staff outlined a timeline: publish the notice to the Texas Register to trigger a 30‑day formal comment period, seek targeted stakeholder input and present detailed proposed changes to the actuarial committee in April. Draft rules would return to the full board in July for approval to publish proposed rule changes (another 30‑day comment period) and, if appropriate, adoption at the September board meeting. Staff indicated any legislative recommendations would be included in the PRB’s biennial report in November.

Board members discussed potential clarifications the PRB could add to the rules, including requiring systems to provide the PRB with copies of member communications when a plan is determined to be in an inadequate funding arrangement, clarifying progress‑update deadlines, and tightening completion criteria for FSRPs so analyses must show a full funding date within a specified window of the triggering evaluation date. Members emphasized the need for clear guidance on the content and timing of progress updates.

The board then moved, seconded and voted to post the notice of intent to review chapter 610 of the Texas Administrative Code in the Texas Register; the chair announced “the ayes have it.” (Motion moved by Mister Shook; seconded by Miss Lavey.)

Next steps: staff will publish the notice, solicit stakeholder feedback during the formal comment period and return to the actuarial committee in April with more detailed potential rule changes and statutory recommendations for the board’s consideration.