Board hears two new laws affecting TCRS: subpoena language, death-payment routing and disability-credit changes

Executive Director Jamie Wyman provided trustees with a legislative update on two bills enacted during the 114th General Assembly that will affect TCRS operations.

Wyman described Public Chapter 658 (listed in materials as the TCRS housekeeping bill) as making three main changes: updating outdated subpoena-response language, changing where a final payment following a member’s death is posted (to the member’s account rather than directly to a beneficiary in certain circumstances), and extending a compliance provision related to in-service distributions so that the relevant review window now runs through June 30, 2027. Wyman said the change to the payment routing clarifies administrative handling of death-related final payments.

Wyman also summarized the second enacted measure (cited in packet as Public Chapter 1110), which expands the ability for certain members covered by mandatory retirement—examples given in the presentation included highway patrol officers, TBI and TWRA personnel—to establish temporary periods of disability service credit without paying the employee contributions that previously were required. Wyman said local governments that participate in TCRS and that adopt the provision for their mandatory retirement officers can extend the same coverage to their local public-safety staff.

The presentation was informational; no formal board action was recorded during the meeting on either bill.