Senate Bill 10 and House Joint Resolution 2 were heard in the Texas House of Representatives on Friday, April 28, 2023 and passed to third reading. Watch Tim Lee’s live update here.
As the Texas Retired Teachers Association (TRTA) mentioned in an Inside Line on April 27, there are two bills that have been filed during the 88th Legislative Session which would provide eligible Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) retirees with a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) and supplemental payment, SB 10 and HB 600. (To read a summary of both bills, please click here).
SB 10 originally passed out of the Senate on March 29 and was sent to the House Pensions, Investments, and Financial Services (PIFS) Committee. The committee substituted the language in SB 10 with the language from HB 600, the House version of a COLA and supplemental payment bill for eligible TRS retirees.
HJR 2 was filed alongside HB 600 and as written, would require that a constitutional amendment be passed by Texas voters this November to ensure final passage of a COLA and supplemental payment for eligible TRS retirees. AS HB 600 language was substituted for SB 10 language by PIFS, this means that SB 10, if approved, would now also require the amendment to be passed to become effective.
However, upon laying out SB 10 and HJR 2, Representative Greg Bonnen (R-Friendswood) presented an amendment to SB 10 that would make the supplemental payments for TRS retirees effective regardless of the passage of the constitutional amendment, which was adopted.
Members, as a reminder, there are still many steps to be taken to pass a bill for TRS retirees. With a little over a month left in legislative session, things may still change with bill language. We expect to go until the end of session before a final version of the bill is passed and before we know with absolute certainty what percentage of COLA and what amount of supplemental payment may be included.
Please stay tuned to the Inside Line and to Tim Lee’s Facebook and YouTube live Thursday updates as we provide you with the most up-to-date information.
