Retirees Will Have a Voice at ERS, Thanks to Rep. Hernandez & Sen. Lucio

Retirees can finally have representation and a direct say in the oversight of the Employees Retirement System Board, thanks to a new law sponsored by both Rep. Ana Hernandez of Houston and Sen Eddie Lucio of Brownsville, and signed this weekend by Gov. Greg Abbott.

House Bill 917 allows a retiree in the ERS pension plan to run for one of the three elected ERS board seats.  

Our membership has long supported legislation to allow a state retiree to run for a trustee seat on the ERS Board. Until now, the board could only include state employees who were elected by both active employees and retirees, as well as appointees. Consequently, it was missing the valuable experience and diversity that a retiree could offer and that other state public retirement boards have.

Lawmakers understood that it’s vital for retirees — who are currently drawing their state pensions and impacted daily by ERS decisions — to have a voice.

Members of AFSCME Texas Retirees have been advocating for this change for four legislative sessions, and your hard work has finally paid off with good policy. Retirees will be able to run in the ERS election scheduled for Spring 2023.

As Rep. Hernandez said, this law “allows retirees to stand for election on the Board, enfranchising them and honoring their career of service to the people of Texas.”

We couldn’t agree more, and are grateful to Rep. Hernandez and Sen. Lucio for their support.