House Bill 1 email

Dear Colleagues,

 

I hope you are all enjoying a good start to 2011. 

 

The Legislative Budget Board (LBB) has issued the first draft of the General Appropriations Bill (House Bill 1, the budget) and their Legislative Budget Estimates and Summary.  The news may or may not have floated to your office as of yet, so I am providing links and page references to the information that will interest you from a benefits perspective.  Please let me know if you have questions. 

 

1. 2012-2013 General Appropriations Act:  http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Bill_82/1_Recommend/Bill-82-1_House_Recommend.pdf .  Article III-35-41 will provide budget recommendations for TRS, ORP and Group Insurance.  Article II-65-III-86 will provide campus specific budget information.  The budget recommendation for group insurance appears to be slightly less than a 5% reduction.  We have not run the numbers or predicted any funding needs as of today so how this 5% reduction impacts the plan is yet to be known.  
2. Legislative Budget Estimates-Summary:  http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/LBE/2012-2013/LBE_HOUSE_SUMMARY_2012-2013.pdf   Page 2 of the summary provides a quick summary for Higher Education.  Higher Education and insurance references are throughout the document so I suggest a word search on “group insurance” or any other topic you wish to review to find the subject matter you are seeking.
3. Legislative Budget Estimates-Full Report:  http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/LBE/2012-2013/LBE_HOUSE_2012-2013.pdf  Same as above, but in an expanded format. 
4. Texas State Government Effectiveness and Efficiency Report:  http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Performance%20Reporting/TX_Govt_Effective_Efficiency_Report_82nd.pdf  This document is a good read and will provide you an idea of some of the legislation we may (or may not) see filed this session.  Pages 97-147 of the document frame the benefits related suggestions by the LBB. 

 

OEB has already begun analyzing filed and drafted legislation and completing fiscal notes.  If you have questions regarding any legislation you see filed, you are welcome to contact us.  As with all previous sessions, as legislation begins to move through the process, we will keep you informed of any benefits related legislation that may impact your members. 

 

You are welcome to share this e-mail with your staff.  I apologize if you receive the e-mail multiple times due to your address being on multiple lists