Hon. B. B. Sapp 

Director and Executive Secretary 

Teacher Retirement System of Texas 

Austin, Texas 

Opinion No. V-366 

Dear Mrs. #SOP: 

Re: V 

ii 

rlltlity of rule of 

!acher Retirement 

dxm ooncernl= 

,*ibility of em- 

.oyrre of State eleeImynarj 3.n8tltutions 

I membership in the 

,aehep R8tfiement 

ratem. 

We referherein to your lott#r 0s recent d8te 

acbmowleUgea by the Attorney General on &gust 3, 1947, 

from which we quote a8 follows: 

“Oa july 23rU the Beard ef Tru8tiea OS 

the Teacher Retirement Sfstsm Puleb thrt a8 

of September I, 1947, those employees Of’ iState 

Elrramrynary ShnrtLtutlon8 who are members of 

the Teacher Retirement Systufi cont!f.nue tQ be 

conalaerea aa eligible ror mMshi9 in the 

Teacher Retirement 8ygstem an8 be P tained as 

membdrs of the Taacher Retlremant 8 y8terp a8 

long is thay oacupf a porlttenin 84y Btate 

Eleemosynary rOstitutien d&&k ~88 orn8Zdered 

an eligible position for nemberclhlp II& the 

Teacher Retirement Syst8m prior t@ $I$tember 

1, 1947; and, any employee of a St*te tieemosye 

nary Institution begi- w@.s rzit for the 

first tim(, after (Ieptember 1, &# r 7, be conslaarea aa eLiglbla for me&w?aWp in the Teacher Retirement Systrm if saeh emplOp ia Bctivrlr engaged in teaching of 

teaCh%ng; rO&, if ruch tul@bgae 

In active teaching he shall not be o?nsidered 

eligible for membership in the Teaclier Retirement Bljstem. 
Hon. B. B. Sapp - Page 2 (V-366) 

"This rule was passed after the State 

Employees' Retirement System was authorized. 

The Board of Trustees would like to have 

your opinion relative to their authority 

for passing said rule determining eligibility of employees of State Eleemosgnarg 

Institutions with reference to the Teacher 

Retirement System subsequent to September 1, 

1947. . . .n 

Article 2922-1, Section 1, par. (6), V.C.S., defines "member" In the Teacher Retirement System as any 

teacher included in the membership of the System as provided in Section 3 of this Act. Article 2922-1, Section 

1, par. (3), defines "teacher" as used In Section 3 as 

follows: 

“(3) 'Teacher' shall mean a person employed on a full-time, regular salary basis 

by boards of common school districts, boards 

of independent school districts, county 

school boards, Retirement Board of Trustees, 

State Board of Education and State Department of Education, boards of regents of 

colleges and universities, and any other 

legally oonstltuted board or agency of an 

educational Institution or organization supstruotion, in public schools as defined in 

?3ubsectlon (2) of this SeCtiOn.” (Ihaphasis 

ours ) 

Article 2666, V.C.S., providing for the creation of school districts for eleemosynary instltutlons, 

reacts: 

'The State Board (of Education) is 

authorized to create new school districts 

at such of the several Eleemosynary Institutions of this State, incluaing the State 

Orphan Home, or at any and all Orphan homes 
ihi. 0. B. Sapp - Page 3 W-366) 

or like institutions that may be established by any Fraternal organization, or 

at any Institution for dependent or aellnquent children maintained by any County 

in this State; provided, that the number 

of children within the scholastic age in 

each instance be suf’flclent to ~justlfy 

such action. The terrltarlal limit8 in 

each case shall be co-extensive with the 

property lines of the instltutlooa.” 

ana Article 2667 provides that such school districts, 

when created,-.&all be controlled.as Sar as possible by 

the law pertaining to inae endent school b;tstrtctsi 

dr&gg v. Hill, 58 S.W. (26 7 150. Such school districts 

cri%ted In the ele&mosynary institutions of this State 

E&B ~@ubjeot to and entitled to the benefits of th& 

%WWhsr ;Retlrement System of Texas. 

353 i ({b be’coipllei in Vernon: s Civil S&%e~‘~s%tiB B 168 Acts 1947 50th Leg 

cl& 6228a) providing for the establishment of the EQP947, guwfiaee’ that a %embBr” shall mean anfr employei 

&a$eeki Retirement System of Texas as of September 1 

ihuluded In the msmbership of the System as provided in 

Be&Ah 3 of this Act, (Art. 6228a, Sea. 1, par. E). 

Artilc,le 6228a, Sec. 3, par. A, reads in part as follows: 

"Sec. 3. The membership of said Retirement System shall be composed as fallows : 

“A. All persons who are employees on 

: the date as of which the Retirement System 

Is established shall become members as of 

that date as a condition of their em loyment 

; unless within a period of ninety (90 P ,days 

after September 1, 1947, any such employee 

shall file with the State Board of TrUSteeS 

on a form prescribed by such Board, a notice 

of his election not to be covered ii~ the membership of the System and a duly exebuted 

waiver of all present and prospective benefits which would otherwise Inure to him on 

account of his participation in the Retlremeht System. The following persons shall, 

however, not be eligible for participation 

in the Retirement System: 
Hon. B. B. Sspp - Page 4 (V-366 1 

“1. . . . any person who is covere6 be 

the Teachers RettiQl88nt:_Qxstea. . .‘* (J&uphasis ours) 

and Section 1, par. C, of the Bmployees Retirement Act 

defining “empl8yee” as used therein, pr8vldes that 

“employee” shall not include any person who is cover84 

by the T8acher Retirement System of the State of Texas, 

It is, therefore, cleaply and speclficall~ 

provided that any State employee who Is covered by the 

Teacher Retirement System shall not be eligible for 

membership in the *ployees’ Retlroment System. 

The provisions of the rule passed by the 

Teaeher Retirement loaN on July 23, 1947, hereinabove 

quoted, insofar as it pertains to employees of Stiate 

EleemosJnory Institutions who are members of the Tucher Retirement System prior to and on September &, 1947, 

is, in all respects proper and legal ln the light ef 

the above-quoted statutes. 

In contemplation of the establishment OS the 

Employees RetirQBent System as of September 1, %$+7, 

the Teacher RetlPament Board also provided in it,8 rule 

passsd on July 23, 1947, that any employee of a State 

EleemosJnUSJ Institution beginning e.mployment for: the 

first time after September 1, 1947, be considered as 

eligible for membership in the Teacher Retirement Systen if such employee Is actively -aged In teaching 

or supervision of teachers; anU if such employee is 

not engaged in active teaching, he shall not be csnslderea ell(ible for membership In the Teacher Retlrement System. Ve find no conflict in the provisions of 

this rule with either the Teacher Retirement Act or 

the Employees Retirement Act, and are of the opinion 

that ample authority rests in the Board OS Trustees of 

the Teacher Retirement Systu8 to promulgate same by 

virtue of the provisions of Section 1, par (3), Article 

2922-1, v. c. 3. 

SUMMARY 

The rule passea by the Board oS~Trustees of tke Teacher Retirement System of 

Texas on July 23, 1947, relative to the 

eligibility of e8~loysrs of the State Eleemosynary Institutions to ne~bershlp ia the 
Sm. 0. b. sapp - ~rig;e 5(V-366) 

Teacher Retirement System after September 

1, $947, when the Bployess Retirement 

System may be established, is le@:sl and 

proper, being in accordance with the provl8lons of lCrtic1e 2922-1, Sec. 1, par. 

and Article 6228a Sec. 1, 

iii?: ~%:'~,c. 3, par. A, V.&L 

Very truly yours 

ATTORNRY GBtIpuL OF m 

cm:egt;ajm 

-I Chester,E. Olllaon 

Assistant