Sec. 609.202. AUTOMATIC PARTICIPATION; DEFAULT INVESTMENT PRODUCT. (a) This section applies only to an employee of a hospital district that elects under Section 609.201(b) to require automatic employee participation in a deferred compensation plan under this section.

(b) An employee automatically participates in a deferred compensation plan provided by the hospital district unless the employee affirmatively elects not to participate in the plan. Notwithstanding Sections 609.007(a) and (c), an employee is not required to affirmatively contract for and consent to participation in a plan under this section.

(c) An employee participating in a deferred compensation plan under this section makes a contribution of three percent of the compensation earned by the employee to a default investment product selected by the plan administrator based on the criteria established under Section 609.113 and the rules adopted under Subsection (f). The contribution is made by automatic payroll deduction.

(d) At any time, an employee participating in a deferred compensation plan under this section may, in accordance with rules adopted by the board of the hospital district, or its designee, elect to end participation in the plan, to contribute to a different investment product, to contribute a different amount to the plan, or to designate all or a portion of the employee's contribution as a Roth contribution subject to the availability of a Roth contribution program.

(e) A hospital district to which this subchapter applies shall ensure that, at the time of employment, each employee is informed of:

(1) the elections the employee may make under this section; and

(2) the responsibilities of the employee under Section 609.010.

(f) The board of the hospital district, or its designee, shall adopt rules to implement the requirements of this section. The rules must ensure that the operation of a deferred compensation plan under this section conforms to the applicable requirements of any federal rule that provides fiduciary relief for investments in qualified default investment alternatives or otherwise governs default investment alternatives under participant-directed individual account plans.

(g) The amount deducted under this section from an employee's compensation is not deducted for payment of a debt and the automatic payroll deduction is not garnishment or assignment of wages.

(h) Using existing resources, the hospital district shall inform new employees of their automatic enrollment in a deferred compensation plan and their right to opt out of enrollment. Using existing resources, this information must be included as part of the new employee orientation process. The district shall maintain a record of a new employee's acknowledgment of receipt of information regarding the ability to opt out of enrollment in a deferred compensation plan.

Added by Acts 2019, 86th Leg., R.S., Ch. 1246 (H.B. 2477), Sec. 2, eff. June 14, 2019.