(a) On an appeal over which TRS has jurisdiction, authority to grant relief, in which the relief requested is consistent with the terms of the plan, and that otherwise complies with this chapter, the deputy director shall assign the petition a TRS docket number, provide all parties notice of the docket number, and refer the matter for an adjudicative hearing before the State Office of Administrative Hearings or otherwise as authorized by law.
(b) The deputy director may decline to docket an appeal over which TRS has no jurisdiction or no authority to grant relief, that seeks relief that is inconsistent with the terms of the pension plan, that is not timely filed, or that otherwise fails to comply with this chapter. The deputy director's decision declining to docket an appeal is the final decision of TRS when the circumstances described in §2001.144, Government Code, are met. A person may not appeal such decision to the executive director or the board.
(c) Prior to docketing an appeal, the deputy director may review the request filed with TRS to determine the sufficiency. If the petition does not materially comply with this chapter, the deputy director shall return the petition to the person who filed it, along with reasons for the return. The person shall be given a reasonable time (not to exceed 90 days) to file a corrected petition. If the petition is not corrected to substantially comply with this chapter within the time given, the deputy director may decline to docket the appeal.
(d) If a contested case is referred to the SOAH for adjudicative hearing, then during the period of time the case is before SOAH, the adjudicative hearing rules for SOAH (1 TAC Chapter 155) shall apply unless inconsistent with applicable statutes or constitutional provisions. If a matter is referred for an adjudicative hearing to a hearing official not affiliated with SOAH, then the rules of this chapter shall apply to the conduct of the hearing while pending before the hearing official.
(e) A party that files an appeal and causes a matter to be docketed and referred to for adjudicative hearing shall have the responsibility of prosecuting the appeal within a reasonable time period. TRS may seek dismissal with prejudice of an appeal if a responsible party fails to obtain a setting for a hearing on the merits within two years of referral of the matter for an adjudicative hearing.

Source Note: The provisions of this §43.9 adopted to be effective April 20, 1988, 13 TexReg 1672; amended to be effective June 9, 1999, 24 TexReg 4249; amended to be effective March 12, 2003, 28 TexReg 2115; amended to be effective March 8, 2007, 32 TexReg 1095; amended to be effective April 1, 2011, 36 TexReg 2002; amended to be effective March 19, 2020, 45 TexReg 1862