(a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
  (1) Calendar month--The period from the first day through the last day of January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, or December.
  (2) Day--The 24 consecutive hour period beginning at 12:00 midnight and ending at 11:59 p.m.
  (3) Full-time state employee--Has the meaning assigned by Government Code, §659.041(2).
  (4) Hazardous duty position--Has the meaning assigned by §5.39(a)(6) of this title (relating to Hazardous Duty Pay).
  (5) Institution of higher education--Has the meaning assigned by Education Code, §61.003(8), but does not include a public junior or community college.
  (6) Lifetime service credit--The number of months that an individual has served in a position listed in Government Code, §659.046, during the individual's lifetime.
  (7) Military--The Armed Forces of the United States, the Texas National Guard, the Texas State Guard, or a reserve component of the Armed Forces of the United States.
  (8) Retiree--A state employee who retires from state employment and who receives an annuity based wholly or partly on service as a state officer or state employee in a public retirement system, as defined by Government Code, §802.001(3), that was credited to the state employee.
  (9) State agency--
    (A) a board, commission, department, office, or other entity that is in the executive branch of state government, including an institution of higher education;
    (B) the legislature or a legislative agency; or
    (C) the supreme court, the court of criminal appeals, a court of appeals, the state bar, or another state judicial agency.
  (10) State employee--Has the meaning assigned by Government Code, §659.041(4).
  (11) Workday--Any day that is not Saturday, Sunday, or a state or national holiday under Government Code, §662.003. The term includes a state or national holiday on which a state employee is not entitled to a paid day off from work under Government Code, §662.005.
(b) Authority. Longevity pay is governed by Government Code, Chapter 659, Subchapter D; the General Appropriations Act; and the rules adopted by the comptroller under Government Code, Chapter 659, Subchapter D.
(c) Verification of prior state employment periods. A state agency that currently employs a state employee who accrued lifetime service credit during one or more previous employments shall verify the amount of that credit.
(d) Effective service date.
  (1) A state employee's "effective service date" is used to determine the amount of the employee's lifetime service credit.
  (2) "Effective service date" is determined by completing the following steps:
    (A) adding together all days the employee served in all previous periods of employment with the state;
    (B) counting backward from the first day of the employee's current continuous employment with the state using the total number of days calculated in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph; and
    (C) except as provided in subsection (l) of this section, counting forward the number of months in which the employee was on leave without pay for any full calendar month during all periods of employment using the date calculated in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
  (3) An example of determining a state employee's effective service date is as follows: The employee's first day of employment at your agency is February 10, 2021. The employee had two previous periods of state employment. The first previous period of employment was from January 6, 2017 to May 25, 2017, or 140 days. The second previous period of employment was from October 1, 2018 to December 31, 2020, or 823 days. During the employee's second previous period of employment, the employee had one period of leave without pay from March 25, 2019 to April 30, 2019, for a total of one full calendar month of leave without pay. To determine the employee's effective service date, first add together the total number of days in the employee's two previous periods of state employment to arrive at 933 days. Next, count backward 933 days from February 10, 2021 to arrive at June 24, 2018. Finally, count forward one month (the number of months in which the employee was on leave without pay for any full calendar month during all periods of employment) from June 24, 2018 to arrive at July 24, 2018, which is the employee's effective service date.
  (4) An individual's transfer from one state agency to another shall not interrupt continuity of employment if no workdays occur between the two employments.
(e) Workday. If an individual is a state employee for any part of a workday, the individual is considered to be a state employee for the entire workday for the purpose of longevity pay.
(f) Change in status. A full-time state employee in paid status on the first workday of the calendar month is entitled to the full amount of longevity pay for that calendar month even if the employee terminates state employment after the first workday of that calendar month.
(g) Employees of Institutions of Higher Education.
  (1) The determinations required by Government Code, §659.0411(a) and (b) must be made publicly available to all employees under the institution's or board of regent's jurisdiction and must be made available to the comptroller, upon request by the comptroller.
  (2) The determinations required by Government Code, §659.0411(a) and (b) shall not take effect until they have been made publicly available to all employees under the institution's or board of regent's jurisdiction.
  (3) The determinations required by Government Code, §659.0411(b) must apply to every institution under the board of regent's jurisdiction.
(h) Return to work retirees who leave state employment.
  (1) A retiree who retired from state employment on or after June 1, 2005, is not entitled to longevity pay upon returning to state employment.
  (2) A retiree who retired from state employment prior to June 1, 2005, and did not return to state employment prior to September 1, 2005, is not entitled to longevity pay upon returning to state employment.
  (3) A retiree who retired from state employment prior to June 1, 2005, returned to state employment prior to September 1, 2005, and subsequently leaves state employment, is not entitled to longevity pay upon returning to state employment.
(i) Public retirement system. "Public retirement system," as the term is used in Government Code, §659.042(7) and subsection (a)(8) of this section, includes the Employees Retirement System of Texas; Teacher Retirement System; and Optional Retirement Program as described in Government Code, Chapter 830.
(j) Hazardous duty pay.
  (1) A state employee's lifetime service credit for the purpose of longevity pay shall include any period served in a hazardous duty position, except as provided in Government Code, §659.046(f)(2) or paragraph (2) of this subsection.
  (2) A state employee is not entitled to accrue lifetime service credit for the purpose of longevity pay during the period the employee serves in a hazardous duty position that entitles the employee to receive hazardous duty pay. When the employee is no longer serving in the hazardous duty position, the employee is entitled to accrue the lifetime service credit for the purpose of longevity pay for the period the employee previously served in the hazardous duty position.
  (3) For the purpose of longevity pay, lifetime service credit is accrued during the one year that a state employee serves in a hazardous duty position before becoming eligible or entitled to receive hazardous duty pay. The amount of longevity pay the employee receives during that year is based on the credit accrued during that year. But, the lifetime service credit used to calculate the amount of longevity pay received by the employee while receiving hazardous duty pay shall not include the one year waiting period.
  (4) If a state employee received hazardous duty pay based on total state service performed before May 29, 1987, and held a position that required the performance of hazardous duty on May 29, 1987, the employee's lifetime service credit for the purpose of longevity pay shall not include any state service credit the employee accrued for the purpose of hazardous duty pay before May 29, 1987.
Cont'd...