Sec. 804.001.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:
(1)  "Alternate payee" means a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a member or retiree who is recognized by a domestic relations order as having a right to receive all or a portion of the benefits payable by a public retirement system with respect to such member or retiree.
(2)  "Domestic relations order" means any judgment, decree, or order, including approval of a property settlement agreement, which relates to the provision of child support, alimony payments, or marital property rights to a spouse, former spouse, child, or other dependent of a member or retiree, and is made pursuant to a domestic relations law, including a community property law of the State of Texas or of another state.
(3)  "Public retirement system" means the Employees Retirement System of Texas, the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan One, the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan Two, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the Texas County and District Retirement System, the Texas Municipal Retirement System, and any other continuing, organized program of service retirement, disability retirement, or death benefits for officers or employees of the state or a political subdivision or of an agency or instrumentality of the state or a political subdivision and includes the optional retirement program governed by Chapter 830. Public retirement system does not include:
(A)  a program, other than the optional retirement program, for which benefits are administered by a life insurance company;
(B)  a program providing only workers' compensation benefits;
(C)  a program administered by the federal government;
(D)  an individual retirement account or individual retirement annuity within the meaning of Section 408, or a retirement bond within the meaning of Section 409, of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(E)  a plan described by Subsection (d) of Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;
(F)  a group or an individual account plan consisting of an annuity contract described by Subsection (b) of Section 403 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, other than a 403(b) contract or plan under the optional retirement program;
(G)  an eligible state deferred compensation plan described by Subsection (b) of Section 457 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986;  or
(H)  the program established by Chapter 615.
(4)  "Qualified domestic relations order" means a domestic relations order which creates or recognizes the existence of an alternate payee's right or assigns to an alternate payee the right to receive all or a portion of the benefits payable with respect to a member or retiree under a public retirement system, which directs the public retirement system to disburse benefits to the alternate payee, and which meets the requirements of Section 804.003.
(5)  "Statewide retirement system" means the Employees Retirement System of Texas, the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan One, the Judicial Retirement System of Texas Plan Two, the Teacher Retirement System of Texas, the Texas County and District Retirement System, or the Texas Municipal Retirement System.
Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 16, Sec. 11.02(a), eff. Aug. 26, 1991.  Amended by Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 5.95(32), eff. Sept. 1, 1995.