1. (a) The Executive Director shall bill governing bodies of participating departments and governing bodies of municipalities for which the Executive Director is administering pensions under the Texas Local Fire Fighters Retirement Act quarterly on the last business day of November, February, May, and August.

2. (b) Each billing shall include, as appropriate, charges for:

   1. (1) monthly contributions for participating members and any corresponding Part Two contributions, if applicable;
   2. (2) prior service contributions;
   3. (3) late-payment interest charges; and
   4. (4) unpaid administrative penalties.
3. (c) At least 30 days before the last day of each quarter, the Executive Director shall send to the chair of the local board of each participating department a pension roster report that includes the name of each person who performs emergency services for the department and is identified as a member of the pension system.
4. (d) The chair of the local board or the administrative head of the department shall verify the accuracy of the report, make needed changes in the roster, and return the report to the Executive Director not later than the fifth day before the last day of the quarter.
5. (e) Payments under a billing issued under this section become due within 30 days of the invoice date. Late payments accrue interest at the current actuarially assumed rate of investment return on fund assets.

6. (f) In this section:

   1. (1) The term "ACH" (Automated Clearing House) means the legal framework of rules and operational procedures adopted by financial institutions for the electronic transfer of funds.
   2. (2) The term "ACH Credit" means an ACH transaction initiated by the governing body of a participating department for the electronic transfer of funds from the account of the governing body to the account of the pension system.
   3. (3) The term "ACH Debit" means an ACH transaction initiated by the pension system for the electronic transfer of funds from the account of the governing body of a participating department to the account of the pension system.
   4. (4) The term "electronic transfer of funds" means the transfer of funds, other than by check, draft or similar paper instrument, that is initiated electronically to order, instruct, or authorize a financial institution to debit or to credit an account.
   5. (5) The term "pre-authorized direct debit" means the method available to the governing body of a participating department for electronically paying required contributions by granting a continuing authorization to the pension system to initiate an ACH Debit each quarter for the electronic transfer of funds from the designated bank account of the governing body to the account of the pension system in an amount equal to the contributions required to be paid based on the quarterly report as filed.
   6. (6) The term "wire transfer" generally means a single transaction, initiated by the governing body of a participating department, in which funds are electronically transferred to the account of the pension system using the Federal Reserve Banking System rather than the ACH.
7. (g) Amounts required to be contributed to the pension system in accordance with Chapter 865 of the Texas Government Code may be made by preauthorized direct debits (ACH Debits). ACH Credits and wire transfers may not be used to transfer funds to the pension system except as authorized under subsection (j) of this section.
8. (h) The governing body of a participating department may elect to use the preauthorized direct debit method of payment by filing a signed authorization agreement with the pension system in which the governing body has designated a single bank account from which all transfers will be made.
9. (i) The authorization agreement entered into for this purpose constitutes continuing authority for the pension system to initiate a direct debit of the governing body's designated bank account each quarter and is effective with respect to each quarterly report of the governing body, whether filed by mail or by electronic transmission.
10. (j) An authorization agreement remains in effect until the pension system receives either a written revocation of the agreement, or a subsequent written agreement, which automatically revokes the existing authorization. A new authorization agreement must be filed if there is any change in the designated bank account. The pension system, in its sole discretion, may terminate the authorization agreement by mailing written notice to the governing body. Thereafter, the governing body must remit all contributions by check or other monetary means approved by the Executive Director. The alternative method of payment may include a fee to recover the cost of administering this subsection.
11. (k) Following receipt of a roster report filed under an unrevoked authorization agreement, the pension system will initiate an ACH Debit in the amount required to be contributed for that period based on the report; however the actual transfer of funds from the governing body's designated account will not occur before the due date of the report.
12. (l) The receipt of a quarterly roster report filed under an unrevoked authorization agreement is considered to be receipt by the pension system of the amount required to be contributed for the period based on that report if there are sufficient funds available for transfer from the governing body's designated account on the later of the due date of the report or the date the report is received. An ACH Debit that is reversed by a governing body or that fails because sufficient funds are not available for transfer constitutes nonpayment of the required contributions with respect to that report and, thereafter, the required contributions will not be considered to have been received until the day the funds are actually transferred to the account of the pension system. A governing body failing to timely file the required information or remit the required contributions by the due date of the report is subject to a penalty for late reporting in accordance with §310.9 of this title.

Source Note:The provisions of this §310.8 adopted to be effective October 2, 2005, 30 TexReg 6063; amended to be effective September 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 5811; amended to be effective January 8, 2013, 38 TexReg 153; amended to be effective August 31, 2014, 39 TexReg 6870; amended to be effective October 18, 2015, 40 TexReg 7104.