Congress raised the debt limit this year to prevent a government default. They are working to agree on next year's budget by Sept. 30.

The Texas House Committee on Pensions, Investments and Financial Services is holding a public hearing at 8 a.m. Wednesday, April 12 in E2.014 of the Capitol Building. 

Legislation that includes retirement provisions affecting public safety employees and state and local government retirement plans is nearing passage on Capitol Hill as part of an end-of-year omnibus spending bill. 

Nov. 14 was the first day of bill prefiling for Texas' upcoming 88th Legislative Session, and 921 bills and resolutions were filed (646 House bills and 198 Senate bills). 

Below is a list of upcoming or recently held interim Texas legislative hearings TEXPERS' System Members and others interested in managing public employee pensions in the state might be interested in following. The topics either directly or indirectly impact pension management or governance issues. 

There are an estimated 15.1 million full-time and 4.7 million part-time employees working in state and local governments in the U.S., according to the 2020 Annual Survey of Public Employment and Payroll, the most recent statistics available from the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The following list is a compilation of the upcoming interim legislative hearings that might interest TEXPERS' System Members. Hearing dates and times are subject to change. Please note that additional hearings dates may also be added at any time. Items directly impacting pensions are highlighted in yellow.

Due to the impending retirement of three Texas senators, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick announced on March 23 the appointments of their replacements to serve on committees during the interim leading up to the 88th Legislative Session.

The Texas 2022 Primary Election is set for Tuesday, March 1st, 2022. Due to redistricting, all 181 legislative seats are up for re-election this year. If needed, primary election runoffs will be held on May 24th, 2022.

More than 40 million people worldwide are estimated to be victims of various forms of modern slavery, including forced labor, debt bondage and human trafficking. Forced labor alone is estimated to generate profits of US$150 billion a year for the criminals behind it.