BOARD MEMBER TRAINING

(a) A person who is appointed to and qualifies for office as a member of the board of trustees may not vote, deliberate, or be counted as a member in attendance at a meeting of the board of trustees until the person completes a training program that complies with this section. (b) The training program must provide the person with information regarding: (1) the law governing the retirement system's operations; (2) the programs, functions, rules, and budget of the retirement system; (3) the scope of and limitations on the rulemaking authority of the board of trustees; (4) the results of the most recent formal audit of the retirement system; (5) the requirements of: (A) laws relating to open meetings, public information, administrative procedure, and disclosing conflicts of interest; and (B) other laws applicable to members of the board of trustees in performing their duties; and (6) any applicable ethics policies adopted by the retirement system or the Texas Ethics Commission. (c) A person appointed to the board of trustees is entitled to reimbursement, as provided by the General Appropriations Act, for the travel expenses incurred in attending the training program regardless of whether the attendance at the program occurs before or after the person qualifies for office. (d) The executive director shall create a training manual that includes the information required by Subsection (b). The executive director shall distribute a copy of the training manual annually to each member of the board of trustees. On receipt of the training manual, each member of the board of trustees shall sign and submit to the executive director a statement acknowledging receipt of the training manual.