TribBlog: Hodge Can Draw State Pension Despite Guilty Plea
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A federal conviction for lying on her taxes may send embattled Dallas Democratic state Rep. Terri Hodge to prison. But it won’t stop her from drawing a state pension.
The 69-year-old Hodge, who served 14 years in the Legislature before pleading guilty to a federal charge on Wednesday, is eligible for a $40,000-a-year pension — a sum determined by a complicated state formula that links elected officials’ pensions to district judge salaries. Once Hodge is sentenced and officially resigns from her District 100 seat, she can start drawing her pension — which amounts to $110 a day.
According to the Employees Retirement System, there is no state or federal law that calls for an employee convicted of a crime to forfeit their public pension.
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