(a) Notwithstanding any other law, the board of trustees shall approve the rate of compensation of all persons it employs and the amounts necessary for other expenses for operation of the retirement system. If expenditures are paid from money appropriated from the general revenue fund rather than from trust funds, the rates and amounts may not exceed those paid for similar services for the state.
(b) The retirement system is exempt from § 651.002, Chapter 660, and Subchapter K, Chapter 659, to the extent the board of trustees determines an exemption is necessary for the performance of fiduciary duties.

(c) The board of trustees may compensate employees of the retirement system, whether subject to or exempt from the overtime provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (29 U.S.C. § 201 et seq.), at the rate equal to the employees’ regular rate of pay for work performed on a legal holiday or for other compensatory time accrued, when taking compensatory time off would be disruptive to the system’s normal business functions.