81R6116 SLB-F
By: Davis of Dallas H.B. No. 2673
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to conditions of employment for an employee of certain
sheriff's departments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 158, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. LOCAL CONTROL OF SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
EMPLOYMENT MATTERS
Sec. 158.071. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
to a county that has adopted Subchapter B and has not adopted
Chapter 174.
Sec. 158.072. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Association" means an organization in which
employees of the sheriff's department participate and that exists
for the purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with the county
concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours
of work, or conditions of work affecting the employees.
(2) "Public employer" means a sheriff's department, a
county, or an agency, board, commission, or political subdivision
controlled by a county that is required to establish the wages,
salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, working conditions, and
other terms and conditions of employment of the employees.
Sec. 158.073. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS,
RECOGNITION, AND STRIKES. (a) A county may not be denied local
control over the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, other
terms and conditions of employment, or other state-mandated
personnel issues, to the extent the public employer and the
association recognized as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent
under Section 158.074 agree as provided by this subchapter.
Applicable statutes and applicable local orders, ordinances, and
civil service rules and regulations apply to an issue not governed
by the agreement.
(b) This subchapter does not require either a public
employer or a recognized association to meet and confer on any issue
or reach an agreement.
(c) A public employer and the recognized association may
meet and confer only if the association does not advocate the
illegal right to strike by public employees.
(d) An employee of a sheriff's department may not engage in
a strike or organized work stoppage against this state or a
political subdivision of this state. An employee who participates
in a strike forfeits any civil service rights, reemployment rights,
and other rights, benefits, or privileges the employee may have as a
result of the person's employment or prior employment with the
sheriff's department. This subsection does not affect the right of
a person to cease work if the person is not acting in concert with
others in an organized work stoppage.
Sec. 158.074. RECOGNITION OF ASSOCIATION. (a) In a county
that chooses to meet and confer under this subchapter, the public
employer shall recognize an association submitting a petition for
recognition signed by a majority of the employees of the sheriff's
department, excluding the sheriff and persons the sheriff may
designate as exempt from a civil service system under Section
158.038, as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all of the
employees of the sheriff's department, excluding the sheriff and
persons the sheriff may designate as exempt under Section 158.038,
until recognition of the association is withdrawn by a majority of
the employees eligible to sign a petition for recognition.
(b) Whether an association represents a majority of the
covered employees shall be resolved by a fair election conducted
according to procedures agreeable to the parties. If the parties
are unable to agree on election procedures, either party may
request the American Arbitration Association to conduct the
election and to certify the results. Certification of the results
of an election under this subsection resolves the question
concerning representation. The association is liable for the
expenses of the election, except that if two or more associations
seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent
submit petitions signed by a majority of the employees eligible to
sign the petition, the associations shall share equally the costs
of the election.
Sec. 158.075. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed agreement and a
document prepared and used by the sheriff's department in
connection with the proposed agreement are available to the public
under Chapter 552, Government Code, only after the agreement is
ratified by the commissioners court.
(b) This section does not affect the application of
Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
and used by the sheriff's department in connection with the
agreement.
Sec. 158.076. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF
AGREEMENT. (a) An agreement under this subchapter is enforceable
and binding on the public employer, the recognized association, and
employees covered by the agreement only if:
(1) the commissioners court ratified the agreement by
a majority vote; and
(2) the recognized association ratified the agreement
by conducting a secret ballot election at which only the employees
of the county in the association were eligible to vote, and a
majority of the votes cast at the election favored ratifying the
agreement.
(b) A state district court of a judicial district in which
the county is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve a dispute
under the ratified agreement on the application of a party to the
agreement aggrieved by an action or omission of the other party when
the action or omission is related to a right, duty, or obligation
provided by the agreement. The court may issue proper restraining
orders, temporary and permanent injunctions, or any other writ,
order, or process, including contempt orders, that are appropriate
to enforce the agreement.
Sec. 158.077. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
A written agreement ratified under this subchapter preempts, during
the term of the agreement, and to the extent of any conflict, all
contrary state statutes, local ordinances, executive orders, civil
service provisions, or rules adopted by the sheriff or county or a
division or agent of the sheriff or county, such as a personnel
board or a civil service commission.
Sec. 158.078. REPEAL OF AGREEMENT BY ELECTORATE. (a) Not
later than the 45th day after the date an agreement is ratified by
both the county and the association, a petition signed by a number
of qualified voters equal to 10 percent of the votes cast in the
county in the most recent general election may be presented to the
county clerk calling an election for the repeal of the agreement.
(b) On receipt of the petition by the county clerk under
Subsection (a), the commissioners court shall reconsider the
agreement and either repeal the agreement or call an election of the
qualified voters to determine if they desire to repeal the
agreement. The election shall be called for the next general
election or a special election called by the county commissioners
for that purpose. If at the election a majority of the votes are
cast in favor of the repeal of the adoption of the agreement, the
agreement is void.
(c) The ballot for an election under this section shall be
printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: "Repeal of
the adoption of the agreement ratified by the county and the
sheriff's department association concerning wages, salaries, rates
of pay, hours of work, and other terms and conditions of
employment."
Sec. 158.079. PROTECTED RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES. (a)
For the purpose of any disciplinary appeal to the civil service
commission or to a hearing examiner, a member of the association may
choose to be represented by any person of the member's choice or by
the association.
(b) An agreement under this subchapter may not interfere
with the right of a member of the association to pursue allegations
of discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin,
religion, age, sex, or disability with the Texas Workforce
Commission civil rights division or the federal Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action litigation.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.