Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB3058 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R22847 JSC-F
2	2	By: Castro H.B. No. 3058
3	3	Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3058:
4	4	By: Marquez C.S.H.B. No. 3058
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the right of certain counties to maintain local control
10	10	over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 5, Local Government Code, is
13	13	amended by adding Chapter 162 to read as follows:
14	14	CHAPTER 162. LOCAL CONTROL OF EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN CERTAIN
15	15	COUNTIES
16	16	Sec. 162.001. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies
17	17	only to a county with a population of more than one million:
18	18	(1) in which more than 80 percent of the population
19	19	lives in a single municipality; and
20	20	(2) that has adopted a resolution or policy providing
21	21	for a consultation system in which the county will meet or consult
22	22	with an employee association representing employees if the
23	23	association demonstrates that the association is supported by at
24	24	least 30 percent of the employees eligible to participate.
25	25	(b) This chapter does not apply to:
26	26	(1) police officers who are covered by Chapter 174; or
27	27	(2) an employee association in which employees
28	28	described by Subdivision (1) participate.
29	29	Sec. 162.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
30	30	(1) "Covered employee" means an employee of a county,
31	31	other than a department head or a police officer who is covered by
32	32	Chapter 174.
33	33	(2) "Employee association" means an organization in
34	34	which county employees participate and that exists for the purpose,
35	35	wholly or partly, of dealing with one or more employers, whether
36	36	public or private, concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages,
37	37	rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work affecting
38	38	public employees and whose members pay dues by means of an automatic
39	39	payroll deduction.
40	40	(3) "Public employer" means any county required to
41	41	establish the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours, working
42	42	conditions, and other terms and conditions of employment of public
43	43	employees. The term may include, under appropriate circumstances,
44	44	a county judge, county commissioner, commissioners court, manager
45	45	or administrator of a county, director of personnel, personnel
46	46	board, or one or more other officials regardless of the name by
47	47	which they are designated.
48	48	Sec. 162.003. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS AND
49	49	RECOGNITION. (a) A county may not be denied local control over
50	50	wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, other terms and
51	51	conditions of employment, or other state-mandated personnel
52	52	issues. A public employer may enter into a mutual agreement
53	53	governing these issues with an employee association recognized
54	54	under this chapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for
55	55	all covered employees that does not advocate the illegal right to
56	56	strike by county employees. The applicable statutes, local orders
57	57	or ordinances, and civil service rules govern a term or condition of
58	58	employment on which the public employer and the association do not
59	59	agree.
60	60	(b) An agreement under this chapter must be written.
61	61	(c) This chapter does not require the public employer and
62	62	the recognized employee association to meet and confer or reach an
63	63	agreement on any issue.
64	64	(d) This chapter does not authorize an agreement regarding
65	65	pension or pension-related matters governed by Subtitle F, Title 8,
66	66	Government Code.
67	67	Sec. 162.004. PETITION FOR RECOGNITION: ELECTION OR ACTION
68	68	BY COMMISSIONERS COURT. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the
69	69	date the commissioners court of a county receives from an employee
70	70	association a petition signed by the majority of all covered
71	71	employees of the county that requests recognition of the
72	72	association as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all the
73	73	covered employees of that employer, the commissioners court shall:
74	74	(1) grant recognition of the association as requested
75	75	in the petition and find that a public employer may meet and confer
76	76	under this chapter without conducting an election by the voters in
77	77	the county under Section 162.006;
78	78	(2) defer granting recognition of the association and
79	79	order an election by the voters in the county under Section 162.006
80	80	regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer under this
81	81	chapter; or
82	82	(3) order a certification election under Section
83	83	162.005 to determine whether the association represents a majority
84	84	of the covered employees of the county.
85	85	(b) If the commissioners court of a county orders a
86	86	certification election under Subsection (a)(3) and the association
87	87	named in the petition is certified to represent a majority of the
88	88	covered employees, the commissioners court shall, not later than
89	89	the 30th day after the date that results of that election are
90	90	certified:
91	91	(1) grant recognition of the association as requested
92	92	in the petition for recognition and find that a public employer may
93	93	meet and confer under this chapter without conducting an election
94	94	by the voters in the county under Section 162.006; or
95	95	(2) defer granting recognition of the association and
96	96	order an election by the voters in the county under Section 162.006
97	97	regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer under this
98	98	chapter.
99	99	Sec. 162.005. CERTIFICATION ELECTION. (a) Except as
100	100	provided by Subsection (b), a certification election ordered under
101	101	Section 162.004(a)(3) to determine whether an employee association
102	102	represents a majority of the covered employees shall be conducted
103	103	according to procedures agreeable to the parties.
104	104	(b) If the parties are unable to agree on procedures for the
105	105	certification election, either party may request the American
106	106	Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify the
107	107	results of the election.
108	108	(c) The results of an election shall be certified if the
109	109	employee association receives a majority of valid votes cast in the
110	110	election.
111	111	(d) Certification of the results of an election under this
112	112	section resolves the question concerning representation.
113	113	(e) The association is liable for the expenses of the
114	114	certification election, except that if two or more associations
115	115	seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent
116	116	submit a petition signed by at least 30 percent of the employees
117	117	eligible to sign the petition for recognition, all the associations
118	118	named in any petition shall share equally the costs of the election.
119	119	Sec. 162.006. ELECTION TO AUTHORIZE OPERATING UNDER THIS
120	120	CHAPTER. (a) The commissioners court of a county that receives a
121	121	petition for recognition under Section 162.004 may order an
122	122	election to determine whether a public employer may meet and confer
123	123	under this chapter.
124	124	(b) An election ordered under this section must be held as
125	125	part of the next regularly scheduled general election for county
126	126	officials that is held after the date the commissioners court of the
127	127	county orders the election and that allows sufficient time to
128	128	prepare the ballot in compliance with other requirements of law.
129	129	(c) The ballot for an election ordered under this section
130	130	shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:
131	131	"Authorizing __________ (name of the county) to operate under the
132	132	state law allowing a county to meet and confer and make agreements
133	133	with the association representing county employees as provided by
134	134	state law, preserving the prohibition against strikes and organized
135	135	work stoppages, and providing penalties for strikes and organized
136	136	work stoppages."
137	137	(d) An election called under this section must be held and
138	138	the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the Election
139	139	Code.
140	140	(e) If an election authorized under this section is held,
141	141	the county may operate under the other provisions of this chapter
142	142	only if a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the
143	143	proposition.
144	144	(f) If an election authorized under this section is held, an
145	145	association may not submit a petition for recognition to the
146	146	commissioners court of the county under Section 162.004 before the
147	147	second anniversary of the date of the election.
148	148	Sec. 162.007. CHANGE OR MODIFICATION OF RECOGNITION. (a)
149	149	The county employees may modify or change the recognition of the
150	150	employee association granted under this chapter by filing with the
151	151	commissioners court of the county a petition signed by a majority of
152	152	all covered employees.
153	153	(b) The commissioners court of the county may:
154	154	(1) recognize the change or modification as provided
155	155	by the petition; or
156	156	(2) order a certification election in accordance with
157	157	Section 162.005 regarding whether to do so.
158	158	Sec. 162.008. STRIKES PROHIBITED. (a) A county employee
159	159	may not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage against this
160	160	state or the county.
161	161	(b) A county employee who participates in a strike forfeits
162	162	any civil service rights, reemployment rights, and other rights,
163	163	benefits, or privileges the employee may have as a result of the
164	164	employee's employment or prior employment with the county.
165	165	(c) This section does not affect the right of a person to
166	166	cease work if the person is not acting in concert with others in an
167	167	organized work stoppage.
168	168	Sec. 162.009. RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION. (a) A
169	169	public employer that chooses to meet and confer under this chapter
170	170	shall recognize an association that is recognized under Section
171	171	162.004 or 162.005 as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for
172	172	the covered employees of that employer.
173	173	(b) The public employer shall recognize the employee
174	174	association until recognition of the association is withdrawn, in
175	175	accordance with Section 162.007, by a majority of the county
176	176	employees eligible to sign a petition for recognition.
177	177	Sec. 162.010. SELECTION OF BARGAINING AGENT; BARGAINING
178	178	UNIT. (a) The county judge shall select one or more persons to
179	179	represent the public employer as its sole and exclusive bargaining
180	180	agent to meet and confer on issues related to the wages, hours of
181	181	employment, and other terms and conditions of employment of county
182	182	employees.
183	183	(b) An employee association may designate one or more
184	184	persons to negotiate or bargain on the association's behalf.
185	185	(c) A county's bargaining unit is composed of all the
186	186	covered employees of the county.
187	187	Sec. 162.011. PROTECTED RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES. A meet and
188	188	confer agreement ratified under this chapter may not interfere with
189	189	the right of a member of a bargaining unit to pursue allegations of
190	190	discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin,
191	191	religion, age, sex, or disability with the Texas Workforce
192	192	Commission civil rights division or the federal Equal Employment
193	193	Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action litigation.
194	194	Sec. 162.012. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed meet and confer
195	195	agreement is available to the public under Chapter 552, Government
196	196	Code, only after the agreement is ready to be ratified by the
197	197	commissioners court of the county. A document prepared and used by
198	198	the county, including a public employer, in connection with the
199	199	proposed agreement is available to the public under Chapter 552,
200	200	Government Code, only after the agreement is ratified by the
201	201	commissioners court of the county.
202	202	(b) This section does not affect the application of
203	203	Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
204	204	and used in connection with the agreement.
205	205	Sec. 162.013. OPEN DELIBERATIONS. (a) Deliberations
206	206	relating to a meet and confer agreement or proposed agreement under
207	207	this chapter between representatives of the county and
208	208	representatives of the employee association recognized under this
209	209	chapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the covered
210	210	employees must be open to the public and comply with state law.
211	211	(b) Subsection (a) may not be construed to prohibit the
212	212	representatives of the county or the representatives of the
213	213	recognized employee association from conducting private caucuses
214	214	that are not open to the public during meet and confer negotiations.
215	215	Sec. 162.014. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF
216	216	AGREEMENT. (a) An agreement under this chapter is enforceable and
217	217	binding on the county, the recognized employee association, and the
218	218	employees covered by the meet and confer agreement only if:
219	219	(1) the commissioners court of the county ratified the
220	220	agreement by a majority vote; and
221	221	(2) the recognized employee association ratified the
222	222	agreement by conducting a secret ballot election at which the
223	223	majority of the covered employees who are members of the
224	224	association favored ratifying the agreement.
225	225	(b) A meet and confer agreement ratified as described by
226	226	Subsection (a) may establish a procedure by which the parties agree
227	227	to resolve disputes related to a right, duty, or obligation
228	228	provided by the agreement, including binding arbitration on a
229	229	question involving interpretation of the agreement.
230	230	(c) A state district court of a judicial district in which
231	231	the county is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve a dispute
232	232	under the ratified meet and confer agreement on the application of a
233	233	party to the agreement aggrieved by an action or omission of the
234	234	other party when the action or omission is related to a right, duty,
235	235	or obligation provided by the agreement. The court may issue proper
236	236	restraining orders, temporary and permanent injunctions, or any
237	237	other writ, order, or process, including contempt orders, that are
238	238	appropriate to enforcing the agreement.
239	239	Sec. 162.015. ACTION OR ELECTION TO REPEAL AUTHORIZATION TO
240	240	OPERATE UNDER THIS CHAPTER. (a) The commissioners court of a
241	241	county that granted recognition of an employee association under
242	242	Section 162.004 without conducting an election under Section
243	243	162.006 may withdraw recognition of the association by providing to
244	244	the association not less than 90 days' written notice that:
245	245	(1) the commissioners court is withdrawing
246	246	recognition of the association; and
247	247	(2) any agreement between the commissioners court and
248	248	the association will not be renewed.
249	249	(b) The commissioners court of a county that granted
250	250	recognition of an employee association after conducting an election
251	251	under Section 162.006 may order an election to determine whether a
252	252	public employer may continue to meet and confer under this chapter.
253	253	The commissioners court may not order an election under this
254	254	subsection until the second anniversary of the date of the election
255	255	under Section 162.006.
256	256	(c) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held as
257	257	part of the next regularly scheduled general election for county
258	258	officers that occurs after the date the commissioners court of the
259	259	county orders the election and that allows sufficient time to
260	260	prepare the ballot in compliance with other requirements of law.
261	261	(d) The ballot for an election ordered under Subsection (b)
262	262	shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:
263	263	"Authorizing __________ (name of the county) to continue to operate
264	264	under the state law allowing a county to meet and confer and make
265	265	agreements with the association representing county employees as
266	266	provided by state law, preserving the prohibition against strikes
267	267	and organized work stoppages, and providing penalties for strikes
268	268	and organized work stoppages."
269	269	(e) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held
270	270	and the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the
271	271	Election Code.
272	272	(f) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, the
273	273	county may continue to operate under this chapter only if a majority
274	274	of the votes cast at the election favor the proposition.
275	275	(g) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, an
276	276	association may not submit a petition for recognition to the
277	277	commissioners court of the county under Section 162.004 before the
278	278	second anniversary of the date of the election.
279	279	Sec. 162.016. ELECTION TO REPEAL AGREEMENT. (a) Not later
280	280	than the 45th day after the date a meet and confer agreement is
281	281	ratified by the commissioners court of the county and the
282	282	recognized employee association, a petition calling for the repeal
283	283	of the agreement signed by at least 10 percent of the qualified
284	284	voters residing in the county may be presented to the person charged
285	285	with ordering an election under Section 3.004, Election Code.
286	286	(b) If a petition is presented under Subsection (a), the
287	287	commissioners court of the county shall:
288	288	(1) repeal the meet and confer agreement; or
289	289	(2) certify that it is not repealing the agreement and
290	290	call an election to determine whether to repeal the agreement.
291	291	(c) An election called under Subsection (b)(2) may be held
292	292	as part of the next regularly scheduled general election for the
293	293	county or at a special election called by the commissioners court
294	294	for that purpose. The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for
295	295	or against the proposition: "Repeal the meet and confer agreement
296	296	ratified on _____ (date agreement was ratified) by the __________
297	297	(name of the commissioners court of the county) and the _____ (name
298	298	of the recognized employee association) concerning wages,
299	299	salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, and other terms of
300	300	employment."
301	301	(d) If a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the
302	302	repeal of the agreement, the agreement is void.
303	303	Sec. 162.017. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
304	304	A written meet and confer agreement ratified under this chapter
305	305	preempts, during the term of the agreement and to the extent of any
306	306	conflict, all contrary state statutes, local orders or ordinances,
307	307	executive orders, civil service provisions, or rules adopted by
308	308	this state or a political subdivision or agent of this state,
309	309	including a personnel governing body, civil service commission, or
310	310	county, other than a statute, order, ordinance, executive order,
311	311	civil service provision, or rule regarding pensions or
312	312	pension-related matters.
313	313	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.