| 1 | 1 | | 81R304 CAS-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Raymond H.B. No. 321 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to leave for junior college district or university system |
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| 8 | 8 | | employees who are physically assaulted while on duty. |
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| 9 | 9 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 10 | 10 | | SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is |
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| 11 | 11 | | amended by adding Section 51.9611 to read as follows: |
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| 12 | 12 | | Sec. 51.9611. ASSAULT LEAVE FOR EMPLOYEES OF JUNIOR COLLEGE |
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| 13 | 13 | | DISTRICT OR UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. (a) In this section, "university |
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| 14 | 14 | | system" has the meaning assigned by Section 61.003. |
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| 15 | 15 | | (b) Except as provided by Subsection (f), an employee of a |
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| 16 | 16 | | junior college district or university system, including an employee |
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| 17 | 17 | | of a component institution of a university system, who is |
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| 18 | 18 | | physically assaulted during the performance of the employee's |
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| 19 | 19 | | regular duties is entitled to the number of days of paid leave |
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| 20 | 20 | | necessary for the employee to recuperate from any physical injury |
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| 21 | 21 | | that results from the assault. Notwithstanding any other law, |
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| 22 | 22 | | during the period the employee is assigned to assault leave, the |
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| 23 | 23 | | employee is entitled to be paid at a rate equal to the employee's |
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| 24 | 24 | | regular rate of pay, except that the amount of pay must be reduced |
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| 25 | 25 | | by the amount of any workers' compensation insurance benefits to |
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| 26 | 26 | | which the employee is entitled. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (c) On the employee's submission of a claim for assault |
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| 28 | 28 | | leave, the junior college district or university system shall |
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| 29 | 29 | | immediately assign the employee to assault leave. After an |
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| 30 | 30 | | investigation of the employee's claim and any determination that |
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| 31 | 31 | | the employee was not entitled to all or part of the assault leave |
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| 32 | 32 | | taken, the district or system may change the employee's assault |
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| 33 | 33 | | leave status and charge the assault leave to which the employee was |
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| 34 | 34 | | not entitled against: |
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| 35 | 35 | | (1) any of the employee's accrued leave; or |
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| 36 | 36 | | (2) the employee's pay if the employee does not have |
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| 37 | 37 | | sufficient accrued leave. |
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| 38 | 38 | | (d) For purposes of this section, an employee is physically |
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| 39 | 39 | | assaulted if the person engaging in the conduct causing injury to |
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| 40 | 40 | | the employee: |
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| 41 | 41 | | (1) could be prosecuted for assault for that conduct; |
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| 42 | 42 | | or |
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| 43 | 43 | | (2) could not be prosecuted for assault for that |
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| 44 | 44 | | conduct only because the person's age or mental capacity makes the |
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| 45 | 45 | | person a nonresponsible person for purposes of criminal liability. |
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| 46 | 46 | | (e) Leave provided under this section is in addition to any |
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| 47 | 47 | | other leave provided to an employee under a policy adopted under |
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| 48 | 48 | | Section 51.961 or otherwise provided to an employee. Except as |
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| 49 | 49 | | provided by Subsection (c)(1), leave taken under this section may |
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| 50 | 50 | | not be deducted from any accrued leave. |
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| 51 | 51 | | (f) The leave period provided by this section may not extend |
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| 52 | 52 | | beyond the earlier of: |
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| 53 | 53 | | (1) the date the employee's employment with the |
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| 54 | 54 | | district or system is suspended or ends; or |
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| 55 | 55 | | (2) the second anniversary of the date of the assault. |
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| 56 | 56 | | (g) A junior college district or university system is |
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| 57 | 57 | | entitled to reimbursement for the cost of paid leave provided under |
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| 58 | 58 | | this section. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall |
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| 59 | 59 | | reimburse the district or system in the appropriate amount from |
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| 60 | 60 | | appropriations available for that purpose. If a district or system |
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| 61 | 61 | | receives reimbursement under this subsection for leave to which the |
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| 62 | 62 | | employee was not entitled, as determined under Subsection (c), the |
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| 63 | 63 | | district or system shall reimburse the coordinating board for the |
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| 64 | 64 | | amount received for that leave. |
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| 65 | 65 | | SECTION 2. Section 51.9611, Education Code, as added by |
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| 66 | 66 | | this Act, applies only to leave based on conduct that occurs on or |
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| 67 | 67 | | after the effective date of this Act. Leave based on conduct that |
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| 68 | 68 | | occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law |
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| 69 | 69 | | in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and that law is |
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| 70 | 70 | | continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 71 | 71 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives |
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| 72 | 72 | | a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as |
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| 73 | 73 | | provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this |
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| 74 | 74 | | Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this |
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| 75 | 75 | | Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |
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