81R304 CAS-D
By: Raymond H.B. No. 321
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to leave for junior college district or university system
employees who are physically assaulted while on duty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is
amended by adding Section 51.9611 to read as follows:
Sec. 51.9611. ASSAULT LEAVE FOR EMPLOYEES OF JUNIOR COLLEGE
DISTRICT OR UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. (a) In this section, "university
system" has the meaning assigned by Section 61.003.
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (f), an employee of a
junior college district or university system, including an employee
of a component institution of a university system, who is
physically assaulted during the performance of the employee's
regular duties is entitled to the number of days of paid leave
necessary for the employee to recuperate from any physical injury
that results from the assault. Notwithstanding any other law,
during the period the employee is assigned to assault leave, the
employee is entitled to be paid at a rate equal to the employee's
regular rate of pay, except that the amount of pay must be reduced
by the amount of any workers' compensation insurance benefits to
which the employee is entitled.
(c) On the employee's submission of a claim for assault
leave, the junior college district or university system shall
immediately assign the employee to assault leave. After an
investigation of the employee's claim and any determination that
the employee was not entitled to all or part of the assault leave
taken, the district or system may change the employee's assault
leave status and charge the assault leave to which the employee was
not entitled against:
(1) any of the employee's accrued leave; or
(2) the employee's pay if the employee does not have
sufficient accrued leave.
(d) For purposes of this section, an employee is physically
assaulted if the person engaging in the conduct causing injury to
the employee:
(1) could be prosecuted for assault for that conduct;
or
(2) could not be prosecuted for assault for that
conduct only because the person's age or mental capacity makes the
person a nonresponsible person for purposes of criminal liability.
(e) Leave provided under this section is in addition to any
other leave provided to an employee under a policy adopted under
Section 51.961 or otherwise provided to an employee. Except as
provided by Subsection (c)(1), leave taken under this section may
not be deducted from any accrued leave.
(f) The leave period provided by this section may not extend
beyond the earlier of:
(1) the date the employee's employment with the
district or system is suspended or ends; or
(2) the second anniversary of the date of the assault.
(g) A junior college district or university system is
entitled to reimbursement for the cost of paid leave provided under
this section. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall
reimburse the district or system in the appropriate amount from
appropriations available for that purpose. If a district or system
receives reimbursement under this subsection for leave to which the
employee was not entitled, as determined under Subsection (c), the
district or system shall reimburse the coordinating board for the
amount received for that leave.
SECTION 2. Section 51.9611, Education Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to leave based on conduct that occurs on or
after the effective date of this Act. Leave based on conduct that
occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law
in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and that law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2009.