Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas House Bill HB4298 Compare Versions

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1	1	81R8964 JSC-D
2	2	By: Coleman H.B. No. 4298
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the right of certain hospital districts to maintain
8	8	local control over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of
9	9	employment.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 5, Local Government Code, is
12	12	amended by adding Chapter 163 to read as follows:
13	13	CHAPTER 163. LOCAL CONTROL OF EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN CERTAIN
14	14	HOSPITAL DISTRICTS
15	15	Sec. 163.001. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
16	16	a hospital district whose boundaries are coextensive with a county
17	17	with a population of more than three million.
18	18	Sec. 163.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
19	19	(1) "Covered employee" means an employee of a hospital
20	20	district.
21	21	(2) "Employee association" means an organization in
22	22	which employees of a hospital district participate and that exists
23	23	for the purpose, wholly or partly, of dealing with one or more
24	24	employers, whether public or private, concerning grievances, labor
25	25	disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions
26	26	of work affecting public employees and whose members pay dues by
27	27	means of an automatic payroll deduction.
28	28	(3) "Public employer" means any hospital district
29	29	required to establish the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours,
30	30	working conditions, and other terms and conditions of employment of
31	31	public employees.
32	32	Sec. 163.003. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS AND
33	33	RECOGNITION. (a) A hospital district may not be denied local
34	34	control over wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, other
35	35	terms and conditions of employment, or other state-mandated
36	36	personnel issues. A public employer may enter into a mutual
37	37	agreement governing these issues with an employee association
38	38	recognized under this chapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining
39	39	agent for all covered employees that does not advocate the illegal
40	40	right to strike by covered employees. The applicable statutes,
41	41	local orders or ordinances, and civil service rules govern a term or
42	42	condition of employment on which the public employer and the
43	43	association do not agree.
44	44	(b) An agreement under this chapter must be written.
45	45	(c) This chapter does not require the public employer and
46	46	the recognized employee association to meet and confer or reach an
47	47	agreement on any issue.
48	48	(d) This chapter does not authorize an agreement regarding
49	49	pension or pension-related matters governed by Subtitle F, Title 8,
50	50	Government Code.
51	51	Sec. 163.004. PETITION FOR RECOGNITION: ELECTION OR ACTION
52	52	BY BOARD. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date the board
53	53	of hospital managers of a hospital district receives from an
54	54	employee association a petition signed by the majority of all
55	55	covered employees of the hospital district that requests
56	56	recognition of the association as the sole and exclusive bargaining
57	57	agent for all the covered employees of that employer, the board
58	58	shall:
59	59	(1) grant recognition of the association as requested
60	60	in the petition and find that a public employer may meet and confer
61	61	under this chapter without conducting an election by the voters in
62	62	the district under Section 163.006;
63	63	(2) defer granting recognition of the association and
64	64	order an election by the voters in the district under Section
65	65	163.006 regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer
66	66	under this chapter; or
67	67	(3) order a certification election under Section
68	68	163.005 to determine whether the association represents a majority
69	69	of the covered employees of the district.
70	70	(b) If the board of hospital managers of a hospital district
71	71	orders a certification election under Subsection (a)(3) and the
72	72	association named in the petition is certified to represent a
73	73	majority of the covered employees, the board shall, not later than
74	74	the 30th day after the date that results of that election are
75	75	certified:
76	76	(1) grant recognition of the association as requested
77	77	in the petition for recognition and find that a public employer may
78	78	meet and confer under this chapter without conducting an election
79	79	by the voters in the district under Section 163.006; or
80	80	(2) defer granting recognition of the association and
81	81	order an election by the voters in the district under Section
82	82	163.006 regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer
83	83	under this chapter.
84	84	Sec. 163.005. CERTIFICATION ELECTION. (a) Except as
85	85	provided by Subsection (b), a certification election ordered under
86	86	Section 163.004(a)(3) to determine whether an employee association
87	87	represents a majority of the covered employees shall be conducted
88	88	according to procedures agreeable to the parties.
89	89	(b) If the parties are unable to agree on procedures for the
90	90	certification election, either party may request the American
91	91	Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify the
92	92	results of the election.
93	93	(c) The results of an election shall be certified if the
94	94	employee association receives a majority of valid votes cast in the
95	95	election.
96	96	(d) Certification of the results of an election under this
97	97	section resolves the question concerning representation.
98	98	(e) The association is liable for the expenses of the
99	99	certification election, except that if two or more associations
100	100	seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent
101	101	submit a petition signed by at least 30 percent of the employees
102	102	eligible to sign the petition for recognition, all the associations
103	103	named in any petition shall share equally the costs of the election.
104	104	Sec. 163.006. ELECTION TO AUTHORIZE OPERATING UNDER THIS
105	105	CHAPTER. (a) The board of hospital managers of a hospital district
106	106	that receives a petition for recognition under Section 163.004 may
107	107	order an election to determine whether a public employer may meet
108	108	and confer under this chapter.
109	109	(b) An election ordered under this section must be held as
110	110	part of the next regularly scheduled general election for county
111	111	officers that is held after the date the board of hospital managers
112	112	orders the election and that allows sufficient time to prepare the
113	113	ballot in compliance with other requirements of law.
114	114	(c) The ballot for an election ordered under this section
115	115	shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:
116	116	"Authorizing __________ (name of the hospital district) to operate
117	117	under the state law allowing a hospital district to meet and confer
118	118	and make agreements with the association representing employees of
119	119	the hospital district as provided by state law, preserving the
120	120	prohibition against strikes and organized work stoppages, and
121	121	providing penalties for strikes and organized work stoppages."
122	122	(d) An election called under this section must be held and
123	123	the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the Election
124	124	Code.
125	125	(e) If an election authorized under this section is held,
126	126	the hospital district may operate under the other provisions of
127	127	this chapter only if a majority of the votes cast at the election
128	128	favor the proposition.
129	129	(f) If an election authorized under this section is held, an
130	130	association may not submit a petition for recognition to the board
131	131	of hospital managers of the hospital district under Section 163.004
132	132	before the second anniversary of the date of the election.
133	133	Sec. 163.007. CHANGE OR MODIFICATION OF RECOGNITION. (a)
134	134	The covered employees may modify or change the recognition of the
135	135	employee association granted under this chapter by filing with the
136	136	board of hospital managers of the hospital district a petition
137	137	signed by a majority of all covered employees.
138	138	(b) The board of hospital managers of the hospital district
139	139	may:
140	140	(1) recognize the change or modification as provided
141	141	by the petition; or
142	142	(2) order a certification election in accordance with
143	143	Section 163.005 regarding whether to do so.
144	144	Sec. 163.008. STRIKES PROHIBITED. (a) A covered employee
145	145	may not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage against this
146	146	state or the hospital district.
147	147	(b) A covered employee who participates in a strike forfeits
148	148	any civil service rights, reemployment rights, and other rights,
149	149	benefits, or privileges the employee may have as a result of the
150	150	employee's employment or prior employment with the hospital
151	151	district.
152	152	(c) This section does not affect the right of a person to
153	153	cease work if the person is not acting in concert with others in an
154	154	organized work stoppage.
155	155	Sec. 163.009. RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION. (a) A
156	156	public employer that chooses to meet and confer under this chapter
157	157	shall recognize an association that is recognized under Section
158	158	163.004 or 163.005 as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for
159	159	the covered employees of that employer.
160	160	(b) The public employer shall recognize the employee
161	161	association until recognition of the association is withdrawn, in
162	162	accordance with Section 163.007, by a majority of the covered
163	163	employees eligible to sign a petition for recognition.
164	164	Sec. 163.010. SELECTION OF BARGAINING AGENT; BARGAINING
165	165	UNIT. (a) The public employer's chief executive officer or the
166	166	chief executive officer's designee shall select one or more persons
167	167	to represent the public employer as its sole and exclusive
168	168	bargaining agent to meet and confer on issues related to the wages,
169	169	hours of employment, and other terms and conditions of employment
170	170	of covered employees.
171	171	(b) An employee association may designate one or more
172	172	persons to negotiate or bargain on the association's behalf.
173	173	(c) A hospital district's bargaining unit is composed of all
174	174	the covered employees of the hospital district.
175	175	Sec. 163.011. PROTECTED RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES. A meet and
176	176	confer agreement ratified under this chapter may not interfere with
177	177	the right of a member of a bargaining unit to pursue allegations of
178	178	discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin,
179	179	religion, age, sex, or disability with the Texas Workforce
180	180	Commission civil rights division or the federal Equal Employment
181	181	Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action litigation.
182	182	Sec. 163.012. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed meet and confer
183	183	agreement and a document prepared and used by the hospital district
184	184	in connection with the proposed agreement are available to the
185	185	public under Chapter 552, Government Code, only after the agreement
186	186	is ready to be ratified by the board of hospital managers of the
187	187	hospital district.
188	188	(b) This section does not affect the application of
189	189	Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
190	190	and used in connection with the agreement.
191	191	Sec. 163.013. OPEN DELIBERATIONS. (a) Deliberations
192	192	relating to a meet and confer agreement or proposed agreement under
193	193	this chapter between representatives of the hospital district and
194	194	representatives of the employee association recognized under this
195	195	chapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the covered
196	196	employees must be open to the public and comply with state law.
197	197	(b) Subsection (a) may not be construed to prohibit the
198	198	representatives of the hospital district or the representatives of
199	199	the recognized employee association from conducting private
200	200	caucuses that are not open to the public during meet and confer
201	201	negotiations.
202	202	Sec. 163.014. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF
203	203	AGREEMENT. (a) An agreement under this chapter is enforceable and
204	204	binding on the hospital district, the recognized employee
205	205	association, and the employees covered by the meet and confer
206	206	agreement only if:
207	207	(1) the board of hospital managers of the hospital
208	208	district ratified the agreement by a majority vote; and
209	209	(2) the recognized employee association ratified the
210	210	agreement by conducting a secret ballot election at which the
211	211	majority of the covered employees who are members of the
212	212	association favored ratifying the agreement.
213	213	(b) A meet and confer agreement ratified as described by
214	214	Subsection (a) may establish a procedure by which the parties agree
215	215	to resolve disputes related to a right, duty, or obligation
216	216	provided by the agreement, including binding arbitration on a
217	217	question involving interpretation of the agreement.
218	218	(c) A state district court of a judicial district in which
219	219	the hospital district is located has jurisdiction to hear and
220	220	resolve a dispute under the ratified meet and confer agreement on
221	221	the application of a party to the agreement aggrieved by an action
222	222	or omission of the other party when the action or omission is
223	223	related to a right, duty, or obligation provided by the agreement.
224	224	The court may issue proper restraining orders, temporary and
225	225	permanent injunctions, or any other writ, order, or process,
226	226	including contempt orders, that are appropriate to enforcing the
227	227	agreement.
228	228	Sec. 163.015. ACTION OR ELECTION TO REPEAL AUTHORIZATION TO
229	229	OPERATE UNDER THIS CHAPTER. (a) The board of hospital managers of
230	230	a hospital district that granted recognition of an employee
231	231	association under Section 163.004 without conducting an election
232	232	under Section 163.006 may withdraw recognition of the association
233	233	by providing to the association not less than 90 days' written
234	234	notice that:
235	235	(1) the board is withdrawing recognition of the
236	236	association; and
237	237	(2) any agreement between the board and the
238	238	association will not be renewed.
239	239	(b) The board of hospital managers of a hospital district
240	240	that granted recognition of an employee association after
241	241	conducting an election under Section 163.006 may order an election
242	242	to determine whether a public employer may continue to meet and
243	243	confer under this chapter. The board may not order an election
244	244	under this subsection until the second anniversary of the date of
245	245	the election under Section 163.006.
246	246	(c) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held as
247	247	part of the next regularly scheduled general election for county
248	248	officers that occurs after the date the board of hospital managers
249	249	of the hospital district orders the election and that allows
250	250	sufficient time to prepare the ballot in compliance with other
251	251	requirements of law.
252	252	(d) The ballot for an election ordered under Subsection (b)
253	253	shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:
254	254	"Authorizing __________ (name of the hospital district) to continue
255	255	to operate under the state law allowing a hospital district to meet
256	256	and confer and make agreements with the association representing
257	257	employees of a hospital district as provided by state law,
258	258	preserving the prohibition against strikes and organized work
259	259	stoppages, and providing penalties for strikes and organized work
260	260	stoppages."
261	261	(e) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held
262	262	and the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the
263	263	Election Code.
264	264	(f) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, the
265	265	hospital district may continue to operate under this chapter only
266	266	if a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the
267	267	proposition.
268	268	(g) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, an
269	269	association may not submit a petition for recognition to the board
270	270	of hospital managers of the hospital district under Section 163.004
271	271	before the second anniversary of the date of the election.
272	272	Sec. 163.016. ELECTION TO REPEAL AGREEMENT. (a) Not later
273	273	than the 45th day after the date a meet and confer agreement is
274	274	ratified by the board of hospital managers of the hospital district
275	275	and the recognized employee association, a petition calling for the
276	276	repeal of the agreement signed by at least 10 percent of the
277	277	qualified voters residing in the district may be presented to the
278	278	person charged with ordering an election under Section 3.004,
279	279	Election Code.
280	280	(b) If a petition is presented under Subsection (a), the
281	281	board of hospital managers of the hospital district shall:
282	282	(1) repeal the meet and confer agreement; or
283	283	(2) certify that it is not repealing the agreement and
284	284	call an election to determine whether to repeal the agreement.
285	285	(c) An election called under Subsection (b)(2) may be held
286	286	as part of the next regularly scheduled general election for the
287	287	county in which the hospital district is located or at a special
288	288	election called by the board of hospital managers of the hospital
289	289	district for that purpose. The ballot shall be printed to permit
290	290	voting for or against the proposition: "Repeal the meet and confer
291	291	agreement ratified on _____ (date agreement was ratified) by the
292	292	__________ (name of the board of hospital managers of the hospital
293	293	district) and the _____ (name of the recognized employee
294	294	association) concerning wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of
295	295	work, and other terms of employment."
296	296	(d) If a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the
297	297	repeal of the agreement, the agreement is void.
298	298	Sec. 163.017. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
299	299	A written meet and confer agreement ratified under this chapter
300	300	preempts, during the term of the agreement and to the extent of any
301	301	conflict, all contrary state statutes, local orders or ordinances,
302	302	executive orders, civil service provisions, or rules adopted by
303	303	this state or a political subdivision or agent of this state,
304	304	including a civil service commission, county, or hospital district,
305	305	other than a statute, order, ordinance, executive order, civil
306	306	service provision, or rule regarding pensions or pension-related
307	307	matters.
308	308	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.