Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2408 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R11633 CS-D
2	2	By: Ellis S.B. No. 2408
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the authority of certain school 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. Chapter 11, Education Code, is amended by adding
12	12	Subchapter I to read as follows:
13	13	SUBCHAPTER I. LOCAL CONTROL OF EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN CERTAIN
14	14	SCHOOL DISTRICTS
15	15	Sec. 11.401. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
16	16	to a school district with a student enrollment of 180,000 or more
17	17	for the 2008-2009 school year.
18	18	Sec. 11.402. DEFINITION. In this subchapter, "employee
19	19	association" means an organization in which school district
20	20	employees participate and that exists for the purpose, wholly or
21	21	partly, of dealing with one or more districts concerning employee
22	22	grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of
23	23	employment, or conditions of work affecting district employees
24	24	whose members pay dues.
25	25	Sec. 11.403. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS AND
26	26	RECOGNITION. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of this
27	27	code, a school district to which this subchapter applies may not be
28	28	denied local control over the wages, rates of pay, hours of
29	29	employment, other terms and conditions of employment, or other
30	30	personnel issues. The board of trustees of the district may enter
31	31	into a mutual agreement governing those issues with an employee
32	32	association recognized under this subchapter as the sole and
33	33	exclusive bargaining agent for all district employees that does not
34	34	advocate any illegal right to strike by district employees. Any
35	35	applicable statutes govern a term or condition of employment on
36	36	which the board of trustees and the association do not agree.
37	37	(b) An agreement under this subchapter must be written.
38	38	(c) This subchapter does not require the board of trustees
39	39	of the school district and the recognized employee association to
40	40	meet and confer or reach an agreement on any issue.
41	41	(d) This subchapter does not authorize an agreement
42	42	regarding pension or pension-related matters governed by Subtitle
43	43	C, Title 8, Government Code.
44	44	Sec. 11.404. PETITION FOR RECOGNITION: ELECTION OR ACTION
45	45	BY GOVERNING BODY. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date
46	46	the board of trustees of a school district receives from an employee
47	47	association a petition signed by the majority of all district
48	48	employees that requests recognition of the association as the sole
49	49	and exclusive bargaining agent for all the district employees, the
50	50	board of trustees shall:
51	51	(1) grant recognition of the association as requested
52	52	in the petition and find that the board of trustees may meet and
53	53	confer under this subchapter; or
54	54	(2) order a certification election under Section
55	55	11.405 to determine whether the association represents a majority
56	56	of the district employees.
57	57	(b) If the board of trustees of a school district orders a
58	58	certification election under Subsection (a)(2) and the association
59	59	named in the petition is certified to represent a majority of the
60	60	district employees, the board of trustees shall, not later than the
61	61	30th day after the date that results of that election are certified,
62	62	grant recognition of the association as requested in the petition
63	63	for recognition and find that the board of trustees may meet and
64	64	confer under this subchapter.
65	65	Sec. 11.405. CERTIFICATION ELECTION. (a) Except as
66	66	provided by Subsection (b), a certification election ordered under
67	67	Section 11.404(a)(2) to determine whether an employee association
68	68	represents a majority of the covered employees shall be conducted
69	69	according to procedures agreeable to the parties.
70	70	(b) If the parties are unable to agree on procedures for the
71	71	certification election, either party may request the American
72	72	Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify the
73	73	results of the election.
74	74	(c) Certification of the results of an election under this
75	75	section resolves the question concerning representation.
76	76	(d) The association is liable for the expenses of the
77	77	certification election, except that if two or more associations
78	78	seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent
79	79	submit a petition signed by at least 30 percent of the employees
80	80	eligible to sign the petition for recognition, all the associations
81	81	named in any petition shall share equally the costs of the election.
82	82	Sec. 11.406. CHANGE OR MODIFICATION OF RECOGNITION. (a)
83	83	The school district employees may modify or change the recognition
84	84	of the employee association granted under this subchapter by filing
85	85	with the board of trustees of the district a petition signed by a
86	86	majority of all district employees.
87	87	(b) The board of trustees of the school district may:
88	88	(1) recognize the change or modification as provided
89	89	by the petition; or
90	90	(2) order a certification election in accordance with
91	91	Section 11.405 regarding whether to do so.
92	92	Sec. 11.407. STRIKES PROHIBITED. (a) A school district
93	93	employee may not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage
94	94	against this state or the district.
95	95	(b) A school district employee who participates in a strike
96	96	forfeits any rights, benefits, or privileges the employee may have
97	97	as a result of the employee's employment or prior employment with
98	98	the district.
99	99	(c) This section does not affect the right of a person to
100	100	cease work if the person is not acting in concert with others in an
101	101	organized work stoppage.
102	102	Sec. 11.408. RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION. (a) The
103	103	board of trustees of a school district that chooses to meet and
104	104	confer under this subchapter shall recognize an association that is
105	105	recognized under Section 11.404 or 11.405 as the sole and exclusive
106	106	bargaining agent for the district employees.
107	107	(b) The board of trustees of the school district shall
108	108	recognize the association until recognition of the association is
109	109	withdrawn, in accordance with Section 11.406, by a majority of the
110	110	district employees eligible to sign a petition for recognition.
111	111	Sec. 11.409. SELECTION OF BARGAINING AGENT; BARGAINING
112	112	UNIT. (a) The board of trustees of the school district or the
113	113	board's designee shall select one or more persons to represent the
114	114	district as its sole and exclusive bargaining agent to meet and
115	115	confer on issues related to the wages, rates of pay, hours of
116	116	employment, and other terms and conditions of employment of
117	117	district employees.
118	118	(b) An employee association may designate one or more
119	119	persons to negotiate or bargain on the association's behalf.
120	120	(c) A school district's bargaining unit is composed of all
121	121	the district employees.
122	122	Sec. 11.410. PROTECTED RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES. A meet and
123	123	confer agreement ratified under this subchapter may not interfere
124	124	with the right of a member of a bargaining unit to pursue
125	125	allegations of discrimination based on race, creed, color, national
126	126	origin, religion, age, sex, or disability with the Texas Workforce
127	127	Commission civil rights division or the federal Equal Employment
128	128	Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action litigation.
129	129	Sec. 11.411. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed meet and confer
130	130	agreement and a document prepared and used by the school district in
131	131	connection with the proposed agreement are available to the public
132	132	under Chapter 552, Government Code, only after the agreement is
133	133	ready to be ratified by the board of trustees of the district.
134	134	(b) This section does not affect the application of
135	135	Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
136	136	and used in connection with the agreement.
137	137	Sec. 11.412. OPEN DELIBERATIONS. (a) Deliberations
138	138	relating to a meet and confer agreement or proposed agreement under
139	139	this subchapter between representatives of the school district and
140	140	representatives of the employee association recognized under this
141	141	subchapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the
142	142	district's employees must be open to the public and comply with
143	143	state law.
144	144	(b) Subsection (a) may not be construed to prohibit the
145	145	representatives of the school district or the representatives of
146	146	the recognized employee association from conducting private
147	147	caucuses that are not open to the public during meet and confer
148	148	negotiations.
149	149	Sec. 11.413. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF AGREEMENT.
150	150	(a) An agreement under this subchapter is enforceable and binding
151	151	on the school district, the recognized employee association, and
152	152	the employees covered by the meet and confer agreement only if:
153	153	(1) the board of trustees of the district ratified the
154	154	agreement by a majority vote; and
155	155	(2) the recognized employee association ratified the
156	156	agreement by conducting a secret ballot election at which the
157	157	majority of the covered employees who are members of the
158	158	association favored ratifying the agreement.
159	159	(b) A meet and confer agreement ratified as described by
160	160	Subsection (a) may establish a procedure by which the parties agree
161	161	to resolve disputes related to a right, duty, or obligation
162	162	provided by the agreement, including binding arbitration on a
163	163	question involving interpretation of the agreement.
164	164	(c) A state district court of a judicial district in which
165	165	the school district is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve
166	166	a dispute under the ratified meet and confer agreement on the
167	167	application of a party to the agreement aggrieved by an action or
168	168	omission of the other party when the action or omission is related
169	169	to a right, duty, or obligation provided by the agreement. The
170	170	court may issue proper restraining orders, temporary and permanent
171	171	injunctions, or any other writ, order, or process, including
172	172	contempt orders, that are appropriate to enforcing the agreement.
173	173	Sec. 11.414. ACTION TO REPEAL AUTHORIZATION TO OPERATE
174	174	UNDER THIS SUBCHAPTER. The board of trustees of a school district
175	175	that granted recognition of an employee association under Section
176	176	11.404 may withdraw recognition of the association by providing to
177	177	the association not less than 90 days' written notice that:
178	178	(1) the board is withdrawing recognition of the
179	179	association; and
180	180	(2) any agreement between the board and the
181	181	association will not be renewed.
182	182	Sec. 11.415. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
183	183	A written meet and confer agreement ratified under this subchapter
184	184	preempts, during the term of the agreement and to the extent of any
185	185	conflict, all contrary state statutes, executive orders, or rules
186	186	adopted by this state, a school district board of trustees, or an
187	187	agent of this state, other than a statute, executive order, or rule
188	188	regarding pensions or pension-related matters.
189	189	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
190	190	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
191	191	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
192	192	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
193	193	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.