Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB2446 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Uresti, Van de Putte, Zaffirini S.B. No. 2446
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed March 13, 2009; March 31, 2009, read
3	3	first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
4	4	Relations; May 7, 2009, reported adversely, with favorable
5	5	Committee Substitute by the following vote: Yeas 3, Nays 1;
6	6	May 7, 2009, sent to printer.)
7	7	COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE FOR S.B. No. 2446 By: Gallegos
8	8
9	9
10	10	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
11	11	AN ACT
12	12	relating to the right of certain municipalities to maintain local
13	13	control over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of
14	14	employment.
15	15	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
16	16	SECTION 1. Subtitle A, Title 5, Local Government Code, is
17	17	amended by adding Chapter 148 to read as follows:
18	18	CHAPTER 148. LOCAL CONTROL OF MUNICIPAL EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN
19	19	CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES
20	20	Sec. 148.001. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies
21	21	only to a municipality with a population of more than one million
22	22	that:
23	23	(1) has adopted Chapter 174; and
24	24	(2) is not covered by Chapter 146 or 147.
25	25	(b) This chapter does not apply to:
26	26	(1) firefighters or police officers who are covered by
27	27	Subchapter B of Chapter 142, Subchapter H, I, or J of Chapter 143,
28	28	or Chapter 174;
29	29	(2) an employee association in which employees
30	30	described by Subdivision (1) participate; or
31	31	(3) employees of a municipally owned utility or other
32	32	board or political subdivision whose wages, salaries, rates of pay,
33	33	hours, working conditions, or other terms and conditions of
34	34	employment are established and governed by an appointed board
35	35	independent from the municipal governing body.
36	36	Sec. 148.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
37	37	(1) "Confidential employee" means an employee:
38	38	(A) who has access to confidential or
39	39	discretionary information regarding the formulation of the
40	40	municipality's policies or procedures;
41	41	(B) whose functional responsibilities or
42	42	knowledge concerning employee relations make the employee's
43	43	membership in an employee organization incompatible with the
44	44	employee's duties; or
45	45	(C) who is the executive secretary of the chief
46	46	administrator or executive officer of a municipal department.
47	47	(2) "Covered employee" means an employee of a
48	48	municipality, other than an employee who is not covered by the
49	49	classified municipal civil service, a confidential employee, a
50	50	firefighter or police officer who is covered by Subchapter H, I, or
51	51	J of Chapter 143 or by Chapter 174, or a peace officer covered by
52	52	Chapter 142.
53	53	(3) "Employee association" means an organization in
54	54	which municipal employees participate, that exists for the purpose,
55	55	wholly or partly, of dealing with one or more employers, whether
56	56	public or private, concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages,
57	57	rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work affecting
58	58	covered employees, and whose members pay dues by means of an
59	59	automatic payroll deduction.
60	60	(4) "Public employer" means any municipality that is
61	61	required to establish the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours,
62	62	working conditions, and other terms and conditions of employment of
63	63	public employees. The term may include, under appropriate
64	64	circumstances, a mayor, manager, administrator of a municipality,
65	65	municipal governing body, director of personnel, or personnel
66	66	board, or one or more other officials regardless of the name by
67	67	which they are designated.
68	68	Sec. 148.003. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS AND
69	69	RECOGNITION. (a) A municipality may not be denied local control
70	70	over wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, other terms and
71	71	conditions of employment, or other state-mandated personnel
72	72	issues. A public employer may enter into a mutual agreement
73	73	governing these issues with an employee association recognized
74	74	under this chapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for
75	75	all covered employees that does not advocate the illegal right to
76	76	strike by municipal employees. The applicable statutes, local
77	77	ordinances, and civil service rules govern a term or condition of
78	78	employment on which the public employer and the association do not
79	79	agree.
80	80	(b) An agreement under this chapter must be written.
81	81	(c) This chapter does not require the public employer and
82	82	the recognized employee association to meet and confer on any issue
83	83	or reach an agreement on any issue.
84	84	(d) This chapter does not authorize an agreement regarding
85	85	pension or pension-related matters governed by statute.
86	86	Sec. 148.004. PETITION FOR RECOGNITION: ELECTION OR ACTION
87	87	BY GOVERNING BODY. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date
88	88	the governing body of a municipality receives from an employee
89	89	association a petition signed by the majority of all covered
90	90	employees that requests recognition of the association as the sole
91	91	and exclusive bargaining agent for all the covered employees, the
92	92	governing body shall:
93	93	(1) grant recognition of the association as requested
94	94	in the petition and find that a public employer may meet and confer
95	95	under this chapter without conducting an election by the voters in
96	96	the municipality under Section 148.006;
97	97	(2) defer granting recognition of the association and
98	98	order an election by the voters in the municipality under Section
99	99	148.006 regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer
100	100	under this chapter; or
101	101	(3) order a certification election under Section
102	102	148.005 to determine whether the association represents a majority
103	103	of the covered employees.
104	104	(b) If the governing body of a municipality orders a
105	105	certification election under Subsection (a)(3) and the employee
106	106	association named in the petition is certified to represent a
107	107	majority of the covered employees, the governing body shall, not
108	108	later than the 30th day after the date that results of that election
109	109	are certified:
110	110	(1) grant recognition of the association as requested
111	111	in the petition for recognition and find that a public employer may
112	112	meet and confer under this chapter without conducting an election
113	113	by the voters in the municipality under Section 148.006; or
114	114	(2) defer granting recognition of the association and
115	115	order an election by the voters in the municipality under Section
116	116	148.006 regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer
117	117	under this chapter.
118	118	Sec. 148.005. CERTIFICATION ELECTION. (a) Except as
119	119	provided by Subsection (b), a certification election ordered under
120	120	Section 148.004(a)(3) to determine whether an employee association
121	121	represents a majority of the covered employees shall be conducted
122	122	according to procedures agreeable to the parties.
123	123	(b) If the parties are unable to agree on procedures for the
124	124	certification election, either party may request the American
125	125	Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify the
126	126	results of the election.
127	127	(c) The results of an election shall be certified if the
128	128	employee association receives a majority of the valid votes cast in
129	129	the election.
130	130	(d) Certification of the results of an election under this
131	131	section resolves the question concerning representation.
132	132	(e) The employee association is liable for the expenses of
133	133	the certification election, except that if two or more associations
134	134	seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent
135	135	submit a petition signed by at least 30 percent of the employees
136	136	eligible to sign the petition for recognition, all the associations
137	137	named in any petition shall share equally the costs of the election.
138	138	Sec. 148.006. ELECTION TO AUTHORIZE OPERATING UNDER THIS
139	139	CHAPTER. (a) The governing body of a municipality that receives a
140	140	petition for recognition under Section 148.004 may order an
141	141	election to determine whether a public employer may meet and confer
142	142	under this chapter.
143	143	(b) An election ordered under this section must be held as
144	144	part of the next regularly scheduled general election for municipal
145	145	officials that is held after the date the governing body of the
146	146	municipality orders the election and that allows sufficient time to
147	147	prepare the ballot in compliance with other requirements of law.
148	148	(c) The ballot for an election ordered under this section
149	149	shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:
150	150	"Authorizing __________ (name of the municipality) to operate under
151	151	the state law allowing a municipality to meet and confer and make
152	152	agreements with the association representing municipal employees
153	153	as provided by state law, preserving the prohibition against
154	154	strikes and organized work stoppages, and providing penalties for
155	155	strikes and organized work stoppages."
156	156	(d) An election called under this section must be held and
157	157	the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the Election
158	158	Code.
159	159	(e) If an election authorized under this section is held,
160	160	the municipality may operate under the other provisions of this
161	161	chapter only if a majority of the votes cast at the election favor
162	162	the proposition.
163	163	(f) If an election authorized under this section is held, an
164	164	employee association may not submit a petition for recognition to
165	165	the governing body of the municipality under Section 148.004 before
166	166	the second anniversary of the date of the election.
167	167	Sec. 148.007. CHANGE OR MODIFICATION OF RECOGNITION.
168	168	(a) Covered employees may modify, change, or withdraw the
169	169	recognition of the employee association granted under this chapter
170	170	by filing with the governing body of the municipality a petition
171	171	signed by a majority of all covered employees.
172	172	(b) The governing body of the municipality may:
173	173	(1) recognize the modification, change, or withdrawal
174	174	as provided by the petition; or
175	175	(2) order a certification election in accordance with
176	176	Section 148.005 regarding whether to do so.
177	177	Sec. 148.008. STRIKES PROHIBITED. (a) A municipal
178	178	employee may not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage
179	179	against this state or the municipality.
180	180	(b) A municipal employee who participates in a strike
181	181	forfeits any civil service rights, reemployment rights, and other
182	182	rights, benefits, or privileges the employee may have as a result of
183	183	the employee's employment or prior employment with the
184	184	municipality.
185	185	(c) This section does not affect the right of a person to
186	186	cease work if the person is not acting in concert with others in an
187	187	organized work stoppage.
188	188	Sec. 148.009. RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION. (a) A
189	189	public employer in a municipality that chooses to meet and confer
190	190	under this chapter shall recognize an association that is
191	191	recognized under Section 148.004 or 148.005 as the sole and
192	192	exclusive bargaining agent for the covered employees.
193	193	(b) The public employer shall recognize the employee
194	194	association until recognition of the association is withdrawn, in
195	195	accordance with Section 148.007, by a majority of the covered
196	196	employees eligible to sign a petition for recognition.
197	197	Sec. 148.010. SELECTION OF BARGAINING AGENT; BARGAINING
198	198	UNIT. (a) The public employer's chief executive officer or the
199	199	chief executive officer's designee shall select one or more persons
200	200	to represent the public employer as its sole and exclusive
201	201	bargaining agent to meet and confer on issues related to the wages,
202	202	hours of employment, and other terms and conditions of employment
203	203	of covered employees.
204	204	(b) An employee association may designate one or more
205	205	persons to negotiate or bargain on the association's behalf.
206	206	(c) A municipality's bargaining unit is composed of all the
207	207	covered employees.
208	208	Sec. 148.011. PROTECTED RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES. A meet and
209	209	confer agreement ratified under this chapter may not interfere with
210	210	the right of a covered employee to pursue allegations of
211	211	discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin,
212	212	religion, age, sex, or disability with the Texas Workforce
213	213	Commission civil rights division or the federal Equal Employment
214	214	Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action litigation.
215	215	Sec. 148.012. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed meet and
216	216	confer agreement and a document prepared and used by the
217	217	municipality, including a public employer, in connection with the
218	218	proposed agreement are available to the public under Chapter 552,
219	219	Government Code, only after the agreement is ready to be ratified by
220	220	the governing body of the municipality.
221	221	(b) This section does not affect the application of
222	222	Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
223	223	and used in connection with the agreement.
224	224	Sec. 148.013. OPEN DELIBERATIONS. (a) Deliberations
225	225	relating to a meet and confer agreement or proposed agreement under
226	226	this chapter between representatives of the public employer and
227	227	representatives of the employee association recognized under this
228	228	chapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the covered
229	229	employees must be open to the public and comply with state law.
230	230	(b) Subsection (a) may not be construed to prohibit the
231	231	representatives of the public employer or the representatives of
232	232	the recognized employee association from conducting private
233	233	caucuses that are not open to the public during meet and confer
234	234	negotiations.
235	235	Sec. 148.014. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF
236	236	AGREEMENT. (a) An agreement under this chapter is enforceable and
237	237	binding on the public employer, the recognized employee
238	238	association, and the employees covered by the meet and confer
239	239	agreement only if:
240	240	(1) the governing body of the municipality ratified
241	241	the agreement by a majority vote; and
242	242	(2) the recognized employee association ratified the
243	243	agreement by conducting a secret ballot election at which the
244	244	majority of the covered employees who voted in the election favored
245	245	ratifying the agreement.
246	246	(b) A meet and confer agreement ratified as described by
247	247	Subsection (a) may establish a procedure by which the parties agree
248	248	to resolve disputes related to a right, duty, or obligation
249	249	provided by the agreement, including binding arbitration on a
250	250	question involving interpretation of the agreement.
251	251	(c) A state district court of a judicial district in which
252	252	the municipality is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve a
253	253	dispute under the ratified meet and confer agreement on the
254	254	application of a party to the agreement aggrieved by an action or
255	255	omission of the other party when the action or omission is related
256	256	to a right, duty, or obligation provided by the agreement. The
257	257	court may issue proper restraining orders, temporary and permanent
258	258	injunctions, or any other writ, order, or process, including
259	259	contempt orders, that are appropriate to enforcing the agreement.
260	260	Sec. 148.015. ACTION OR ELECTION TO REPEAL AUTHORIZATION TO
261	261	OPERATE UNDER THIS CHAPTER. (a) The governing body of a
262	262	municipality that granted recognition of an employee association
263	263	under Section 148.004 without conducting an election under Section
264	264	148.006 may withdraw recognition of the association by providing to
265	265	the association not less than 90 days' written notice that:
266	266	(1) the governing body is withdrawing recognition of
267	267	the association; and
268	268	(2) any agreement between the governing body and the
269	269	association will not be renewed.
270	270	(b) The governing body of a municipality that granted
271	271	recognition of an employee association after conducting an election
272	272	under Section 148.006 may order an election to determine whether a
273	273	public employer may continue to meet and confer under this chapter.
274	274	The governing body may not order an election under this subsection
275	275	until the second anniversary of the date of the election under
276	276	Section 148.006.
277	277	(c) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held as
278	278	part of the next regularly scheduled general election for municipal
279	279	officers that occurs after the date the governing body of the
280	280	municipality orders the election and that allows sufficient time to
281	281	prepare the ballot in compliance with other requirements of law.
282	282	(d) The ballot for an election ordered under Subsection (b)
283	283	shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:
284	284	"Authorizing __________ (name of the municipality) to continue to
285	285	operate under the state law allowing a municipality to meet and
286	286	confer and make agreements with the association representing
287	287	municipal employees as provided by state law, preserving the
288	288	prohibition against strikes and organized work stoppages, and
289	289	providing penalties for strikes and organized work stoppages."
290	290	(e) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held
291	291	and the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the
292	292	Election Code.
293	293	(f) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, the
294	294	municipality may continue to operate under this chapter only if a
295	295	majority of the votes cast at the election favor the proposition.
296	296	(g) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, an
297	297	employee association may not submit a petition for recognition to
298	298	the governing body of the municipality under Section 148.004 before
299	299	the second anniversary of the date of the election.
300	300	Sec. 148.016. ELECTION TO REPEAL AGREEMENT. (a) Not later
301	301	than the 45th day after the date a meet and confer agreement is
302	302	ratified by the governing body of the municipality and the
303	303	recognized employee association, a petition calling for the repeal
304	304	of the agreement signed by at least 10 percent of the qualified
305	305	voters residing in the municipality may be presented to the person
306	306	charged with ordering an election under Section 3.004, Election
307	307	Code.
308	308	(b) If a petition is presented under Subsection (a), the
309	309	governing body of the municipality shall:
310	310	(1) repeal the meet and confer agreement; or
311	311	(2) certify that it is not repealing the agreement and
312	312	call an election to determine whether to repeal the agreement.
313	313	(c) An election called under Subsection (b)(2) may be held
314	314	as part of the next regularly scheduled general election for the
315	315	municipality or at a special election called by the governing body
316	316	for that purpose. The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for
317	317	or against the proposition: "Repeal the meet and confer agreement
318	318	ratified on _____ (date agreement was ratified) by the __________
319	319	(name of the governing body of the municipality) and the _____ (name
320	320	of the recognized municipal employee association) concerning
321	321	wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, and other terms of
322	322	employment."
323	323	(d) If a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the
324	324	repeal of the agreement, the agreement is void.
325	325	Sec. 148.017. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
326	326	A written meet and confer agreement ratified under this chapter
327	327	preempts, during the term of the agreement and to the extent of any
328	328	conflict, all contrary state statutes, local ordinances, executive
329	329	orders, civil service provisions, or rules adopted by this state or
330	330	a political subdivision or agent of this state, including a
331	331	personnel board, civil service commission, or home-rule
332	332	municipality, other than a statute, ordinance, executive order,
333	333	civil service provision, or rule regarding pensions or
334	334	pension-related matters.
335	335	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.
336	336	* * * * *