81R14484 T
By: Gallegos S.B. No. 2490
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the right of certain counties to maintain local control
over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 5, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 162 to read as follows:
CHAPTER H. LOCAL CONTROL OF EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN CERTAIN COUNTIES
Sec. 162.001. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies
only to a County with a population of three million or more.
(b) This chapter does not apply to
(1) police officers who are covered by Chapter 174; or
(2) an employee association in which those employees
participate.
Sec. 162.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Covered employee" means an employee of a county,
other than a department head or a police officer who is covered by
Chapter 174.
(2) "Employee association" means an organization in
which county employees participate and that exists for the purpose,
wholly or partly, of dealing with one or more employers, whether
public or private, concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages,
rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work affecting
public employees and whose members pay dues by means of an automatic
payroll deduction.
(3) "Public Employer" means any county that is
required to establish the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours,
working conditions, and other terms and conditions of employment of
public employees. The term may include, under appropriate
circumstances, a Commissioner's Court, manager, administrator of a
county, county governing body, director of personnel, personnel
board, or one or more other officials regardless of the name by
which they are designated.
Sec. 162.003. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS AND
RECOGNITION. (a) A county may not be denied local control over
wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, other terms and
conditions of employment, or other state-mandated personnel
issues. A county may enter into a mutual agreement governing these
issues with an employee association recognized under this chapter
as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all covered
employees of that employer that does not advocate the illegal right
to strike by county employees. The applicable statutes, local
ordinances, and civil service rules govern a term or condition of
employment on which the public employer and the association do not
agree.
(b) An agreement under this chapter must be written.
(c) This chapter does not require the county and the
recognized employee association to meet and confer or reach an
agreement on any issue.
(d) This chapter does not authorize an agreement regarding
pensions or pension-related matters governed by Subtitle F, Title
8, Texas Government Code.
Sec. 162.004. PETITION FOR RECOGNITION: ELECTION OR ACTION
BY GOVERNING BODY. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date
the commissioners court of a county receives from an employee
association a petition signed by the majority of all covered
employees of a county that requests recognition of the association
as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all the covered
employees of that employer, the commissioners court shall:
(1) grant recognition of the association as requested
in the petition and find that a county may meet and confer under
this chapter without conducting an election by the voters in the
county under Section 162.006;
(2) defer granting recognition of the association and
order an election by the voters in the county under Section 162.006
regarding whether a county may meet and confer under this chapter;
or
(3) order a certification election under Section
162.005 to determine whether the association represents a majority
of the covered employees of the county.
(b) If the commissioners court of a county orders a
certification election under Subsection (a)(3) and the association
named in the petition is certified to represent a majority of the
covered employees, the commissioners court shall, not later than
the 30th day after the date that results of that election are
certified:
(1) grant recognition of the association as requested
in the petition for recognition and find that a county may meet and
confer under this chapter without conducting an election by the
voters in the county under Section 162.006; or
(2) defer granting recognition of the association and
order an election by the voters in the county under Section 162.006
regarding whether a county may meet and confer under this chapter.
Sec. 162.005. CERTIFICATION ELECTION. (a) Except as
provided by Subsection (b), a certification election ordered under
Section 162.004(a)(3) to determine whether an employee association
represents a majority of the covered employees shall be conducted
according to procedures agreeable to the parties.
(b) If the parties are unable to agree on procedures for the
certification election, either party may request the American
Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify the
results of the election.
(c) The results of an election shall be certified if the
employee association receives a majority of the valid votes cast in
the election.
(d) Certification of the results of an election under this
section resolves the question concerning representation.
(e) The association is liable for the expenses of the
certification election, except that if two or more associations
seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent
submit a petition signed by at least 30 percent of the employees
eligible to sign the petition for recognition, all the associations
named in any petition shall share equally the costs of the election.
Sec. 162.006. ELECTION TO AUTHORIZE OPERATING UNDER THIS
CHAPTER. (a) The commissioners court of a county that receives a
petition for recognition under Section 162.004 may order an
election to determine whether a county may meet and confer under
this chapter.
(b) An election ordered under this section must be held as
part of the next regularly scheduled general election for county
officials that is held after the date the commissioners court of the
county orders the election and that allows sufficient time to
prepare the ballot in compliance with other requirements of law.
(c) The ballot for an election ordered under this section
shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:
"Authorizing (name of the county) to operate under the state
law allowing a county to meet and confer and make agreements with
the association representing county employees as provided by state
law, preserving the prohibition against strikes and organized work
stoppages, stoppages and providing penalties for strikes and
organized work stoppages."
(d) An election called under this section must be held and
the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the Election
Code.
(e) If an election authorized under this section is held,
the county may operate under the other provisions of this chapter
only if a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the
proposition.
(f) If an election authorized under this section is held, an
association may not submit a petition for recognition for that
county to the commissioners court of the county under Section
162.004 before the second anniversary of the date of the election.
Sec. 162.007. CHANGE OR MODIFICATION OF
RECOGNITION. (a) The county employees may modify or change the
recognition of the employee association granted under this chapter
by filing with the commissioners court of the county a petition
signed by a majority of all covered employees.
(b) The commissioners court of the county may:
(1) recognize the change or modification as provided
by the petition; or
(2) order a certification election in accordance with
Section 162.005 regarding whether to do so.
Sec. 162.008. STRIKES PROHIBITED. (a) A county employee
may not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage against this
state, or a county.
(b) A county employee who participates in a strike forfeits
any civil service rights, reemployment rights, and other rights,
benefits, or privileges the employee may have as a result of the
employee's employment or prior employment with the county.
(c) This section does not affect the right of a person to
cease work if the person is not acting in concert with others in an
organized work stoppage.
Sec. 162.009. RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION. (a) A
county that chooses to meet and confer under this chapter shall
recognize an association that is recognized under Section 162.004
or 162.005 as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the
covered employees of that employer.
(b) the county shall recognize the employee association
until recognition of the association is withdrawn, in accordance
with Section 162.007, by a majority of the county employees
eligible to sign a petition for recognition.
Sec. 162.010. SELECTION OF BARGAINING AGENT; BARGAINING
UNIT. (a) The commissioners court shall select one or more
persons to represent the county as its sole and exclusive
bargaining agent to meet and confer on issues related to the wages,
hours of employment, and other terms and conditions of employment
of county employees.
(b) an employee association may designate one or more
persons to negotiate or bargain on the association's behalf.
(c) A county's bargaining unit is composed of all the
covered employees of the county.
Sec. 162.011. PROTECTED RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES. A meet and
confer agreement ratified under this chapter may not interfere with
the right of a member of a bargaining unit to pursue allegations of
discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin,
religion, age, sex, or disability with the Texas Workforce
Commission civil rights division or the federal Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action litigation.
Sec. 162.012. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed meet and
confer agreement and a document prepared and used by the county,
including a public employer, in connection with the proposed
agreement are available to the public under chapter 552, Government
Code, only after the agreement is ready to be ratified by the
commissioners court of the county.
(b) This section does not affect the application of Chapter
C, chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared and used in
connection with the agreement.
Sec. 162.013. OPEN DELIBERATIONS. (a) Deliberations
relating to a meet and confer agreement or proposed agreement under
this chapter between representatives of the county and
representatives of the employee association recognized under this
chapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the covered
employees must be open to the public and comply with state law.
(b) Subsection (a) may not be construed to prohibit the
representatives of the county or the representatives of the
recognized employee association from conducting private caucuses
that are not open to the public during meet and confer negotiations.
Sec. 162.014. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF
AGREEMENT. (a) An agreement under this chapter is enforceable
and binding on the county, the recognized employee association, and
the employees covered by the meet and confer agreement only if:
(1) the commissioners court of the county ratified the
agreement by a majority vote; and
(2) the recognized employee association ratified the
agreement by conducting a secret ballot election at which the
majority of the covered employees who are members of the
association favored ratifying the agreement.
(b) A meet and confer agreement ratified as described by
Subsection (a) may establish a procedure by which the parties agree
to resolve disputes related to a right, duty, or obligation
provided by the agreement, including binding arbitration on a
question involving interpretation of the agreement.
(c) A state district court of a judicial district in which
the county is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve a dispute
under the ratified meet and confer agreement on the application of a
party to the agreement aggrieved by an action or omission of the
other party when the action or omission is related to a right, duty,
or obligation provided by the agreement. The court may issue proper
restraining orders, temporary and permanent injunctions, or any
other writ, order, or process, including contempt orders, that are
appropriate to enforcing the agreement.
Sec. 162.015. ACTION OR ELECTION TO REPEAL AUTHORIZATION TO
OPERATE UNDER THIS chapter. (a) The commissioners court of a
county that granted recognition of an employee association under
Section 162.004 without conducting an election under Section
162.006 may withdraw recognition of the association by providing to
the association not less than 90 days' written notice that:
(1) the commissioners court is withdrawing
recognition of the association; and
(2) any agreement between the commissioners court and
the association will not be renewed.
(b) The commissioners court of a county that granted
recognition of an employee association after conducting an election
under Section 162.006 may order an election to determine whether a
county may continue to meet and confer under this chapter. The
commissioners court may not order an election under this subsection
until the second anniversary of the date of the election under
Section 162.006.
(c) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held as
part of the next regularly scheduled general election for county
officers that occurs after the date the commissioners court of the
county orders the election and that allows sufficient time to
prepare the ballot in compliance with other requirements of law.
(d) The ballot for an election ordered under Subsection (b)
shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:
"Authorizing (name of the county) to continue to operate under the
state law allowing a county to meet and confer and make agreements
with the association representing county employees as provided by
state law, preserving the prohibition against strikes and organized
work stoppages, and providing penalties for strikes and organized
work stoppages."
(e) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held
and the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the
Election Code.
(f) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, the
county may continue to operate under this chapter only if a majority
of the votes cast at the election favor the proposition.
(g) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, an
association may not submit a petition for recognition to the
commissioners court of the county under Section 162.004 before the
second anniversary of the date of the election.
Sec. 162.016. ELECTION TO REPEAL AGREEMENT. (a) Not later
than the 45th day after the date a meet and confer agreement is
ratified by the commissioners court of the county and the
recognized employee association, a petition calling for the repeal
of the agreement signed by at least 10 percent of the qualified
voters residing in the county may be presented to the person charged
with ordering an election under Section 3.004, Election Code.
(b) If a petition is presented under Subsection (a), the
commissioners court of the county shall:
(1) repeal the meet and confer agreement; or
(2) certify that it is not repealing the agreement and
call an election to determine whether to repeal the agreement.
(c) An election called under Subsection (b)(2) may be held
as part of the next regularly scheduled general election for the
county or at a special election called by the commissioners court
for that purpose. The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for
or against the proposition: "Repeal the meet and confer agreement
ratified on (date agreement was ratified) by the (name
of the commissioners court of the county) and the (name of the
recognized employee association) concerning wages, salaries, rates
of pay, hours of work, and other terms of employment."
(d) If a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the
repeal of the agreement, the agreement is void.
Sec. 162.017. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
A written meet and confer agreement ratified under this chapter
preempts, during the term of the agreement and to the extent of any
conflict, all contrary state statutes, local ordinances, executive
orders, civil service provisions, or rules adopted by this state or
a political subdivision or agent of this state, including a
personnel commissioners court, civil service commission, or
county, other than a statute, ordinance, executive order, civil
service provision, or rule regarding pensions or pension-related
matters.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009.