82R3344 CJC-D By: Orr H.B. No. 644 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED AN ACT relating to the period in which a public entity, public work, or state agency must respond to a complaint filed by a person entitled to an employment preference. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Section 657.010(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows: (b) The governing body of a public entity or public work that receives a written complaint under Subsection (a) shall respond to the complaint at the next meeting of the governing body for which notice has not yet been posted, which must be held not later than the 30th [15th] business day after the date the governing body receives the complaint. The governing body may render a different hiring decision than the decision that is the subject of the complaint if the governing body determines that the veteran's preference was not applied. SECTION 2. Section 672.004(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows: (b) The governing body of a state agency that receives a written complaint under Subsection (a) shall respond to the complaint at the next meeting of the governing body for which notice has not yet been posted, which must be held not later than the 30th [15th] business day after the date the governing body receives the complaint. The governing body may render a different hiring decision than the decision that is the subject of the complaint if the governing body determines that the employment preference under this chapter was not applied. SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to a complaint filed under Section 657.010 or 672.004, Government Code, on or after the effective date of this Act. A complaint filed under Section 657.010 or 672.004, Government Code, before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the complaint was filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. SECTION 4. 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, 2011.