| 1 | 1 | | By: Allen H.B. No. 3263 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 5 | 5 | | AN ACT |
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| 6 | 6 | | relating to the protection of an employee of an open-enrollment |
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| 7 | 7 | | charter school who reports a violation of law. |
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| 8 | 8 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 9 | 9 | | SECTION 1. Section 554.001, Government Code, is amended to |
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| 10 | 10 | | read as follows: |
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| 11 | 11 | | Sec. 554.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
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| 12 | 12 | | (1) "Law" means: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (A) a state or federal statute; |
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| 14 | 14 | | (B) an ordinance of a local governmental entity; |
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| 15 | 15 | | or |
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| 16 | 16 | | (C) a rule adopted under a statute or ordinance. |
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| 17 | 17 | | (2) "Local governmental entity" means a political |
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| 18 | 18 | | subdivision of the state, including [a]: |
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| 19 | 19 | | (A) a county; |
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| 20 | 20 | | (B) a municipality; |
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| 21 | 21 | | (C) a public school district; [or] |
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| 22 | 22 | | (D) a special-purpose district or authority; or |
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| 23 | 23 | | (E) an open-enrollment charter school. |
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| 24 | 24 | | (3) "Personnel action" means an action that affects a |
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| 25 | 25 | | public employee's compensation, promotion, demotion, transfer, |
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| 26 | 26 | | work assignment, or performance evaluation. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (4) "Public employee" means an employee or appointed |
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| 28 | 28 | | officer other than an independent contractor who is paid to perform |
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| 29 | 29 | | services for a state or local governmental entity. |
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| 30 | 30 | | (5) "State governmental entity" means: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (A) a board, commission, department, office, or |
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| 32 | 32 | | other agency in the executive branch of state government, created |
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| 33 | 33 | | under the constitution or a statute of the state, including an |
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| 34 | 34 | | institution of higher education, as defined by Section 61.003, |
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| 35 | 35 | | Education Code; |
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| 36 | 36 | | (B) the legislature or a legislative agency; or |
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| 37 | 37 | | (C) the Texas Supreme Court, the Texas Court of |
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| 38 | 38 | | Criminal Appeals, a court of appeals, a state judicial agency, or |
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| 39 | 39 | | the State Bar of Texas. |
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| 40 | 40 | | SECTION 2. The changes in law made by this Act apply to a |
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| 41 | 41 | | suspension or termination of employment of a public employee or to |
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| 42 | 42 | | other adverse personnel action taken against an employee on or |
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| 43 | 43 | | after the effective date of this Act. A suspension or termination |
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| 44 | 44 | | of employment of a public employee or other adverse personnel |
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| 45 | 45 | | action against the employee that is take before the effective date |
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| 46 | 46 | | of this Act is governed by the law existing on the date the |
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| 47 | 47 | | suspension, termination, or other adverse personnel action |
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| 48 | 48 | | occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for that |
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| 49 | 49 | | purpose. |
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| 50 | 50 | | SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |
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