Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4308 Compare Versions

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

Old	New	Differences
1	1	86R10981 MP-F
2	2	By: Walle H.B. No. 4308
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to conditions of employment for an employee of certain
8	8	sheriff's or constable's departments.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Chapter 158, Local Government Code, is amended
11	11	by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
12	12	SUBCHAPTER C. LOCAL CONTROL OF SHERIFF'S OR CONSTABLE'S DEPARTMENT
13	13	EMPLOYMENT MATTERS
14	14	Sec. 158.071. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
15	15	to a county with a population of 3.3 million or more and in which
16	16	Chapter 174 has not been adopted.
17	17	Sec. 158.072. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
18	18	(1) "Association" means an organization in which
19	19	employees of a sheriff's or constable's department participate and
20	20	that exists, wholly or partly, to deal with a public employer
21	21	regarding grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of
22	22	work, or working conditions affecting the employees.
23	23	(2) "Public employer" means a sheriff's or constable's
24	24	department, a county, or an agency, board, commission, or political
25	25	subdivision controlled by a county that is required to establish
26	26	wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, working conditions,
27	27	and other terms of employment.
28	28	Sec. 158.073. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS,
29	29	RECOGNITION, AND STRIKES. (a) A county may not be denied local
30	30	control over the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work,
31	31	working conditions, other terms of employment, or other
32	32	state-mandated personnel issues, to the extent the public employer
33	33	and the association recognized as the bargaining agent under
34	34	Section 158.074 agree under this subchapter. Applicable statutes,
35	35	local orders, ordinances, and civil service rules and regulations
36	36	apply to an issue not governed by an agreement.
37	37	(b) This subchapter does not require a public employer or a
38	38	recognized association to meet and confer on any issue or reach an
39	39	agreement.
40	40	(c) A public employer and a recognized association may meet
41	41	and confer only if the association does not advocate the illegal
42	42	right to strike by public employees.
43	43	(d) An employee of a sheriff's or constable's department may
44	44	not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage. An employee who
45	45	participates in a strike forfeits all rights, benefits, or
46	46	privileges the employee may have as a result of the person's
47	47	employment or prior employment with the sheriff's department or a
48	48	constable's department, including any civil service or
49	49	reemployment right. This subsection does not affect the right of a
50	50	person to cease work if the person is not acting in concert with
51	51	others in an organized work stoppage.
52	52	Sec. 158.074. RECOGNITION OF ASSOCIATION. (a) In a county
53	53	that chooses to meet and confer under this subchapter, the public
54	54	employer shall recognize an association submitting a petition for
55	55	recognition signed by a majority of the employees of the sheriff's
56	56	department or a constable's department, excluding the sheriff or
57	57	constable and persons the sheriff or constable has designated as
58	58	exempt, as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the
59	59	employees of the sheriff's or constable's department, excluding the
60	60	sheriff or constable and persons the sheriff or constable has
61	61	designated as exempt, until recognition of the association is
62	62	withdrawn by a majority of the employees eligible to sign a petition
63	63	for recognition.
64	64	(b) Whether an association represents a majority of covered
65	65	employees must be resolved by an election conducted according to
66	66	procedures agreeable to the parties. If the parties are unable to
67	67	agree on election procedures, either party may request the American
68	68	Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify the
69	69	results. Certification of the results of an election under this
70	70	subsection resolves the question concerning representation. An
71	71	association seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive
72	72	bargaining agent is liable for the expenses of the election, except
73	73	that if two or more associations seeking recognition submit
74	74	petitions signed by a majority of the employees eligible to sign the
75	75	petition, the associations shall share equally the costs of the
76	76	election.
77	77	Sec. 158.075. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed agreement or
78	78	document prepared and used by a sheriff's or constable's department
79	79	in connection with a proposed agreement shall be available to the
80	80	public under Chapter 552, Government Code, only after the agreement
81	81	is ratified by the commissioners court under Section 158.076.
82	82	(b) This section does not affect the application of
83	83	Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
84	84	and used by a sheriff's or constable's department in connection with
85	85	an agreement.
86	86	Sec. 158.076. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF
87	87	AGREEMENT. (a) An agreement under this subchapter is enforceable
88	88	and binding on the public employer, association, and employees
89	89	covered by the agreement only if:
90	90	(1) the commissioners court in the county in which the
91	91	public employer is located ratifies the agreement by a majority
92	92	vote; and
93	93	(2) the employees in the sheriff's or constable's
94	94	department represented by the association ratify the agreement by
95	95	majority vote using a secret ballot.
96	96	(b) A district court in the county in which the public
97	97	employer is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve a dispute
98	98	under a ratified agreement on the application of a party to the
99	99	agreement aggrieved by an action or omission of the other party if
100	100	the action or omission is related to a right, duty, or obligation
101	101	provided by the agreement. The court may issue restraining orders,
102	102	temporary and permanent injunctions, or any other writ, order, or
103	103	process, including contempt orders, that are appropriate to enforce
104	104	the agreement.
105	105	Sec. 158.077. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
106	106	An agreement ratified under this subchapter preempts, during the
107	107	term of the agreement, and to the extent of any conflict, all
108	108	contrary state statutes, local ordinances, executive orders, civil
109	109	service provisions, or rules adopted by the sheriff, a constable,
110	110	or the county or a division or agent of the sheriff's or constable's
111	111	office or the county, including a personnel board or civil service
112	112	commission.
113	113	Sec. 158.078. REPEAL OF AGREEMENT BY ELECTORATE. (a) Not
114	114	later than the 45th day after the date an agreement is ratified by a
115	115	county and an association, a petition signed by a number of
116	116	registered voters of the county equal to 10 percent of the votes
117	117	cast in the county in the most recent general election may be
118	118	presented to the county clerk requesting an election for the repeal
119	119	of the agreement.
120	120	(b) On receipt of a petition, the commissioners court shall
121	121	reconsider the agreement and repeal the agreement or call an
122	122	election on the question of whether to repeal the agreement.
123	123	(c) The election ballot shall be printed to permit voting
124	124	for or against the proposition: "Repeal of an agreement ratified by
125	125	(the county) and (the sheriff's or constable's department
126	126	association) concerning wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of
127	127	work, working conditions, and other terms of employment."
128	128	(d) If at the election a majority of the votes favor repeal
129	129	of the agreement, the agreement is void.
130	130	Sec. 158.079. PROTECTED RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES.
131	131	(a) For the purpose of a disciplinary appeal to a civil service
132	132	commission or to a hearing authority, a member of an association may
133	133	choose to be represented by any person or by the association.
134	134	(b) An agreement under this subchapter may not interfere
135	135	with the right of a member of an association to pursue allegations
136	136	of discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin,
137	137	religion, age, sex, or disability with the Texas Workforce
138	138	Commission civil rights division or the United States Equal
139	139	Employment Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action
140	140	litigation.
141	141	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.