86R10981 MP-F
By: Walle H.B. No. 4308
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to conditions of employment for an employee of certain
sheriff's or constable's departments.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 158, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. LOCAL CONTROL OF SHERIFF'S OR CONSTABLE'S DEPARTMENT
EMPLOYMENT MATTERS
Sec. 158.071. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
to a county with a population of 3.3 million or more and in which
Chapter 174 has not been adopted.
Sec. 158.072. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Association" means an organization in which
employees of a sheriff's or constable's department participate and
that exists, wholly or partly, to deal with a public employer
regarding grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of
work, or working conditions affecting the employees.
(2) "Public employer" means a sheriff's or constable's
department, a county, or an agency, board, commission, or political
subdivision controlled by a county that is required to establish
wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, working conditions,
and other terms of employment.
Sec. 158.073. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS,
RECOGNITION, AND STRIKES. (a) A county may not be denied local
control over the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work,
working conditions, other terms of employment, or other
state-mandated personnel issues, to the extent the public employer
and the association recognized as the bargaining agent under
Section 158.074 agree under this subchapter. Applicable statutes,
local orders, ordinances, and civil service rules and regulations
apply to an issue not governed by an agreement.
(b) This subchapter does not require a public employer or a
recognized association to meet and confer on any issue or reach an
agreement.
(c) A public employer and a recognized association may meet
and confer only if the association does not advocate the illegal
right to strike by public employees.
(d) An employee of a sheriff's or constable's department may
not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage. An employee who
participates in a strike forfeits all rights, benefits, or
privileges the employee may have as a result of the person's
employment or prior employment with the sheriff's department or a
constable's department, including any civil service or
reemployment right. This subsection 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. 158.074. RECOGNITION OF ASSOCIATION. (a) In a county
that chooses to meet and confer under this subchapter, the public
employer shall recognize an association submitting a petition for
recognition signed by a majority of the employees of the sheriff's
department or a constable's department, excluding the sheriff or
constable and persons the sheriff or constable has designated as
exempt, as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the
employees of the sheriff's or constable's department, excluding the
sheriff or constable and persons the sheriff or constable has
designated as exempt, until recognition of the association is
withdrawn by a majority of the employees eligible to sign a petition
for recognition.
(b) Whether an association represents a majority of covered
employees must be resolved by an election conducted according to
procedures agreeable to the parties. If the parties are unable to
agree on election procedures, either party may request the American
Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify the
results. Certification of the results of an election under this
subsection resolves the question concerning representation. An
association seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive
bargaining agent is liable for the expenses of the election, except
that if two or more associations seeking recognition submit
petitions signed by a majority of the employees eligible to sign the
petition, the associations shall share equally the costs of the
election.
Sec. 158.075. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed agreement or
document prepared and used by a sheriff's or constable's department
in connection with a proposed agreement shall be available to the
public under Chapter 552, Government Code, only after the agreement
is ratified by the commissioners court under Section 158.076.
(b) This section does not affect the application of
Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
and used by a sheriff's or constable's department in connection with
an agreement.
Sec. 158.076. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF
AGREEMENT. (a) An agreement under this subchapter is enforceable
and binding on the public employer, association, and employees
covered by the agreement only if:
(1) the commissioners court in the county in which the
public employer is located ratifies the agreement by a majority
vote; and
(2) the employees in the sheriff's or constable's
department represented by the association ratify the agreement by
majority vote using a secret ballot.
(b) A district court in the county in which the public
employer is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve a dispute
under a ratified agreement on the application of a party to the
agreement aggrieved by an action or omission of the other party if
the action or omission is related to a right, duty, or obligation
provided by the agreement. The court may issue restraining orders,
temporary and permanent injunctions, or any other writ, order, or
process, including contempt orders, that are appropriate to enforce
the agreement.
Sec. 158.077. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
An agreement ratified under this subchapter 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 the sheriff, a constable,
or the county or a division or agent of the sheriff's or constable's
office or the county, including a personnel board or civil service
commission.
Sec. 158.078. REPEAL OF AGREEMENT BY ELECTORATE. (a) Not
later than the 45th day after the date an agreement is ratified by a
county and an association, a petition signed by a number of
registered voters of the county equal to 10 percent of the votes
cast in the county in the most recent general election may be
presented to the county clerk requesting an election for the repeal
of the agreement.
(b) On receipt of a petition, the commissioners court shall
reconsider the agreement and repeal the agreement or call an
election on the question of whether to repeal the agreement.
(c) The election ballot shall be printed to permit voting
for or against the proposition: "Repeal of an agreement ratified by
(the county) and (the sheriff's or constable's department
association) concerning wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of
work, working conditions, and other terms of employment."
(d) If at the election a majority of the votes favor repeal
of the agreement, the agreement is void.
Sec. 158.079. PROTECTED RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES.
(a) For the purpose of a disciplinary appeal to a civil service
commission or to a hearing authority, a member of an association may
choose to be represented by any person or by the association.
(b) An agreement under this subchapter may not interfere
with the right of a member of an association 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 United States Equal
Employment Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action
litigation.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.