By: Frazier H.B. No. 3980
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the business leave time account for a firefighter
employee organization in certain municipalities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 142.014, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Subsection (c-1) to read as follows:
(c-1) Donations to the business leave time account of an
employee organization by its members may be authorized in one of the
following ways:
(1) if the majority of the membership of the employee
organization has not affirmatively voted to require contributions
by the employee organization's members to its business leave time
account:
(A) a firefighter must authorize the donation in
writing on a form provided by the employee organization and
approved by the municipality; and
(B) after receiving the signed authorization on
an approved form, the municipality shall transfer donated time to
the account monthly until the municipality receives the
firefighter's written revocation of the authorization; or
(2) if the majority of the membership of the employee
organization has affirmatively voted to require contributions by
the employee organization's members to its business leave time
account:
(A) except as provided by Paragraph (C), the
municipality shall transfer donated time to the employee
organization's business leave time account from the accumulated
vacation or compensatory time of each firefighter who is a member of
the employee organization in the amount approved by vote of the
employee organization not to exceed the amount allowed under
Subsection (c);
(B) the municipality shall transfer the donated
time to the account monthly beginning with the first calendar month
that begins after the date of the employee organization vote
requiring contributions; and
(C) each year, during the period beginning on the
60th day before the anniversary of the first day of the first
calendar month in which donations were first transferred to the
business leave time account of the employee organization under
Paragraph (B) and ending on the 30th day before that anniversary, a
firefighter who is a member of the employee organization may inform
the municipality in writing on a form provided by the employee
organization and approved by the municipality that the firefighter
chooses to not donate time to the account during the 12-month period
beginning with that anniversary;
(D) the employee organization shall make up for
the costs which incurred during the business leave by payment to the
municipality in the amount equal to the overtime, pension and
healthcare costs associated with replacing the firefighter on
business leave.
SECTION 2. Section 142.014(h), Local Government Code, is
repealed.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.