Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB993 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Muñoz, Jr., Frazier H.B. No. 993
2	2
3	3
4	4	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
5	5	AN ACT
6	6	relating to sheriff's department civil service systems in certain
7	7	counties.
8	8	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
9	9	SECTION 1. Sec. 158.012, Local Government Code, is amended
10	10	by amending Subsection (a) to read as follows:
11	11	APPEALS. (a) A county employee who, on a final decision by
12	12	the commission, is demoted, suspended, or removed from the
13	13	employee's position may appeal the decision by filing a petition in
14	14	a district court in the county within 30 days after the date of the
15	15	decision. unless the employee chooses to appeal to a third-party
16	16	hearing examiner.
17	17	(b) An appeal under this section is under the substantial
18	18	evidence rule, and the judgment of the district court is appealable
19	19	as in other civil cases.
20	20	(c) If the district court renders judgment for the
21	21	petitioner, the court may order reinstatement of the employee,
22	22	payment of back pay, or other appropriate relief.
23	23	SECTION 2: Chapter 158, Local Government Code is amended by
24	24	adding Section 158.013 to read as follows:
25	25	Sec. 158.013. HEARING EXAMINERS. (a) A written notice for
26	26	a promotional bypass, demotion, or notice of disciplinary action,
27	27	as applicable, issued to an employee must state that in an appeal of
28	28	a termination, a suspension, a promotional bypass, or a recommended
29	29	demotion, the appealing employee may elect to appeal to an
30	30	independent third-party hearing examiner instead of to the
31	31	commission. The letter must also state that if the employee elects
32	32	to appeal to a hearing examiner, the employee waives all rights to
33	33	appeal to a district court except as provided by Subsection (j).
34	34	(b) To exercise the choice of appealing to a hearing
35	35	examiner, the appealing employee must submit to the commission a
36	36	written request as part of the original notice of appeal required
37	37	under this subchapter stating the employee's decision to appeal to
38	38	an independent third-party hearing examiner.
39	39	(c) The hearing examiner's decision is final and binding on
40	40	all parties. If the employee decides to appeal to an independent
41	41	third-party hearing examiner, the employee waives all rights to
42	42	appeal to a district court except as provided by Subsection (j).
43	43	(d) If the employee chooses to appeal to a hearing examiner,
44	44	the employee and the sheriff, or their designees, shall first
45	45	attempt to agree on the selection of an impartial hearing examiner.
46	46	If the parties do not agree on the selection of a hearing examiner
47	47	on or within 10 days after the date the appeal is filed, the
48	48	commission shall immediately request a list of seven qualified
49	49	neutral arbitrators from the American Arbitration Association or
50	50	the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service, or their successors
51	51	in function. The employee and the sheriff, or their designees, may
52	52	agree on one of the seven neutral arbitrators on the list. If they
53	53	do not agree within five working days after the date they received
54	54	the list, each party or the party's designee shall alternate
55	55	striking a name from the list and the name remaining is the hearing
56	56	examiner. The parties or their designees shall agree on a date for
57	57	the hearing.
58	58	(e) The appeal hearing shall begin as soon as the hearing
59	59	examiner can be scheduled. If the hearing examiner cannot begin the
60	60	hearing within 45 calendar days after the date of selection, the
61	61	employee may, within two days after learning of that fact, call for
62	62	the selection of a new hearing examiner using the procedure
63	63	prescribed by Subsection (d).
64	64	(f) In each hearing conducted under this section, the
65	65	hearing examiner has the same duties and powers as the commission,
66	66	including the right to issue subpoenas.
67	67	(g) In a hearing conducted under this section, the parties
68	68	may agree to an expedited hearing procedure. Unless otherwise
69	69	agreed by the parties, in an expedited procedure the hearing
70	70	examiner shall render a decision on the appeal within 10 days after
71	71	the date the hearing ended.
72	72	(h) In an appeal that does not involve an expedited hearing
73	73	procedure, the hearing examiner shall make a reasonable effort to
74	74	render a decision on the appeal within 30 days after the date the
75	75	hearing ends or the briefs are filed. The hearing examiner's
76	76	inability to meet the time requirements imposed by this section
77	77	does not affect the hearing examiner's jurisdiction, the validity
78	78	of the disciplinary action, or the hearing examiner's final
79	79	decision.
80	80	(i) The hearing examiner's fees and expenses are shared
81	81	equally by the appealing employee and by the department. The costs
82	82	of a witness are paid by the party who calls the witness.
83	83	(j) A district court may hear an appeal of a hearing
84	84	examiner's award only on the grounds that the hearing examiner was
85	85	without jurisdiction or exceeded the hearing examiner's
86	86	jurisdiction or that the order was procured by fraud, collusion, or
87	87	other unlawful means or the ruling was arbitrary or capricious. An
88	88	appeal must be brought in the district court having jurisdiction in
89	89	the county in which the department is located. An appeal under this
90	90	Subsection is under the substantial evidence rule, and the judgment
91	91	of the district court is appealable as in other civil cases. An
92	92	appeal to district court must:
93	93	Be filed with the district court with proper jurisdiction
94	94	within 45 days after the hearing examiner issued their final
95	95	ruling; and
96	96	State clearly the basis for the appeal.
97	97	(k) The hearing examiner may uphold, reduce, or overturn the
98	98	discipline imposed on the employee.
99	99	(l) No evidence of lost compensation shall be required by
100	100	the hearing examiner to award the employee compensation. If the
101	101	suspension, termination, or demotion is overturned or reduced, the
102	102	employee is entitled to:
103	103	(1) full compensation for the actual time lost as a
104	104	result of the suspension at the rate of pay provided for the
105	105	position or class of service from which the employee was suspended
106	106	or terminated; restoration of or credit for any other benefits lost
107	107	as a result of the suspension, including sick leave, vacation
108	108	leave, and service credit in a retirement system. Standard payroll
109	109	deductions, if any, for retirement and other benefits restored
110	110	shall be made from the compensation paid, and the county shall make
111	111	its standard corresponding contributions, if any, to the retirement
112	112	system or other applicable benefit systems; and
113	113	(2) In the case of an overturning of a demotion, the
114	114	employee is entitled to the difference in compensation between the
115	115	position they were demoted from and the position they held between
116	116	the demotion and the ruling of the hearing examiners.
117	117	(m) If an employee is owed a monetary award for backpay
118	118	after the final decision of the hearing examiner is rendered, the
119	119	county's obligations are the same as those provided by Section
120	120	158.0372.
121	121	SECTION 5. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
122	122	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
123	123	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
124	124	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
125	125	Act takes effect September 1, 2023.