Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1376 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	S.B. No. 1376
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to an employment preference for members of the military
6	6	and their spouses for positions at state agencies.
7	7	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
8	8	SECTION 1. Section 656.027, Government Code, is amended to
9	9	read as follows:
10	10	Sec. 656.027. MILITARY EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE [FOR
11	11	VETERANS] ON STATE EMPLOYMENT FORMS. The commission shall include
12	12	on all forms relating to state agency employment that are
13	13	prescribed by the commission under this subchapter or other law a
14	14	statement regarding the requirement prescribed by Chapter 657 that
15	15	each state agency give a military [veterans] employment preference
16	16	until the agency workforce is composed of at least 20 [40] percent
17	17	individuals who qualify for a military employment preference under
18	18	Section 657.002 [veterans].
19	19	SECTION 2. The heading to Chapter 657, Government Code, is
20	20	amended to read as follows:
21	21	CHAPTER 657. MILITARY [VETERAN'S] EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCES
22	22	SECTION 3. Section 657.002, Government Code, is amended to
23	23	read as follows:
24	24	Sec. 657.002. INDIVIDUALS QUALIFIED FOR MILITARY
25	25	[VETERAN'S] EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE. The following individuals
26	26	qualify for a military [veteran's] employment preference:
27	27	(1) a veteran, including a veteran with a disability;
28	28	(2) a veteran's surviving spouse who has not
29	29	remarried; [and]
30	30	(3) an orphan of a veteran if the veteran was killed
31	31	while on active duty;
32	32	(4) the spouse of a member of the United States armed
33	33	forces or Texas National Guard serving on active duty; and
34	34	(5) the spouse of a veteran if the spouse is the
35	35	primary source of income for the household and the veteran has a
36	36	total disability rating based either on having a service-connected
37	37	disability with a disability rating of at least 70 percent or on
38	38	individual unemployability.
39	39	SECTION 4. Section 657.003, Government Code, is amended to
40	40	read as follows:
41	41	Sec. 657.003. MILITARY [VETERAN'S] EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE.
42	42	(a) An individual who qualifies for a military [veteran's]
43	43	employment preference is entitled to a preference in employment
44	44	with or appointment to a state agency over other applicants for the
45	45	same position who do not have a greater qualification.
46	46	(b) A state agency shall provide to an individual entitled
47	47	to a military [veteran's] employment preference for employment or
48	48	appointment over other applicants for the same position who do not
49	49	have a greater qualification a military [veteran's] employment
50	50	preference, in the following order of priority:
51	51	(1) a veteran with a disability;
52	52	(2) a veteran;
53	53	(3) a spouse described by Section 657.002(4) or (5);
54	54	(4) a veteran's surviving spouse who has not
55	55	remarried; and
56	56	(5) [(4)] an orphan of a veteran if the veteran was
57	57	killed while on active duty.
58	58	(c) If a state agency requires a competitive examination
59	59	under a merit system or civil service plan for selecting or
60	60	promoting employees, an individual entitled to a military
61	61	[veteran's] employment preference who otherwise is qualified for
62	62	that position and who has received at least the minimum required
63	63	score for the test is entitled to have a service credit of 10 points
64	64	added to the test score. A veteran with a disability is entitled to
65	65	have a service credit of five additional points added to the
66	66	individual's test score.
67	67	(d) An individual entitled to a military [veteran's]
68	68	employment preference is not disqualified from holding a position
69	69	with a state agency because of age or an established
70	70	service-connected disability if the age or disability does not make
71	71	the individual incompetent to perform the duties of the position.
72	72	SECTION 5. Section 657.0045, Government Code, is amended to
73	73	read as follows:
74	74	Sec. 657.0045. DESIGNATION OF OPEN POSITION FOR AND
75	75	IMMEDIATE HIRING OF INDIVIDUAL ENTITLED TO MILITARY [VETERAN'S]
76	76	EMPLOYMENT PREFERENCE. (a) A state agency may designate an open
77	77	position as a military preference [veteran's] position and only
78	78	accept applications for that position from individuals who are
79	79	entitled to a military [veteran's] employment preference under
80	80	Section 657.003.
81	81	(b) Notwithstanding any other law, a state agency may hire
82	82	or appoint for an open position within the agency an individual
83	83	entitled to a military [veteran's] employment preference under
84	84	Section 657.003 without announcing or advertising the position if
85	85	the agency:
86	86	(1) uses the automated labor exchange system
87	87	administered by the Texas Workforce Commission to identify an
88	88	individual who qualifies for a military [veteran's] employment
89	89	preference under this chapter; and
90	90	(2) determines the individual meets the
91	91	qualifications required for the position.
92	92	SECTION 6. Section 657.0046, Government Code, is amended to
93	93	read as follows:
94	94	Sec. 657.0046. STATE AGENCY [VETERAN'S] LIAISON FOR
95	95	VETERANS, MILITARY MEMBERS, AND THEIR DEPENDENTS. (a) Each state
96	96	agency that has at least 500 full-time equivalent positions shall
97	97	designate an individual from the agency to serve as a [veteran's]
98	98	liaison for veterans, military members, and their dependents.
99	99	(b) A state agency that has fewer than 500 full-time
100	100	equivalent positions may designate an individual from the agency to
101	101	serve as the [a veteran's] liaison described by Subsection (a).
102	102	(c) Each state agency that designates a [veteran's] liaison
103	103	under this section shall make available on the agency's Internet
104	104	website the liaison's individual work contact information.
105	105	SECTION 7. Section 657.0047, Government Code, is amended to
106	106	read as follows:
107	107	Sec. 657.0047. INTERVIEWS AT STATE AGENCIES. (a) For each
108	108	announced open position at a state agency, the state agency shall
109	109	interview:
110	110	(1) if the total number of individuals interviewed for
111	111	the position is six or fewer, at least one individual qualified for
112	112	a military [veteran's] employment preference under Section
113	113	657.003; or
114	114	(2) if the total number of individuals interviewed for
115	115	the position is more than six, a number of individuals qualified for
116	116	a military [veteran's] employment preference under Section 657.003
117	117	equal to at least 20 percent of the total number interviewed.
118	118	(b) A state agency that does not receive any applications
119	119	from individuals who qualify for a military [veteran's] employment
120	120	preference under Section 657.003 is not required to comply with
121	121	Subsection (a).
122	122	SECTION 8. Section 657.005(a), Government Code, is amended
123	123	to read as follows:
124	124	(a) The individual whose duty is to appoint or employ an
125	125	applicant for a position with a state agency or an officer or the
126	126	chief administrator of the agency who receives an application for
127	127	appointment or employment by an individual entitled to a military
128	128	[veteran's] employment preference, before appointing or employing
129	129	any individual, shall investigate the qualifications of the
130	130	applicant for the position.
131	131	SECTION 9. Section 657.010, Government Code, is amended to
132	132	read as follows:
133	133	Sec. 657.010. COMPLAINT REGARDING EMPLOYMENT DECISION OF
134	134	STATE AGENCY. (a) An individual entitled to a military [veteran's]
135	135	employment preference under this chapter who is aggrieved by a
136	136	decision of a state agency to which this chapter applies relating to
137	137	hiring or appointing the individual, or relating to retaining the
138	138	individual if the state agency reduces its workforce, may appeal
139	139	the decision by filing a written complaint with the executive
140	140	director of the state agency under this section.
141	141	(b) The executive director of a state agency that receives a
142	142	written complaint under Subsection (a) shall respond to the
143	143	complaint not later than the 15th business day after the date the
144	144	executive director receives the complaint. The executive director
145	145	may render a different hiring or appointment decision than the
146	146	decision that is the subject of the complaint if the executive
147	147	director determines that the military [veteran's] preference was
148	148	not applied.
149	149	SECTION 10. Section 32.54(b), Penal Code, is amended to
150	150	read as follows:
151	151	(b) A person commits an offense if the person:
152	152	(1) uses or claims to hold a military record that the
153	153	person knows:
154	154	(A) is fraudulent;
155	155	(B) is fictitious or has otherwise not been
156	156	granted or assigned to the person; or
157	157	(C) has been revoked; and
158	158	(2) uses or claims to hold that military record:
159	159	(A) in a written or oral advertisement or other
160	160	promotion of a business; or
161	161	(B) with the intent to:
162	162	(i) obtain priority in receiving services
163	163	or resources under Subchapter G, Chapter 302, Labor Code;
164	164	(ii) qualify for a military [veteran's]
165	165	employment preference under Chapter 657, Government Code;
166	166	(iii) obtain a license or certificate to
167	167	practice a trade, profession, or occupation;
168	168	(iv) obtain a promotion, compensation, or
169	169	other benefit, or an increase in compensation or other benefit, in
170	170	employment or in the practice of a trade, profession, or
171	171	occupation;
172	172	(v) obtain a benefit, service, or donation
173	173	from another person;
174	174	(vi) obtain admission to an educational
175	175	program in this state; or
176	176	(vii) gain a position in state government
177	177	with authority over another person, regardless of whether the actor
178	178	receives compensation for the position.
179	179	SECTION 11. The changes in law made by this Act to Chapter
180	180	657, Government Code, apply only to an open position with a state
181	181	agency for which the state agency begins accepting applications on
182	182	or after the effective date of this Act. An open position with a
183	183	state agency for which the state agency begins accepting
184	184	applications before the effective date of this Act is governed by
185	185	the law in effect on the date the state agency began accepting
186	186	applications, and the former law is continued in effect for that
187	187	purpose.
188	188	SECTION 12. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
189	189	______________________________ ______________________________
190	190	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
191	191	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1376 passed the Senate on
192	192	April 20, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 1; and that
193	193	the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 27, 2023, by the
194	194	following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
195	195	______________________________
196	196	Secretary of the Senate
197	197	I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1376 passed the House, with
198	198	amendments, on May 24, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 138,
199	199	Nays 0, one present not voting.
200	200	______________________________
201	201	Chief Clerk of the House
202	202	Approved:
203	203	______________________________
204	204	Date
205	205	______________________________
206	206	Governor