89R5503 JDK-D
By: Orr H.B. No. 1828
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to legislative leave for correctional officers employed by
the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 493, Government Code, is amended by
adding Section 493.0075 to read as follows:
Sec. 493.0075. DONATION OF ACCRUED COMPENSATORY TIME OR
ACCRUED ANNUAL LEAVE FOR LEGISLATIVE PURPOSES. (a) The executive
director shall allow a correctional officer employed by the
department to voluntarily transfer to a legislative leave pool up
to eight hours of compensatory time or annual leave per year earned
by the correctional officer.
(b) The executive director or the executive director's
designee shall administer the legislative leave pool.
(c) The board shall adopt rules and prescribe procedures
relating to the operation of the legislative leave pool.
(d) The executive director or the executive director's
designee shall credit the legislative leave pool with the amount of
time contributed by a correctional officer employed by the
department and deduct a corresponding amount of time from the
correctional officer's earned compensatory time or annual leave as
if the correctional officer had used the time for personal
purposes.
(e) A correctional officer employed by the department is
entitled to use time contributed to the legislative leave pool if
the correctional officer uses the time for legislative leave on
behalf of an association:
(1) related to the correctional officer's employment
with the department;
(2) that has at least 5,000 active or retired members;
and
(3) that is governed by a board of directors.
(f) The executive director or the executive director's
designee shall transfer time from the pool to the correctional
officer and credit the time to the correctional officer.
(g) A correctional officer employed by the department may
only withdraw time from the legislative leave pool in coordination
with and with the consent of the president or designee of the
association described in Subsection (e). A correctional officer
may not draw more than 80 hours from the pool in a 160-hour work
cycle and may not draw more than 480 hours from the pool in a fiscal
year.
(h) A correctional officer employed by the department shall
use time from the legislative leave pool in accordance with rules
adopted by the board.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.