Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB334 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R4444 SCL-D
2	2	By: Ordaz H.B. No. 334
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
8	8	AN ACT
9	9	relating to the establishment of a county employee family leave
10	10	pool program.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Chapter 157, Local Government Code, is amended
13	13	by adding Subchapter E-1 to read as follows:
14	14	SUBCHAPTER E-1. COUNTY EMPLOYEE FAMILY LEAVE POOL PROGRAM
15	15	Sec. 157.081. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
16	16	(1) "Family leave pool" means a county employee family
17	17	leave pool created under a program.
18	18	(2) "Pool administrator" means the individual
19	19	responsible for administering a family leave pool.
20	20	(3) "Program" means a county employee family leave
21	21	pool program established under this subchapter.
22	22	Sec. 157.082. ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNTY EMPLOYEE FAMILY LEAVE
23	23	POOL PROGRAM. (a) The commissioners court of a county by order may
24	24	establish a program to allow an employee of the county to
25	25	voluntarily transfer sick or vacation leave time earned by the
26	26	employee to a county employee family leave pool.
27	27	(b) A program established under this section must:
28	28	(1) create a county employee family leave pool; and
29	29	(2) at a minimum comply with the provisions of this
30	30	subchapter.
31	31	(c) If a program is established for a county under this
32	32	section, the county judge of the county shall:
33	33	(1) serve as the pool administrator of the family
34	34	leave pool for the county; or
35	35	(2) appoint an individual to serve as the pool
36	36	administrator of the family leave pool for the county.
37	37	Sec. 157.083. CONTRIBUTION TO FAMILY LEAVE POOL. (a) A
38	38	county employee may contribute to the family leave pool of the
39	39	county that employs the employee one or more days of the employee's
40	40	accrued sick or vacation leave.
41	41	(b) The pool administrator for a county shall credit the
42	42	county's family leave pool with the amount of time contributed by a
43	43	county employee and deduct a corresponding amount of time from the
44	44	employee's earned sick or vacation leave as if the employee had used
45	45	the time for personal purposes.
46	46	(c) A retiring county employee may designate the number of
47	47	the retiring employee's accrued sick or vacation leave hours to be
48	48	used for retirement credit and the number of the retiring
49	49	employee's accrued sick or vacation leave hours to be donated on
50	50	retirement to the family leave pool of the county that employs the
51	51	retiring employee.
52	52	Sec. 157.084. USE OF TIME IN POOL. (a) A county employee is
53	53	eligible to use time contributed to the family leave pool of the
54	54	county that employs the employee if the employee has exhausted the
55	55	employee's eligible compensatory, discretionary, sick, and
56	56	vacation leave because of:
57	57	(1) the birth of a child;
58	58	(2) the placement of a foster child or adoption of a
59	59	child under 18 years of age;
60	60	(3) the placement of any person 18 years of age or
61	61	older requiring guardianship;
62	62	(4) a serious illness to an immediate family member or
63	63	the employee, including a pandemic-related illness;
64	64	(5) an extenuating circumstance created by an ongoing
65	65	pandemic, including providing essential care to a family member; or
66	66	(6) a previous donation of time to the pool.
67	67	(b) A county employee who applies to use time under
68	68	Subsection (a) to care for another person must submit and be listed
69	69	on the other person's birth certificate, birth facts, or adoption
70	70	or foster paperwork for a child under 18 years of age, including
71	71	being listed as the mother, father, adoptive parent, foster parent,
72	72	or partner of the child's mother, father, adoptive parent, or
73	73	foster parent, or provide documentation that the employee is the
74	74	guardian of a person who is 18 years of age or older and requiring
75	75	guardianship.
76	76	Sec. 157.085. WITHDRAWAL OF TIME FROM POOL. (a) A county
77	77	employee may apply to the pool administrator for the county that
78	78	employs the employee for permission to withdraw time from the
79	79	county's family leave pool.
80	80	(b) A county employee who applies to withdraw time under
81	81	this section because of a serious illness, including a
82	82	pandemic-related illness, of the employee or an immediate family
83	83	member of the employee and does not qualify for or has exhausted
84	84	time available in the sick leave pool of the county that employs the
85	85	employee, if applicable, must provide the county's pool
86	86	administrator with a written statement from the licensed
87	87	practitioner who is treating the employee or the employee's
88	88	immediate family member.
89	89	(c) A county employee who applies to withdraw time under
90	90	this section because of an extenuating circumstance created by an
91	91	ongoing pandemic, including providing essential care to a family
92	92	member, must provide any applicable documentation, including an
93	93	essential caregiver designation, proof of closure of a school or
94	94	daycare, or other appropriate documentation to the pool
95	95	administrator for the county that employs the employee.
96	96	(d) If a pool administrator determines a county employee is
97	97	eligible to withdraw time under this section, the administrator
98	98	shall:
99	99	(1) approve the transfer of time from the county's
100	100	family leave pool to the employee; and
101	101	(2) credit the time to the employee.
102	102	Sec. 157.086. LIMITATION ON WITHDRAWALS. (a) A county
103	103	employee may not withdraw time from the family leave pool of the
104	104	county that employs the employee in an amount that exceeds the
105	105	lesser of:
106	106	(1) one-third of the total time in the pool; or
107	107	(2) 90 days.
108	108	(b) Subject to Subsection (a), the pool administrator for a
109	109	county shall determine the amount of time that a county employee may
110	110	withdraw from the county's family leave pool.
111	111	Sec. 157.087. EQUAL TREATMENT. A county employee absent
112	112	while using time withdrawn from the family leave pool of the county
113	113	that employs the employee may use the time as sick leave earned by
114	114	the employee. The employee shall be treated for all purposes as if
115	115	the employee is absent on earned sick leave.
116	116	Sec. 157.088. NO ENTITLEMENT TO ESTATE. The estate of a
117	117	deceased county employee is not entitled to payment for unused time
118	118	withdrawn by the employee from the family leave pool of the county
119	119	that employs the employee.
120	120	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
121	121	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
122	122	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
123	123	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
124	124	Act takes effect September 1, 2025.