89R15483 CJD-F
By: Cook H.B. No. 4263
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the employment practices of the Texas Juvenile Justice
Department and to the eligibility of a person to be appointed to the
Texas Juvenile Justice Department's release review panel and the
authority of a panel member.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 242.004(c), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The department shall establish procedures and practices
governing:
(1) employment-related grievances submitted by
department employees; and
(2) grievances challenging disciplinary termination
of employment [disciplinary actions within the department,
including a procedure allowing a department employee to elect to
participate in an independent dismissal mediation if the employee
is recommended for dismissal].
SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 242, Human Resources Code,
is amended by adding Section 242.012 to read as follows:
Sec. 242.012. PAYMENT FOR VACATION LEAVE FOR JUVENILE
CORRECTIONAL OFFICERS. (a) In this section, "juvenile
correctional officer" has the meaning assigned by Section 242.009.
(b) The department may adopt a policy allowing juvenile
correctional officers, one time during a fiscal year, to elect to
receive a lump-sum payment for the officer's accumulated vacation
leave in lieu of taking the leave.
(c) The number of hours of accumulated vacation leave for
which a juvenile correctional officer may be paid under a policy
authorized by this section may not exceed all of the officer's
accumulated vacation leave or 40 hours of accumulated vacation
leave, whichever is less.
(d) If the department pays a juvenile correctional officer
for the officer's accumulated vacation leave under a policy
authorized by this section, the department shall:
(1) compute the amount of the payment by multiplying
the officer's hourly rate of compensation on the date the officer
notifies the department of an election by the number of hours of
accumulated vacation leave for which the officer elects to be paid;
and
(2) on making the payment, deduct the number of hours
for which the officer received payment from the officer's
accumulated vacation leave balance.
SECTION 3. Section 245.101(c), Human Resources Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) The executive director shall determine the size of the
panel described by Subsection (b) and the length of the members'
terms of service on the panel. The panel must consist of an odd
number of members and the terms of the panel's members must last for
at least two years. The executive director shall adopt policies
that ensure the transparency, consistency, and objectivity of the
panel's composition, procedures, and decisions. The executive
director shall appoint persons to serve as members of the panel. A
person appointed to the panel must be a department employee [who
works at the department's central office]. A member of the panel
may not be involved in any determination under this chapter
[supervisory decisions] concerning a child [children] in the
custody of the department for whom that panel member has made a
supervisory decision.
SECTION 4. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department shall establish
the procedures and practices required by Section 242.004(c), Human
Resources Code, as amended by this Act.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.