By Goodman H.B. No. 2077
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the pooling of sick leave for county employees.
1-3 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-4 SECTION 1. Chapter 152 of the Texas Local Government Code is
1-5 amended by adding a new section:
1-6 Sec. 152.019
1-7 (a) Definitions
1-8 (1) For purposes of this Act, "administrator" shall
1-9 mean the person designated by commissioners court to administer the
1-10 county's sick leave pool.
1-11 (2) "Employee" shall include all district, county and
1-12 precinct employees paid from the general fund of the county or from
1-13 special grants paid through the county.
1-14 (b) This Act is intended to provide for the alleviation of
1-15 the hardship caused to an employee and the employee's family if a
1-16 catastrophic illness or injury forces the employee to exhaust all
1-17 leave time earned by that employee and to lose compensation from
1-18 the county.
1-19 (c) The commissioners court shall determine which injuries
1-20 and illnesses are classified as catastrophic for purposes of this
1-21 Act. The court shall provide to the administrator a written
1-22 statement of that classification.
1-23 (d) The commissioners court of any county may establish a
2-1 program within the county to allow an employee to voluntarily
2-2 transfer sick leave earned by that employee to a sick leave pool
2-3 administered by the administrator.
2-4 (1) The commissioners court may adopt rules and
2-5 prescribe procedures relating to the operation of the county sick
2-6 leave pool.
2-7 (2) Sick leave time contributed to the county pool may
2-8 be used by an employee of the county as provided by this Act.
2-9 (e) An employee is eligible to use the time contributed to
2-10 the sick leave pool if, because of a catastrophic injury or illness
2-11 or because of a previous donation of sick leave time to the pool,
2-12 the employee has exhausted all the sick leave time to which that
2-13 employee is otherwise entitled.
2-14 (f) To contribute time to the sick leave pool, an employee
2-15 must submit an application to the administrator in the form
2-16 prescribed by the commissioners court.
2-17 (g) On approval by the administrator, the employee may
2-18 transfer to the pool not less than one day nor more than three days
2-19 per fiscal year of the accrued sick leave time earned by that
2-20 employee. The administrator shall credit the sick leave pool with
2-21 the amount of time contributed by that employee and shall deduct a
2-22 corresponding amount of time from the amount to which that employee
2-23 is entitled as if the employee had used the time for personal
2-24 purposes.
2-25 (h) An eligible employee may apply to the administrator for
3-1 permission to draw time from the county sick leave pool. If the
3-2 administrator determines that the employee is eligible, the
3-3 administrator shall approve the transfer of time from the pool to
3-4 that employee. The administrator shall credit the time to the
3-5 employee, who may use the time in the same manner as sick leave
3-6 earned by the employee in the course of employment
3-7 (i) An eligible employee may not draw time from the county
3-8 sick leave pool in an amount that exceeds the lesser of one-third
3-9 of the total amount of time in the pool or 90 days. The
3-10 administrator shall determine the exact amount that an eligible
3-11 employee may draw from the pool.
3-12 (j) An employee absent on assigned sick leave is treated for
3-13 all purposes as the employee were absent on earned sick leave.
3-14 (k) The estate of a deceased employee is not entitled to
3-15 payment for unused sick leave acquired by that employee from the
3-16 sick leave pool of the employing county.
3-17 SECTION 2. The importance of this legislation and the
3-18 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-19 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-20 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-21 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.