By: Oakley H.B. No. 2404
73R4295 JRD-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the compensation of members of fire and police
1-3 departments in certain municipalities.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 141.033(a), Local Government Code, is
1-6 amended to read as follows:
1-7 (a) Each municipality with a population of 10,000 or more
1-8 <affected by this subchapter> shall classify all positions in its
1-9 fire and police departments and shall specify the duties and
1-10 prescribe the salary for each classification.
1-11 SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 141, Local Government Code,
1-12 is amended by adding Sections 141.036-141.042 to read as follows:
1-13 Sec. 141.036. SALARY. (a) This section applies only to a
1-14 municipality:
1-15 (1) with a population of 10,000 or more; and
1-16 (2) that has not adopted Chapter 143 or the law
1-17 codified by Chapter 143, unless the municipality has subsequently
1-18 repealed its adoption.
1-19 (b) Except as provided by Section 141.033(b) when a fire
1-20 fighter or police officer temporarily performs duties in a higher
1-21 classification, all fire fighters or police officers in the same
1-22 classification are entitled to the same base salary.
1-23 (c) In addition to the base salary, each fire fighter or
1-24 police officer is entitled to each of the following types of pay,
2-1 if applicable:
2-2 (1) longevity or seniority pay;
2-3 (2) educational incentive pay as authorized by Section
2-4 141.038;
2-5 (3) assignment pay as authorized by Section 141.037;
2-6 (4) certification pay as authorized by Section
2-7 141.038; and
2-8 (5) shift differential pay as authorized by Section
2-9 141.041.
2-10 Sec. 141.037. Assignment Pay. (a) This section applies
2-11 only to a municipality:
2-12 (1) with a population of 10,000 or more; and
2-13 (2) that has not adopted Chapter 143 or the law
2-14 codified by Chapter 143, unless the municipality has subsequently
2-15 repealed its adoption.
2-16 (b) The governing body of a municipality may authorize
2-17 assignment pay for fire fighters and police officers who perform
2-18 specialized functions in their respective departments.
2-19 (c) The assignment pay is in an amount and is payable under
2-20 conditions set by ordinance and is in addition to the regular pay
2-21 received by members of the fire or police department.
2-22 (d) If the ordinance applies equally to each person who
2-23 meets the criteria established by the ordinance, the ordinance may
2-24 provide for payment to each fire fighter and police officer who
2-25 meets training or education criteria for an assignment or the
2-26 ordinance may set criteria that provide for payment only to a fire
2-27 fighter or police officer in a special assignment.
3-1 (e) The head of the fire or police department is not
3-2 eligible for the assignment pay authorized by this section.
3-3 Sec. 141.038. Certification and Educational Incentive Pay.
3-4 (a) This section applies only to a municipality:
3-5 (1) with a population of 10,000 or more; and
3-6 (2) that has not adopted Chapter 143 or the law
3-7 codified by Chapter 143, unless the municipality has subsequently
3-8 repealed its adoption.
3-9 (b) If each fire fighter or police officer in a municipality
3-10 is afforded an opportunity to qualify for certification, the
3-11 municipality's governing body may authorize certification pay to
3-12 those fire fighters who meet the requirements for certification set
3-13 by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection or for those police
3-14 officers who meet the requirements for certification set by the
3-15 Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education.
3-16 (c) If the criteria for educational incentive pay are
3-17 clearly established, are in writing, and are applied equally to
3-18 each fire fighter or police officer in a municipality who meets the
3-19 criteria, the municipality's governing body may authorize
3-20 educational incentive pay for each fire fighter or police officer
3-21 who has successfully completed courses at an accredited college or
3-22 university.
3-23 (d) The certification pay and educational incentive pay are
3-24 in addition to a fire fighter's or police officer's regular pay.
3-25 Sec. 141.039. Accumulation and Payment of Sick Leave. (a)
3-26 This section applies only to a municipality:
3-27 (1) with a population of 10,000 or more; and
4-1 (2) that has not adopted Chapter 143 or the law
4-2 codified by Chapter 143, unless the municipality has subsequently
4-3 repealed its adoption.
4-4 (b) A fire fighter or police officer is allowed sick leave
4-5 with pay accumulated at the rate of 1-1/4 full working days for
4-6 each full month employed in a calendar year, which results in a
4-7 total of 15 working days to a person's credit each 12 months.
4-8 (c) A fire fighter or police officer may accumulate sick
4-9 leave without limit and may use the leave if unable to work because
4-10 of a bona fide illness. If an ill fire fighter or police officer
4-11 exhausts the sick leave and can conclusively prove that the illness
4-12 was incurred in the performance of duties, an extension of sick
4-13 leave shall be granted.
4-14 (d) A fire fighter or police officer who leaves the
4-15 classified service under Section 141.033 for any reason is entitled
4-16 to receive in a lump-sum payment the full amount of the person's
4-17 salary for accumulated sick leave if the person has accumulated not
4-18 more than 90 days of sick leave. If a fire fighter or police
4-19 officer has accumulated more than 90 working days of sick leave,
4-20 the person's employer may limit payment to the amount that the
4-21 person would have received if the person had been allowed to use 90
4-22 days of accumulated sick leave during the last six months of
4-23 employment. The lump-sum payment is computed by compensating the
4-24 fire fighter or police officer for the accumulated time at the
4-25 highest permanent pay classification for which the person was
4-26 eligible during the last six months of employment. The fire
4-27 fighter or police officer is paid for the same period for which the
5-1 person would have been paid if the person had taken the sick leave
5-2 but does not include additional holidays and any sick leave or
5-3 vacation time that the person might have accrued during the 90
5-4 days.
5-5 (e) To facilitate the settlement of the accounts of deceased
5-6 fire fighters and police officers, all unpaid compensation,
5-7 including all accumulated sick leave, due at the time of death to
5-8 an active fire fighter or police officer who dies as a result of a
5-9 line-of-duty injury or illness, shall be paid to the persons in the
5-10 first applicable category of the following list, which is ranked:
5-11 (1) to the beneficiary or beneficiaries the fire
5-12 fighter or police officer designated in writing to receive the
5-13 compensation and filed with the commission before the person's
5-14 death;
5-15 (2) to the fire fighter's or police officer's widow or
5-16 widower;
5-17 (3) to the fire fighter's or police officer's child or
5-18 children and to the descendants of a deceased child, by
5-19 representation;
5-20 (4) to the fire fighter's or police officer's parents
5-21 or to their survivors; or
5-22 (5) to the properly appointed legal representative of
5-23 the fire fighter's or police officer's estate, or in the absence of
5-24 a representative, to the person determined to be entitled to the
5-25 payment under the state law of descent and distribution.
5-26 (f) Payment of compensation to a person in accordance with
5-27 Subsection (e) is a bar to recovery by another person.
6-1 Sec. 141.040. VACATIONS. (a) This section applies only to
6-2 a municipality:
6-3 (1) with a population of 10,000 or more; and
6-4 (2) that has not adopted Chapter 143 or the law
6-5 codified by Chapter 143, unless the municipality has subsequently
6-6 repealed its adoption.
6-7 (b) Each fire fighter or police officer is entitled to earn
6-8 a minimum of 15 working days' vacation leave with pay in each year.
6-9 (c) In computing the length of time a fire fighter or police
6-10 officer may be absent from work on vacation leave, only those
6-11 calendar days during which the person would be required to work if
6-12 not on vacation may be counted as vacation days.
6-13 (d) Unless approved by the municipality's governing body, a
6-14 fire fighter or police officer may not accumulate vacation leave
6-15 from year to year.
6-16 Sec. 141.041. SHIFT DIFFERENTIAL PAY. (a) This section
6-17 applies only to a municipality:
6-18 (1) with a population of 10,000 or more; and
6-19 (2) that has not adopted Chapter 143 or the law
6-20 codified by Chapter 143, unless the municipality has subsequently
6-21 repealed its adoption.
6-22 (b) The governing body of a municipality may authorize shift
6-23 differential pay for fire fighters and police officers who work a
6-24 shift in which more than 50 percent of the time worked is after 6
6-25 p.m. and before 6 a.m.
6-26 (c) The shift differential pay is in an amount and is
6-27 payable under conditions set by ordinance and is in addition to the
7-1 regular pay received by members of the fire or police department.
7-2 Sec. 141.042. LINE OF DUTY ILLNESS OR INJURY LEAVE OF
7-3 ABSENCE. (a) This section applies only to a municipality:
7-4 (1) with a population of 10,000 or more; and
7-5 (2) that has not adopted Chapter 143 or the law
7-6 codified by Chapter 143, unless the municipality has subsequently
7-7 repealed its adoption.
7-8 (b) A municipality shall provide to a fire fighter or police
7-9 officer a leave of absence for an illness or injury related to the
7-10 person's line of duty. The leave is with full pay for a period
7-11 commensurate with the nature of the line of duty illness or injury.
7-12 If necessary, the leave shall continue for at least one year.
7-13 (c) At the end of the one-year period, the municipality's
7-14 governing body may extend the line of duty illness or injury leave
7-15 at full or reduced pay. If the fire fighter's or police officer's
7-16 salary is reduced below 60 percent of the person's regular monthly
7-17 salary and the municipality has a fire fighter's or police
7-18 officer's pension fund, the person may retire on pension until able
7-19 to return to duty.
7-20 (d) If pension benefits are not available to a fire fighter
7-21 or police officer who is temporarily disabled by a line of duty
7-22 injury or illness and if the year at full pay and any extensions
7-23 granted by the governing body have expired, the fire fighter or
7-24 police officer may use accumulated sick leave, vacation time, and
7-25 other accrued benefits before the person is placed on temporary
7-26 leave.
7-27 (e) If a fire fighter or police officer is temporarily
8-1 disabled by an injury or illness that is not related to the
8-2 person's line of duty, the person may use all sick leave, vacation
8-3 time, and other accumulated time before the person is placed on
8-4 temporary leave.
8-5 (f) After recovery from a temporary disability, a fire
8-6 fighter or police officer shall be reinstated at the same rank and
8-7 with the same seniority the person had before going on temporary
8-8 leave. Another fire fighter or police officer may voluntarily do
8-9 the work of an injured fire fighter or police officer until the
8-10 person returns to duty.
8-11 SECTION 3. Sections 141.039(d) and (e), Local Government
8-12 Code, as added by this Act, apply according to their terms to
8-13 accumulated sick leave that was earned before the effective date of
8-14 this Act to the extent allowed under the Texas Constitution.
8-15 SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 1993.
8-16 SECTION 5. The importance of this legislation and the
8-17 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-18 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-19 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-20 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.