By:  Moncrief                                         S.B. No. 1140
                                 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
                                        AN ACT
    1-1  relating to the pooling of sick leave for county employees.
    1-2        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
    1-3        SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 152, Local Government Code,
    1-4  is amended by adding Section 152.019 to read as follows:
    1-5        Sec. 152.019.  SICK LEAVE POOLS.  (a)  For purposes of this
    1-6  section:
    1-7              (1)  "Administrator" means the person designated by the
    1-8  commissioners court to administer the county's sick leave pool.
    1-9              (2)  "Employee" means all district, county, and
   1-10  precinct employees paid from the general fund of the county or from
   1-11  special grants paid through the county.
   1-12        (b)  This section is intended to provide for the alleviation
   1-13  of the hardship caused to an employee and the employee's family if
   1-14  a catastrophic illness or injury forces the employee to exhaust all
   1-15  leave time earned by that employee and to lose compensation from
   1-16  the county.
   1-17        (c)  The commissioners court shall determine which injuries
   1-18  and illnesses are classified as catastrophic for purposes of this
   1-19  section.  The court shall provide to the administrator a written
   1-20  statement of that classification.
   1-21        (d)(1)  The commissioners court of a county may establish a
   1-22  program within the county to allow an employee to voluntarily
   1-23  transfer sick leave time earned by that employee to a sick leave
    2-1  pool administered by the administrator.
    2-2              (2)  The commissioners court may adopt rules and
    2-3  prescribe procedures relating to the operation of the county sick
    2-4  leave pool.
    2-5              (3)  Sick leave time contributed to the county pool may
    2-6  be used by an employee of the county as provided by this section.
    2-7        (e)  An employee is eligible to use the time contributed to
    2-8  the sick leave pool if, because of a catastrophic injury or illness
    2-9  or because of a previous donation of sick leave time to the pool,
   2-10  the employee has exhausted all the sick leave time to which that
   2-11  employee is otherwise entitled.
   2-12        (f)  To contribute time to the sick leave pool, an employee
   2-13  must submit an application to the administrator in the form
   2-14  prescribed by the commissioners court.
   2-15        (g)  On approval by the administrator, an employee may
   2-16  transfer to the pool not less than one day nor more than three days
   2-17  per fiscal year of the accrued sick leave time earned by that
   2-18  employee.  The administrator shall credit the sick leave pool with
   2-19  the amount of time contributed by that employee and shall deduct a
   2-20  corresponding amount of time from the amount to which that employee
   2-21  is entitled as if the employee had used the time for personal
   2-22  purposes.
   2-23        (h)  An eligible employee may apply to the administrator for
   2-24  permission to draw time from the county sick leave pool.  If the
   2-25  administrator determines that the employee is eligible, the
    3-1  administrator shall approve the transfer of time from the pool to
    3-2  that employee.  The administrator shall credit the time to the
    3-3  employee, who may use the time in the same manner as sick leave
    3-4  earned by the employee in the course of employment.
    3-5        (i)  An eligible employee may not draw time from the county
    3-6  sick leave pool in an amount that exceeds the lesser of one-third
    3-7  of the total amount of time in the pool or 90 days.  The
    3-8  administrator shall determine the exact amount that an eligible
    3-9  employee may draw from the pool.
   3-10        (j)  An employee absent on assigned sick leave is treated for
   3-11  all purposes as if the employee were absent on earned sick leave.
   3-12        (k)  The estate of a deceased employee is not entitled to
   3-13  payment for unused sick leave acquired by that employee from the
   3-14  sick leave pool of the employing county.
   3-15        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
   3-16  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   3-17  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   3-18  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   3-19  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   3-20  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   3-21  passage, and it is so enacted.