1-1  By:  Moncrief                                         S.B. No. 1140
    1-2        (In the Senate - Filed March 12, 1993; March 15, 1993, read
    1-3  first time and referred to Committee on Intergovernmental
    1-4  Relations; April 15, 1993, reported favorably by the following
    1-5  vote:  Yeas 8, Nays 0; April 15, 1993, sent to printer.)
    1-6                            COMMITTEE VOTE
    1-7                          Yea     Nay      PNV      Absent 
    1-8        Armbrister         x                               
    1-9        Leedom             x                               
   1-10        Carriker           x                               
   1-11        Henderson          x                               
   1-12        Madla              x                               
   1-13        Moncrief                                       x   
   1-14        Patterson          x                               
   1-15        Rosson             x                               
   1-16        Shapiro                                        x   
   1-17        Wentworth          x                               
   1-18        Whitmire                                       x   
   1-19                         A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
   1-20                                AN ACT
   1-21  relating to the pooling of sick leave for county employees.
   1-22        BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
   1-23        SECTION 1.  Subchapter B, Chapter 152, Local Government Code,
   1-24  is amended by adding Section 152.019 to read as follows:
   1-25        Sec. 152.019.  SICK LEAVE POOLS.  (a)  For purposes of this
   1-26  section:
   1-27              (1)  "Administrator" means the person designated by the
   1-28  commissioners court to administer the county's sick leave pool.
   1-29              (2)  "Employee" means all district, county, and
   1-30  precinct employees paid from the general fund of the county or from
   1-31  special grants paid through the county.
   1-32        (b)  This section is intended to provide for the alleviation
   1-33  of the hardship caused to an employee and the employee's family if
   1-34  a catastrophic illness or injury forces the employee to exhaust all
   1-35  leave time earned by that employee and to lose compensation from
   1-36  the county.
   1-37        (c)  The commissioners court shall determine which injuries
   1-38  and illnesses are classified as catastrophic for purposes of this
   1-39  section.  The court shall provide to the administrator a written
   1-40  statement of that classification.
   1-41        (d)(1)  The commissioners court of a county may establish a
   1-42  program within the county to allow an employee to voluntarily
   1-43  transfer sick leave time earned by that employee to a sick leave
   1-44  pool administered by the administrator.
   1-45              (2)  The commissioners court may adopt rules and
   1-46  prescribe procedures relating to the operation of the county sick
   1-47  leave pool.
   1-48              (3)  Sick leave time contributed to the county pool may
   1-49  be used by an employee of the county as provided by this section.
   1-50        (e)  An employee is eligible to use the time contributed to
   1-51  the sick leave pool if, because of a catastrophic injury or illness
   1-52  or because of a previous donation of sick leave time to the pool,
   1-53  the employee has exhausted all the sick leave time to which that
   1-54  employee is otherwise entitled.
   1-55        (f)  To contribute time to the sick leave pool, an employee
   1-56  must submit an application to the administrator in the form
   1-57  prescribed by the commissioners court.
   1-58        (g)  On approval by the administrator, an employee may
   1-59  transfer to the pool not less than one day nor more than three days
   1-60  per fiscal year of the accrued sick leave time earned by that
   1-61  employee.  The administrator shall credit the sick leave pool with
   1-62  the amount of time contributed by that employee and shall deduct a
   1-63  corresponding amount of time from the amount to which that employee
   1-64  is entitled as if the employee had used the time for personal
   1-65  purposes.
   1-66        (h)  An eligible employee may apply to the administrator for
   1-67  permission to draw time from the county sick leave pool.  If the
   1-68  administrator determines that the employee is eligible, the
    2-1  administrator shall approve the transfer of time from the pool to
    2-2  that employee.  The administrator shall credit the time to the
    2-3  employee, who may use the time in the same manner as sick leave
    2-4  earned by the employee in the course of employment.
    2-5        (i)  An eligible employee may not draw time from the county
    2-6  sick leave pool in an amount that exceeds the lesser of one-third
    2-7  of the total amount of time in the pool or 90 days.  The
    2-8  administrator shall determine the exact amount that an eligible
    2-9  employee may draw from the pool.
   2-10        (j)  An employee absent on assigned sick leave is treated for
   2-11  all purposes as if the employee were absent on earned sick leave.
   2-12        (k)  The estate of a deceased employee is not entitled to
   2-13  payment for unused sick leave acquired by that employee from the
   2-14  sick leave pool of the employing county.
   2-15        SECTION 2.  The importance of this legislation and the
   2-16  crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
   2-17  emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
   2-18  constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
   2-19  days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
   2-20  and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
   2-21  passage, and it is so enacted.
   2-22                               * * * * *
   2-23                                                         Austin,
   2-24  Texas
   2-25                                                         April 15, 1993
   2-26  Hon. Bob Bullock
   2-27  President of the Senate
   2-28  Sir:
   2-29  We, your Committee on Intergovernmental Relations to which was
   2-30  referred S.B. No. 1140, have had the same under consideration, and
   2-31  I am instructed to report it back to the Senate with the
   2-32  recommendation that it do pass and be printed.
   2-33                                                         Armbrister,
   2-34  Chairman
   2-35                               * * * * *
   2-36                               WITNESSES
   2-37                                                  FOR   AGAINST  ON
   2-38  ___________________________________________________________________
   2-39  Name:  Jim Allison                               x
   2-40  Representing:  County Judges &
   2-41      Commissioners
   2-42  City:  Austin
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   2-44  Name:  Katy Caldwell                             x
   2-45  Representing:  Harris County Treasurer
   2-46  City:  Houston
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   2-48  Name:  Mickey West                               x
   2-49  Representing:  Tx Assn. of Co. Auditors
   2-50  City:  Tx Assn.
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   2-52  Name:  G. K. Maenius                             x
   2-53  Representing:  Tarrant Co. Commissioners
   2-54      Ct.
   2-55  City:  Fort Worth
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   2-57  Name:  Carey Boethel                             x
   2-58  Representing:  Tx Assoc. Counties
   2-59  City:  Austin
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