BILL ANALYSIS C.S.H.B. 1849 By: R. Lewis April 5, 1995 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Currently, there is no uniform set of standards regarding the amount of overtime for which an employee of a county may be compensated. Routine authorization of unbudgeted overtime is causing a strain on the finances of many counties. Once the overtime hours are worked, whether or not there was an allowance in the budget for them, compensation by the county is required. Under federal law, if a supervisor authorizes overtime for an employee, the county is responsible for compensating the employee for the time. It is common for county budgets to be amended in order to accommodate unforeseen overtime compensation. Some county officials habitually authorize unbudgeted overtime, creating an unfunded obligation which must eventually be taken from other accounts. Commissioners courts in counties with populations of 355,000 or more are permitted statutorily to regulate the hours of work for county employees. Smaller counties had not experienced difficulty with not being included in this provision until the United States Supreme Court extended the applicability of the Fair Labor Standards Act in 1985. This decision made counties liable for overtime compensation time, whereas they had not been subject to overtime requirements prior to this decision. PURPOSE The purpose of this legislation is to allow counties to establish and enforce rules or standards regarding the amount of overtime for which county employees may be compensated. Where there is no abuse, commissioners courts need not act at all. If, however, a county faces a budgetary dilemma, it may adopt a policy for the purpose of enforcing uniform hours of work and preventing the unwarranted and unbudgeted overtime. This bill will provide an assurance to county taxpayers that county funds are being properly expended. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency or institution. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS Section 1. Amends Section 157.021 of the Local Government Code to state: (a) The commissioners court of a county with a population of 355,000 or more may adopt and enforce rules governing the hours of work of county employees whose compensation is set or approved by the court. (b) The commissioners court of a county may adopt and enforce uniform rules on overtime and compensatory time by department heads, assistants, deputies and other employees whose compensation is set or approved by the court. The rules may prohibit unbudgeted overtime, except upon a declaration of emergency by the commissioners court or an elected county officer and may require that all emergency overtime be reported to the county auditor and the commissioners court. Section 2. Emergency clause and Effective Date COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The committee substitute retains the 355,000 population bracket found in current law, while the original bill struck the bracket. The original bill allowed the commissioners court to adopt uniform rules on hours of work of various county employees. The committee substitute allows for uniform rules on overtime and compensatory time that may prohibit unbudgeted overtime. The committee substitute creates an exception to the overtime and compensatory time rule upon a declaration of emergency by the commissioners court or an elected officer. SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION HB 1849 was considered by the County Affairs Committee in a public hearing on 3/29/95. The chair recognized the following people to testify for HB 1849: Jim Allison, representing the County Judges and Commissioners Assn. of Texas; and George Self, representing himself; and Ocie Westmoreland, representing himself; and John Thompson, representing himself; and Mickey West, representing himself and the Palo Pinto Commissioners Court; and Wyatt Kunde, representing himself; and Ed Springs, representing himself and Guadalupe County; and Bill Johnson, representing himself and Callahan County; and Wallace Beck, representing himself; and Bob Anderson, representing himself; and Gilbert Pargman, representing himself and The South Texas County Judges and Commissioners Association; and Dale Jaecks, representing himself; and Skipper Wheeless, representing himself; and Don Lee, representing the Conference of Urban Counties. The chair recognized the following person to testify against HB 1849: Jack Bremer, representing himself and the Sheriff's Association of Texas. The chair recognized the following person to testify neutrally on HB 1849: Tom Krampitz, representing the Texas District and County Attorneys Association. HB 1849 was left pending. HB 1849 was considered by the County Affairs Committee as pending business in a public hearing on 4/5/95. The County Affairs Committee considered a complete committee substitute. The substitute was adopted without objection. HB 1849 was reported favorably as substituted with the recommendation that it do pass and be printed, by a record vote of 7 ayes, 0 nays, 0 pnv, 2 absent.