BILL ANALYSIS
S.B. 477
By: Gallegos (Bailey)
May 19, 1995
Committee Report (Unamended)
BACKGROUND
Currently, Harris County deputy sheriffs and Houston police
officers enjoy the benefits of state civil service protection;
officers employed by the Houston Metropolitan Transit Authority
(METRO) do not. These officers perform the same basic job
functions as Houston police officers, including filing Houston
Police Department (HPD) reports in many instances.
The board that oversees METRO is composed primarily of members
appointed by Harris County and the City of Houston. There is
speculation that METRO officers will be transferred into HPD or the
Harris County Sheriff's Department. The METRO officers are
concerned about how this will affect their career paths and
opportunities. Some hold the opinion that since METRO was created
as a separate political entity, METRO police officers should be
kept within that entity and be protected like most of the other
officers in the county.
PURPOSE
As proposed, S.B. 477 provides for the creation and dissolution of
a civil service system for peace officers employed by a
metropolitan rapid transit authority.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or
agency.
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Title 5, Local Government Code, by adding Chapter
175, as follows:
CHAPTER 175. CIVIL SERVICE SYSTEM FOR PEACE OFFICERS IN CERTAIN
TRANSIT AUTHORITIES
Sec. 175.001. DEFINITIONS. Defines "commission,"
"department," and "employee."
Sec. 175.002. APPLICABILITY. Provides that this chapter
applies to a transit authority that employs peace officers
under Section 13, Article 1118x, V.T.C.S.
Sec. 175.003. PETITION AND ELECTION. (a) Requires the head
of the governing body of the transit authority to order a
departmental election, on the question of the creation of a
transit authority police civil service system, after receiving
a petition signed by at least 20 percent of the employees
requesting an election.
(b) Authorizes the governing body of the transit authority
to establish the police civil service system on its own
accord, in lieu of the election.
(c) Requires the governing body to hold the election after
the 15th day but on or before the 45th day after the date
the petition is submitted. Requires the election to be by
secret ballot and provides that each employee is entitled to
vote at the election.
(d) Sets forth the required language for the ballot.
(e) Requires the governing body of the transit authority to
canvass the votes and declare the result.
Sec. 175.004. APPOINTMENT OF COMMISSION. (a) Authorizes the
mayor and county judge of areas with the largest population
within the jurisdiction of the authority and the governing
body of the authority to each appoint one person to serve as
a member of the civil service commission (commission) that
administers the system, if a majority of the employees voting
at the election approve the creation of a transit authority
police civil service system.
(b) Sets forth the composition of the commission.
(c) Requires the entity or person that appointed a member
of the commission whose position becomes vacant to appoint
a person to serve the unexpired part of the member's term.
(d) Sets forth eligibility requirements for an appointee to
the commission.
Sec. 175.005. POWERS OF COMMISSION. (a) Requires the
commission to adopt, publish, and enforce rules regarding
certain matters relating to the selection of employees and the
procedural and substantive rights, advancement, benefit, and
working conditions of employees.
(b) Authorizes the commission to adopt or use as a guide
any civil service law or rule of the United States, this
state, or a political subdivision in this state to the
extent that the law or rule promotes the purposes of this
chapter and is consistent with the needs and circumstances
of the department.
(c) Requires all three commissioners to preside at the
hearing and vote on the commission's final decision in any
case involving termination, demotion, or recovery of back
pay.
Sec. 175.006. PROCEDURES AFTER FELONY INDICTMENT OR
MISDEMEANOR COMPLAINT. (a) Authorizes the head of a
department to temporarily suspend an employee who is indicted
for a felony or officially charged with committing a Class A
or Class B misdemeanor, with or without pay for a period not
to exceed 30 days after the date of final disposition of the
specified felony indictment or misdemeanor complaint.
(b) Requires the head of the department to notify the
suspended employee in writing of the temporary suspension
for a specific time period with or without pay.
(c) Authorizes an employee indicted for a felony or
officially charged with committing a Class A or B
misdemeanor who has also been charged by the head of the
department with a civil service rule violation to delay the
civil service hearing for not more than 30 days after the
date of the final disposition of the indictment or
complaint.
(d) Authorizes an employee, who has been temporarily
suspended by the head of the department and was not
convicted of the charge in a court, to appeal to the
commission for recovery of back pay. Authorizes the
commission to award all or partial back pay and modify or
uphold the decision of the head of the department.
(e) Provides that an acquittal or dismissal of an
indictment or complaint does not mean that an employee has
not violated a civil service rule and does not negate the
charge that may have been or may be brought against the
employee by the head of the department.
(f) Provides that conviction of a felony is cause for
dismissal, and conviction of a Class A or B misdemeanor may
be cause for disciplinary action or dismissal.
Sec. 175.007. COMPENSATION AND STAFF. Provides that the
members of the commission serve without compensation but
requires the governing body of the transit authority to
reimburse each member for expenses incurred in performing the
member's duties. Requires the governing body of the transit
authority to provide the commission with adequate office space
and sufficient funds to employ an adequate staff and to
purchase necessary supplies and equipment.
Sec. 175.008. APPEALS. (a) Authorizes an employee who is
demoted, suspended, or removed from a position to appeal the
decision by filing a petition in a district county court
within 30 days after the date of the decision.
(b) Provides that an appeal under this section is by trial
de novo, and the judgment of the district court is
appealable as in other civil cases.
(c) Authorizes the court to order reinstatement of the
employee, payment of back pay, or other appropriate relief,
if the district court renders a judgment for the petitioner.
Sec. 175.009. EXEMPTIONS. (a) Provides that certain
employees may be exempt from taking a competitive examination
or performing any other act to maintain the person's
employment or position.
(b) Authorizes the department head to designate as exempt
certain employees from the civil service system.
Sec. 175.010. DISSOLUTION OF SYSTEM. (a) Requires the
governing body to order a departmental election on the
question of dissolution of the department's police civil
service system if 20 percent of the employees of the
department petition the governing body of the transit
authority to dissolve the system.
(b) Makes conforming changes.
(c) Sets forth required language for the ballot.
(d) Makes conforming changes.
(e) Requires the governing body to declare the department
police civil service system dissolved if the proposition is
approved by a majority of the employees at the election.
Sec. 175.011. EXCLUSIVITY. Provides that a civil service
system created under this chapter and in effect applies to the
department to the exclusion of a civil service system created
under another law.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 1995.
SECTION 3. Emergency clause.
SUMMARY OF COMMITTEE ACTION
SB 477 was considered by the committee in a formal meeting on May
19, 1995. The bill was reported favorably without amendment, with
the recommendation that it do pass and be printed, by a record vote
of 5 ayes, 1 nay, 0 pnv, and 3 absent.