Amend SB 1286 as follows:
(1) Insert the following appropriately numbered SECTION in
the bill:
SECTION ____. Chapter 143, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter J to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER J. LOCAL CONTROL OF POLICE OFFICER
EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN MUNICIPALITIES WITH
POPULATION OF 1.5 MILLION OR MORE
Sec. 143.351. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
to a municipality with a population of 1.5 million or more, but
does not apply to a municipality that has adopted Chapter 174.
Sec. 143.352. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Majority bargaining agent" means the police
employee group selected under Section 143.354 or 143.355 to
represent all police officers employed by the municipality during
negotiations with the public employer.
(2) "Police employee group" means an organization:
(A) in which at least three percent of the
police officers of the municipality participate and pay dues via
automatic payroll deduction; and
(B) that exists for the purpose, in whole or
part, of dealing with the municipality concerning grievances, labor
disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions
of work affecting police officers.
(3) "Public employer" means any municipality or
agency, board, commission, or political subdivision controlled by a
municipality that is required to establish the wages, salaries,
rates of pay, hours, working conditions, and other terms and
conditions of employment of police officers. The term includes,
under appropriate circumstances, a mayor, manager, administrator of
a municipality, municipal governing body, director of personnel,
personnel board, or one or more other officials, regardless of the
name by which they are designated.
Sec. 143.353. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS,
RECOGNITION, AND STRIKES. (a) A municipality may not be denied
local control over the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of
work, and other terms of employment, or other state-mandated
personnel issues, if the public employer and the majority
bargaining agent come to a mutual agreement on any of the terms of
employment. If an agreement is not reached, the state laws, local
ordinances, and civil service rules remain unaffected. All
agreements shall be written. Nothing in this subchapter requires
either party to meet and confer on any issue or reach an agreement.
(b) A public employer may only meet and confer if the
majority bargaining agent does not advocate the illegal right to
strike by public employees.
(c) Police officers of a municipality may not engage in
strikes or organized work stoppages against this state or a
political subdivision of this state. A police officer who
participates in a strike or work stoppage forfeits all civil
service rights, reemployment rights, and any other rights,
benefits, or privileges the police officer enjoys as a result of
employment or prior employment.
Sec. 143.354. SELECTION OF MAJORITY BARGAINING AGENT.
(a) Not later than January 31, 1998, representatives from each
police employee group shall meet to select the majority bargaining
agent. The majority bargaining agent must be selected unanimously.
(b) If the representatives of the police employee groups
fail to meet or are unable to reach a unanimous consensus as to a
majority bargaining agent before January 31, 1998, the selection of
a majority bargaining agent will be governed by Section 143.355.
Sec. 143.355. ELECTION OF MAJORITY BARGAINING AGENT.
(a) This section does not apply if a majority bargaining agent is
selected under Section 143.354.
(b) The governing body of a police employee group, by
resolution, may call for an election to select a majority
bargaining agent. The election shall be held not earlier than the
60th day and not later than the 90th day after the date the
resolution is adopted.
(c) All police officers employed by the municipality are
entitled to vote in the election.
(d) The police employee group receiving a majority of the
votes cast shall be the majority bargaining agent.
(e) If no police employee group receives a majority of the
votes cast, the two police employee groups receiving the highest
number of votes shall participate in a runoff election. The runoff
election shall be held not later than the 30th day after the date
of the initial election.
(f) If the police employee groups participating in the
election are unable to agree on the procedures for the election,
any group may request that the American Arbitration Association
conduct the election and certify the results. Certification of the
results of an election resolves the question of the selection of
the majority bargaining agent.
(g) All police employee groups participating in the election
shall share equally the expenses of the election. A police
employee group that fails to pay its share of the election expenses
forfeits the right to participate on the bargaining team under
Section 143.356.
Sec. 143.356. BARGAINING TEAM; NEGOTIATIONS. (a) A
bargaining team shall be created to advise the majority bargaining
agent.
(b) The governing body of a police employee group may
appoint one person to serve on the bargaining team.
(c) The majority bargaining agent will represent all police
officers and negotiate with the public employer in an effort to
reach an agreement. The bargaining team shall review any agreement
reached between the majority bargaining agent and the public
employer. A majority of the members of the bargaining team must
approve the agreement before a ratification election can be held
under Section 143.360.
(d) All police employee groups that are represented on the
bargaining team shall share equally the expenses associated with
the negotiation of an agreement by the majority bargaining agent.
A police employee group that fails to reimburse the majority
bargaining agent for the reasonable expenses incurred before the
30th day after the date the police employee group is notified of
the expense forfeits all rights expressly granted to the police
employee group under this subchapter, including its right to
representation on the bargaining team.
Sec. 143.357. PAYROLL DUES DEDUCTIONS. After a majority
bargaining agent is recognized, the public employer may not stop or
prevent automatic payroll deductions for dues paid to a police
employee group because the group is or is not the majority
bargaining agent.
Sec. 143.358. OPEN RECORDS REQUIRED. All documents relating
to an agreement between a majority bargaining agent and a public
employer shall be available to the public in accordance with state
statutes.
Sec. 143.359. ENFORCEABILITY OF AGREEMENT. (a) A written
agreement made under this subchapter between a public employer and
a majority bargaining agent and approved by the bargaining team is
enforceable and binding on the public employer, the majority
bargaining agent, police employee groups, and the police officers
covered by the agreement if:
(1) the municipality's governing body ratified the
agreement by a majority vote; and
(2) the agreement is ratified under Section 143.360.
(b) A state district court of the judicial district in which
a majority of the population of the municipality is located has
full authority and jurisdiction on the application of either party
aggrieved by an action or omission of the other party when the
action or omission is related to a right, duty, or obligation
provided by any written agreement ratified as required by this
subchapter. The court may issue proper restraining orders,
temporary and permanent injunctions, and any other writ, order, or
process, including contempt orders, that are appropriate to
enforcing any written agreement ratified as required by this
subchapter.
Sec. 143.360. ELECTION TO RATIFY AGREEMENT. (a) The
majority bargaining agent shall call an election to ratify any
agreement reached with the public employer if the agreement has
been approved by a majority of the bargaining team.
(b) All police officers of the municipality are eligible to
vote in the election.
(c) The bargaining team shall establish procedures of the
election by unanimous consensus.
(d) If the bargaining team is unable to agree on procedures
for the election, any group represented on the bargaining team may
request that the American Arbitration Association conduct the
election and certify the results. Certification of the results of
an election resolves the question concerning ratification of an
agreement. All police employee groups represented on the
bargaining team shall share equally the expenses of the election.
(e) A majority of all votes cast is required to ratify an
agreement.
Sec. 143.361. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
(a) A written agreement ratified under this subchapter between a
public employer and the majority bargaining agent supersedes a
previous statute concerning wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of
work, and other terms of employment to the extent of any conflict
with the previous statute.
(b) A written agreement ratified under this subchapter
preempts all contrary local ordinances, executive orders,
legislation, or rules adopted by the state or a political
subdivision or agent of the state, such as a personnel board, a
civil service commission, or a home-rule municipality.
(c) An agreement under this subchapter may not diminish or
qualify any right, benefit, or privilege of an employee under this
chapter or other law unless approved by a majority of the votes
cast at the secret ballot election held by the majority bargaining
agent to ratify the agreement.
Sec. 143.362. REPEAL OF AGREEMENT BY ELECTORATE. Within 45
days after the date an agreement is ratified and signed by the
municipality and the majority bargaining agent, a petition signed
by a number of registered voters equal to 10 percent of the votes
cast at the most recent mayoral general election in the
municipality may be presented to the municipal secretary calling an
election for the repeal of the agreement, in which event the
governing body shall reconsider the agreement, and, if it does not
repeal the agreement, it shall call an election of the qualified
voters to determine if they desire to repeal the agreement. The
election shall be held as part of the next regularly scheduled
municipal election or at a special election called by the governing
body for that purpose. If at the election a majority of the votes
are cast in favor of the repeal of the adoption of the agreement,
the agreement becomes void. The ballot shall be printed to provide
for voting for or against the proposition:
"Repeal of the adoption of the agreement ratified by the
municipality and the police officers of the municipality concerning
wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, and other terms of
employment."
Sec. 143.363. PROTECTED RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES.
(a) For the purpose of any disciplinary appeal to either the civil
service commission or a hearing examiner, all police officers have
the right to choose to be represented by any person of their choice
or by the police employee group selected as the majority bargaining
agent.
(b) An agreement may not interfere with the right of a
member of a police employee group to pursue allegations of
discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin,
religion, age, sex, or disability with the Commission on Human
Rights or the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission or to pursue
affirmative action litigation.
(2) Renumber subsequent SECTIONS of the bill accordingly.