JH C.S.H.B. 3324 75(R) BILL ANALYSIS URBAN AFFAIRS C.S.H.B. 3324 By: Talton 4-10-97 Committee Report (Substituted) BACKGROUND Chapter 143, Local Government Code is the Municipal Civil Service Act for fire fighters and police officers in the state. The Act applies to any municipality with a population of 10,000 or more that adopts the Act by referendum. The Act sets out the majority of employment rules for fire fighters and police officers, including rules related to hiring, promotions, sick leave and vacation, salary, disciplinary actions, investigations, and terminations. The law was enacted to prevent corruption and political influence in sensitive public safety jobs. PURPOSE This bill would make substantive changes to the civil service system for fire fighters and police officers. The bill, as proposed, would clarify that disciplinary appeals made to district court would be by trial de novo and that the the district court shall grant no deference to a previous decision of the civil service commission. It would clarify that an employee who successfully appeals a disciplinary action is entitled to all back pay that they employee would have received had they not been suspended. It would require that establish new rules with regards to the investigation of complaints and require that the department furnish the employee with a copy of a complaint or witness statement during an investigation. The bill also makes other technical and clarification amendments. 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 Sec. 143.103, Local Government Code, to provide that after September 1, 1997, a peace officer who is in a specialized police division and who has not promoted to a rank above entry level, shall be reclassified as a member of the uniform and detective class without loss of pay or benefits. The seniority of a peace officer reclassified under this subsection, for the purposes of transfers, regular days off, or vacations shall be calculated from the date the officer became a member of the police department if the officer transfers out of a specialized police division. The seniority of a peace officer reclassified under this subsection, for the purposes of transfers, regular days off, or vacations shall be calculated from the date the officer was employed by the municipality if the officer elects to remain in the specialized division. Peace officers in specialized police divisions who have promoted to a supervisory rank above entry level shall continue to promote within their respective class and the department shall maintain the current career ladder within the established specialized classes for this purpose. As special division supervisors at the lowest rank promote to a higher rank, the vacated supervisory position in a specialized police division shall be filled by the next police officer on an eligibility list for promotion to the lowest supervisor rank from the uniform and detective class. A uniform and detective class police officer who is promoted to fill a supervisor position in a specialized police division shall remain a member of the uniform and detective class. A supervisor of one class may exercise the full sanctions, powers, and duties of their respective offices in the supervision, management, and control of a member of another class who is placed under the command of the supervisor by the head of the police department. SECTION 2. Adds Sec. 143.1261, Local Government Code, which authorizes the creation of legislative leave time banks. A police officer or fire fighter may donate 1 hour per month of accumulated vacation or compensatory time to a time bank established and maintained by the municipality in the name of a police or fire employee organization. The police officer or fire fighter must authorize the donation in writing on a form provided by the employee organization and approved by the municipality. The municipality will transfer the donated time to the employee organization's time bank account each month until such time that the police officer or fire fighter revokes the authorization in writing. Leave time donated to a time bank under this section may be used to fund legislative leave used by a police officer or fire fighter who is a member of a police or fire fighter employee organization in lieu of the cash reimbursement required by Section 143.126. A request to use leave time in an organizations time bank, must be made in writing and submitted to the municipality by the president of the police or fire fighter organization, or his designee. The municipality may determine the actual cash value of the donated leave time and credit the amount to an account in the name of the organization and then deduct the actual cash value of legislative leave used from this account or exchange hours used by a police officer or fire fighter for legislative leave on a one for one basis for hours accumulated in the time bank account regardless of the value. An employee organization may not use more than 4000 hours from the organization's legislative leave time bank in a calendar year. SECTION 3. Effective Date. September 1, 1997. SECTION 4. EMERGENCY CLAUSE. COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE The original bill would have amended Sec. 143.015, Local Government Code, relating to disciplinary appeals by fire fighters or police officers to district court. The bill would have created a new section 143.058 relating to furnishing documents of an investigation. The bill would have amended Sec. 143.117 and Sec. 143.119 relating to the written statement and charges of a suspension. The bill would have amended Sec. 143.120 relating to a department head refusing to obey a decision of the civil service commission. The bill would have amended Sec. 143.1215 relating to the repayment of back wages after reinstatement. The bill would have amended Sec. 143.123 relating to the definition of "complainant" and "interrogation". The bill would have amended Sec. 143.123 relating to the right of a police officer or fire fighter to confer with legal counsel during an investigation and the rules to be followed during the investigation. The bill would have amended Sec. 143.128, 143.129, 143.130, and 143.134 relating to the grievance procedure. The substitute amends Sec. 143.103 relating to the classification of peace officers in specialized police divisions in certain municipalities. The substitute also creates a new section 143.1261 which authorizes a legislative leave time bank in certain municipalities. The original bill amended sections of the civil service statute that applied to all municipalities under the chapter, while the substitute amends and creates new law that only applies to municipalities with a population of 1.5 million or more (Houston).