By Bailey H.B. No. 429
75R2261 MLR-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to collective bargaining agreements for police officers in
1-3 certain municipalities.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Chapter 142, Local Government Code, is amended by
1-6 designating Sections 142.001-142.011 as Subchapter A, Chapter 142,
1-7 Local Government Code, and adding a subchapter heading to read as
1-8 follows:
1-9 SUBCHAPTER A. ASSISTANCE, BENEFITS,
1-10 AND WORKING CONDITIONS
1-11 SECTION 2. Chapter 142, Local Government Code, is amended by
1-12 adding Subchapter B to read as follows:
1-13 SUBCHAPTER B. POLICE DEPARTMENT
1-14 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING CONTRACTS
1-15 Sec. 142.051. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
1-16 to a municipality with a population of 1.5 million or more that has
1-17 not adopted Chapter 174.
1-18 Sec. 142.052. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
1-19 (1) "Certified association" means an organization
1-20 recognized under Section 142.055 in which police officers
1-21 participate and that exists in whole or in part for the purpose of
1-22 representing public or private employees in their relations with
1-23 one or more public or private employers concerning grievances,
1-24 labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or other
2-1 conditions of work affecting the employees.
2-2 (2) "Collective bargaining contract" means the terms
2-3 to which the certified association recognized under Section 142.055
2-4 and the public employer have voluntarily agreed.
2-5 (3) "Member of the police department" has the meaning
2-6 assigned by Section 142.010.
2-7 (4) "Public employer" means the municipality or the
2-8 agency, board, commission, or department controlled by the
2-9 municipality that is required to establish the wages, rates of pay,
2-10 hours, working conditions, and other terms and conditions of
2-11 employment of, and affirmative action programs affecting, members
2-12 of the police department. The term may, when appropriate, include
2-13 the mayor, manager, or administrator of the municipality, a
2-14 municipal governing body, the director of personnel, a personnel
2-15 board, or one or more other officials.
2-16 Sec. 142.053. LOCAL CONTROL; STRIKES. (a) Except as
2-17 provided by Section 142.058(b), a municipality may not be denied
2-18 local control over wages, rates of pay, hours of work, affirmative
2-19 action programs, other terms and conditions of employment, or other
2-20 state-mandated personnel issues on which the public employer and
2-21 the certified association agree in writing. A term or condition on
2-22 which the public employer and the certified association do not have
2-23 a written contract is governed by applicable statutes, local
2-24 ordinances, and civil service rules. This subchapter does not
2-25 require the public employer and the certified association to meet
2-26 and bargain collectively or reach an agreement on any issue.
2-27 (b) A public employer and the certified association may meet
3-1 and bargain collectively only if the association does not advocate
3-2 the right to strike by members of the police department. A
3-3 certified association that advocates a strike by members of the
3-4 police department loses its recognition as the sole and exclusive
3-5 bargaining agent for all police officers and is subject to
3-6 injunctive relief, a suit for damages, or other legal remedy.
3-7 (c) A member of the police department may not engage in a
3-8 strike or organized work stoppage against this state or a political
3-9 subdivision of this state. A member of the police department who
3-10 participates in a strike forfeits all civil service rights,
3-11 reemployment rights, and other rights, benefits, or privileges the
3-12 member of the police department enjoys as a result of the member's
3-13 employment or previous employment with the municipality. This
3-14 subsection does not affect the right of a member of the police
3-15 department to cease employment if the member is not acting in
3-16 concert with other members of the police department.
3-17 Sec. 142.054. EMPLOYEE RIGHTS. (a) A member of the police
3-18 department below the rank of assistant chief has the right to form,
3-19 join, and participate in the activities of an employee organization
3-20 of the member's choice for the purpose of representation on matters
3-21 of wages, rates of pay, hours, benefits, and other terms or
3-22 conditions of employment.
3-23 (b) A member of the police department has the right to
3-24 refuse to join and to refuse to participate in an activity of an
3-25 employee organization.
3-26 (c) A member of the police department has the right to
3-27 choose to have the person's individual grievance heard with or
4-1 without representation by an employee organization, without any
4-2 representation, or with representation of the member's choice. The
4-3 resolution of an individual grievance must be in accord with the
4-4 terms of any contract under this subchapter that is in effect and
4-5 applicable to all of the members of the police department.
4-6 (d) The public employer, a member of the police department,
4-7 or the certified association may not interfere with, intimidate,
4-8 restrain, coerce, or discriminate against any member of the police
4-9 department because the member exercised the member's rights under
4-10 this section.
4-11 (e) This section does not prohibit the public employer and
4-12 the certified association from negotiating a collective bargaining
4-13 contract that requires all members of the police department as a
4-14 condition of appointment or employment to pay necessary fees and
4-15 expenses incurred by the certified association that are associated
4-16 with collective bargaining and the enforcement of a collective
4-17 bargaining contract.
4-18 Sec. 142.055. RECOGNITION AND COMPOSITION OF CERTIFIED
4-19 ASSOCIATION. (a) The public employer shall recognize and certify
4-20 as the certified association the employee association that is
4-21 selected in a secret ballot vote by the majority of the members of
4-22 the police department, excluding the chief and assistant chiefs.
4-23 The certified association is the sole and exclusive bargaining
4-24 agent for all members of the police department, excluding the chief
4-25 and assistant chiefs, unless recognition of the certified
4-26 association is withdrawn by a majority vote of the members of the
4-27 police department, excluding the chief and assistant chiefs.
5-1 (b) The certified association is the only association or
5-2 group that is entitled to negotiate with the public employer
5-3 concerning wages, rates of pay, hours, benefits, and other terms
5-4 and conditions of employment for the members of the police
5-5 department.
5-6 (c) An employee association that submits to the public
5-7 employer a petition signed by at least 20 percent of all members of
5-8 the police department is entitled to an election for recognition.
5-9 (d) If at least 20 percent of the members of the police
5-10 department petition for withdrawal of recognition of the certified
5-11 association, an election shall be held to determine the status of
5-12 the association.
5-13 Sec. 142.056. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. When the public
5-14 employer and the certified association agree to bargain
5-15 collectively, the employer and the association have the obligation
5-16 to meet at reasonable times, to confer in good faith, and, if
5-17 requested by either party, to reduce to a written contract the
5-18 matters to which the parties agree. A party is not required to
5-19 agree to a proposal or make a concession.
5-20 Sec. 142.057. BARGAINING ISSUES. When the public employer
5-21 and the certified association agree to bargain collectively, the
5-22 employer and the association have the duty to bargain with respect
5-23 to wages, rates of pay, hours, benefits, and other terms or
5-24 conditions of employment. The public employer's representative on
5-25 request shall bargain in good faith with a representative of the
5-26 certified association and shall fully consider all proposals
5-27 submitted by the certified association to the public employer that
6-1 are appropriate subjects under this section.
6-2 Sec. 142.058. COLLECTIVE BARGAINING CONTRACT. (a) An
6-3 agreement reached by the representative of the public employer and
6-4 the representative of the certified association shall be in
6-5 writing. The contract is a mutual recommendation to be submitted
6-6 jointly to the governing body of the municipality.
6-7 (b) The contract may not supersede a constitutional,
6-8 statutory, or charter provision that concerns the same issues.
6-9 (c) The term of the contract may not exceed three years.
6-10 (d) A collective bargaining contract is not binding on the
6-11 parties unless:
6-12 (1) the members of the police department have ratified
6-13 the contract by a majority vote of the members voting on the issue
6-14 in a secret ballot, with all members of the police department
6-15 entitled to an opportunity to vote on the issue; and
6-16 (2) the governing body of the municipality has acted
6-17 by majority vote to approve the contract.
6-18 (e) The governing body of the municipality shall complete
6-19 all necessary procedures, including amendments to municipal
6-20 policies, ordinances, and budget appropriations required to
6-21 implement the terms of the contract within a reasonable time after
6-22 the contract has been ratified by the governing body and the
6-23 members of the police department.
6-24 Sec. 142.059. ENFORCEABILITY OF CONTRACT. (a) A contract
6-25 made under this subchapter between a public employer and a
6-26 certified association is enforceable and binding on the public
6-27 employer, the certified association, and the members of the police
7-1 department covered by the contract if the contract has been
7-2 ratified under Section 142.058(d).
7-3 (b) A state district court of the judicial district in which
7-4 the greatest amount of territory of the municipality is located has
7-5 full authority and jurisdiction on the application of either party
7-6 aggrieved by an action or omission of the other party when the
7-7 action or omission relates to the rights, duties, or obligations
7-8 under the contract. The court may issue proper restraining orders,
7-9 temporary and permanent injunctions, and any other writ, order, or
7-10 process, including contempt orders, appropriate to enforcing the
7-11 contract.
7-12 Sec. 142.060. IMPASSE RESOLUTION: SELECTION OF ADVISORY
7-13 FACT FINDER. (a) If the certified association and the public
7-14 employer agree to bargain collectively but the certified
7-15 association's representative and the public employer's
7-16 representative are unable to reach agreement on a contract within
7-17 30 days after the date of their first meeting, the parties shall
7-18 submit all unresolved issues that are subject to collective
7-19 bargaining to advisory fact-finding.
7-20 (b) Not later than the third day after the date of the
7-21 expiration of the period provided by Subsection (a), the certified
7-22 association shall inform the American Arbitration Association, or
7-23 its successor organization, that advisory fact-finding is desired.
7-24 (c) Not later than the 10th day after the date the
7-25 arbitration association is notified, the arbitration association
7-26 shall simultaneously submit to each party an identical list of
7-27 seven names of persons who are capable of acting as an advisory
8-1 fact finder. The parties shall alternately strike one name from
8-2 the list until one individual is selected.
8-3 (d) The selection process may not take longer than seven
8-4 days.
8-5 Sec. 142.061. IMPASSE RESOLUTION: PROCESS. (a) Not later
8-6 than the 25th day after the date an advisory fact finder is
8-7 selected, the advisory fact finder shall begin hearings between the
8-8 parties. Hearings must be concluded not later than the seventh day
8-9 after the date the hearings begin. The parties shall submit briefs
8-10 not later than the fifth day after the date the hearing is
8-11 concluded.
8-12 (b) The advisory fact finder shall consider the following:
8-13 (1) the lawful authority of the municipality;
8-14 (2) the stipulations of the parties;
8-15 (3) the interests and welfare of the public and the
8-16 financial ability of the municipality to bear the costs involved;
8-17 (4) a comparison of the wages, rates of pay, hours,
8-18 benefits, and other terms or conditions of employment of the
8-19 members of the police department with those of other police
8-20 officers performing similar services in comparable communities;
8-21 (5) the cost of living; and
8-22 (6) the overall compensation received by the members
8-23 of the police department, including direct wage compensation,
8-24 vacation, holidays and other excused time, insurance and pensions,
8-25 medical and hospitalization benefits, the continuity and stability
8-26 of employment, and all other benefits received.
8-27 (c) The advisory fact finder also shall consider the final
9-1 offer of the public employer and the final offer of the certified
9-2 association. The advisory fact finder may recommend the final
9-3 offer of the public employer or of the certified association, a
9-4 combination of the two, or an appropriate intermediate position.
9-5 The advisory fact finder shall state the reasons for the
9-6 recommendations. The recommendations of the advisory fact finder
9-7 are advisory only.
9-8 (d) The advisory fact finder shall make written findings,
9-9 conclusions, and recommendations. The advisory fact finder may use
9-10 any generally accepted criteria or factors in arriving at the
9-11 findings, conclusions, and recommendations. The advisory fact
9-12 finder shall deliver copies of the findings, conclusions, and
9-13 recommendations to the public employer and the certified
9-14 association before the 15th day after the date the hearing under
9-15 Subsection (a) concludes.
9-16 (e) Not later than the 12th day after the date the advisory
9-17 fact finder's recommendations are received, the representative of
9-18 the public employer and the representative of the certified
9-19 association shall meet and shall simultaneously and in writing
9-20 notify each other of their respective determinations to accept or
9-21 reject the recommendations of the advisory fact finder.
9-22 (f) All fees and expenses related to advisory fact-finding
9-23 are shared equally by the public employer and the certified
9-24 association.
9-25 Sec. 142.062. BINDING ARBITRATION. (a) If the certified
9-26 association and the public employer are unable to accept the
9-27 recommendations of the advisory fact finder, the representative of
10-1 the certified association and the representative of the public
10-2 employer shall select an arbitrator using the procedures described
10-3 by Section 142.060 for the selection of an advisory fact finder.
10-4 The selection process for purposes of Section 142.060(b) begins on
10-5 the third day after the date the parties meet under Section
10-6 142.061(e).
10-7 (b) The parties and the selected arbitrator shall repeat the
10-8 impasse resolution process described by Section 142.061, except
10-9 that the arbitrator shall resolve the disputed issues and the
10-10 arbitrator's resolution is binding on the public employer, the
10-11 certified association, and the members of the police department.
10-12 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
10-13 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
10-14 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
10-15 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
10-16 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
10-17 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.