By Tillery                                      H.B. No. 1196

      75R3595 JRD-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to the conditions of employment for firefighters.

 1-3           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-4           SECTION 1.  Subtitle C, Title 5, Local Government Code, is

 1-5     amended by adding Chapter 176 to read as follows:

 1-6                 CHAPTER 176.  LOCAL CONTROL OF FIREFIGHTER

 1-7                             EMPLOYMENT MATTERS

 1-8           Sec. 176.001.  APPLICABILITY.  This chapter does not apply to

 1-9     a political subdivision that has adopted Chapter 174.

1-10           Sec. 176.002.  DEFINITIONS.  In this chapter:

1-11                 (1)  "Firefighters association" means an organization

1-12     in which firefighters participate and that exists for the purpose,

1-13     in whole or in part, of dealing with one or more employers, whether

1-14     public or private, concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages,

1-15     rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work affecting

1-16     public employees.

1-17                 (2)  "Public employer" means any political subdivision,

1-18     including a  municipality, or an agency, board, or commission, or

1-19     other governmental entity controlled by a political subdivision,

1-20     that is required to establish the wages, salaries, rates of pay,

1-21     hours, working conditions, and other terms and conditions of

1-22     employment of public employees.  The term includes, under

1-23     appropriate circumstances, a mayor, manager, administrator of a

1-24     municipality, municipal governing body, commissioners court,

 2-1     director of personnel, personnel board, or one or more other

 2-2     officials, regardless of the name by which they are designated.

 2-3           Sec. 176.003.  GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS,

 2-4     RECOGNITION, AND STRIKES.  (a)  A political subdivision may not be

 2-5     denied local control over the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours

 2-6     of work, and other terms of employment, or other state-mandated

 2-7     personnel issues, if the public employer and the firefighters

 2-8     association recognized as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent

 2-9     for the firefighters employed by the political subdivision come to

2-10     a mutual agreement on any of the terms of employment.  If an

2-11     agreement is not reached, the state laws, local ordinances, and

2-12     civil service rules remain unaffected.  All agreements shall be

2-13     written.  Nothing in this chapter requires either party to meet and

2-14     confer on any issue or reach an agreement.

2-15           (b)  A public employer may meet and confer only if the

2-16     firefighters association recognized under this chapter as the sole

2-17     and exclusive bargaining agent does not advocate the illegal right

2-18     to strike by public employees.

2-19           (c)  Firefighters of a political subdivision may not engage

2-20     in strikes or organized work stoppages against this state or a

2-21     political subdivision of this state.  A firefighter who

2-22     participates in a strike forfeits all civil service rights,

2-23     reemployment rights, and any other rights, benefits, or privileges

2-24     the firefighter enjoys as a result of employment or prior

2-25     employment, except that the right of an individual to cease work

2-26     may not be abridged if the individual is not acting in concert with

2-27     others in an organized work stoppage.

 3-1           Sec. 176.004.  RECOGNITION OF FIREFIGHTERS ASSOCIATION.  (a)

 3-2     A firefighters association submitting a petition signed by a

 3-3     majority of the firefighters employed by the political subdivision,

 3-4     excluding the head of the department and assistant department heads

 3-5     in the rank or classification immediately below that of the

 3-6     department head, shall be recognized by the public employer as the

 3-7     sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all of the covered

 3-8     firefighters until recognition of the association is withdrawn by a

 3-9     majority of those firefighters.

3-10           (b)  Whether a firefighters association represents a majority

3-11     of the covered firefighters shall be resolved by a fair election

3-12     conducted according to procedures agreeable to the parties.  If the

3-13     parties are unable to agree on procedures, either party may request

3-14     the Federal Mediation and Conciliation Service to conduct the

3-15     election and to certify the results.  Certification of the results

3-16     of an election resolves the question concerning representation.

3-17     The firefighters association is liable for the expenses of the

3-18     election, except that if two or more associations seeking

3-19     recognition as the bargaining agent submit petitions signed by a

3-20     majority of the covered firefighters, the associations shall share

3-21     equally the costs of the election.

3-22           Sec. 176.005.  OPEN MEETINGS REQUIRED.  All deliberations

3-23     relating to an agreement between a firefighters association and a

3-24     public employer shall be open to the public and held in compliance

3-25     with any applicable state statutes.

3-26           Sec. 176.006.  RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF AGREEMENT.

3-27     (a)  A written agreement made under this chapter between a public

 4-1     employer and a firefighters association recognized as the sole and

 4-2     exclusive bargaining agent is enforceable and binding on the public

 4-3     employer, the firefighters association recognized as the sole and

 4-4     exclusive bargaining agent, and firefighters covered by the

 4-5     agreement if:

 4-6                 (1)  the political subdivision's governing body

 4-7     ratified the agreement by a majority vote; and

 4-8                 (2)  the firefighters association ratified the

 4-9     agreement by conducting a secret ballot election at which only

4-10     firefighters of the political subdivision in the association were

4-11     eligible to vote, and a majority of the votes cast at the election

4-12     favored ratifying the agreement.

4-13           (b)  A state district court of the judicial district in which

4-14     a majority of the population of the political subdivision is

4-15     located has full authority and jurisdiction on the application of

4-16     either party aggrieved by an action or omission of the other party

4-17     when the action or omission is related to a right, duty, or

4-18     obligation provided by any written agreement ratified under

4-19     Subsection (a).  The court may issue proper restraining orders,

4-20     temporary and permanent injunctions, and any other writ, order, or

4-21     process, including contempt orders, that are appropriate to

4-22     enforcing the written agreement ratified under Subsection (a).

4-23           Sec. 176.007.  AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.

4-24     (a)  A written agreement under this chapter between a public

4-25     employer and the firefighters association recognized as the sole

4-26     and exclusive bargaining agent supersedes, during the term of the

4-27     agreement, a previous statute concerning wages, salaries, rates of

 5-1     pay, hours of work, affirmative action programs, and other terms of

 5-2     employment to the extent of any conflict with the previous statute.

 5-3           (b)  A written agreement under this chapter preempts all

 5-4     contrary local ordinances, executive orders, legislation, or rules

 5-5     adopted by the state or a political subdivision or agent of the

 5-6     state, such as a personnel board, a civil service commission, or a

 5-7     home-rule municipality.

 5-8           (c)  An agreement under this chapter may not diminish or

 5-9     qualify any right, benefit, or privilege of an employee under a

5-10     civil service statute or other law unless approved by a majority of

5-11     the votes cast at the secret ballot election held by the

5-12     firefighters association to ratify the agreement under Section

5-13     176.006.

5-14           (d)  A matter that is not covered by an agreement ratified

5-15     under Section 176.006 remains covered by any applicable statute,

5-16     civil service provision, or other law.

5-17           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

5-18           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

5-19     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

5-20     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

5-21     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

5-22     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.