AN ACT

 1-1     relating to the operation of a county sick leave pool program.

 1-2           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-3           SECTION 1.  Subdivision (2), Section 157.071, Local

 1-4     Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

 1-5                 (2)  "Employee" means a district, county, or precinct

 1-6     employee with 12 or more months of continuous employment with the

 1-7     district, county, or precinct who is paid from the general fund of

 1-8     the county, from a special fund of the county, or from special

 1-9     grants paid through the county.

1-10           SECTION 2.  Subsection (b), Section 157.074, Local Government

1-11     Code, is amended to read as follows:

1-12           (b)  On approval by the administrator, in a fiscal year the

1-13     employee may transfer to the county sick leave pool not less than

1-14     one day or more than five [three] days of accrued sick leave time,

1-15     or accrued vacation leave time in a county operating under Section

1-16     157.072(b), earned by the employee.  The administrator shall credit

1-17     the pool with the amount of time contributed by the employee and

1-18     shall deduct the same amount of time from the amount to which the

1-19     employee is entitled, as if the employee had used the time for

1-20     personal purposes.

1-21           SECTION 3.  Subsection (a), Section 157.075, Local Government

1-22     Code, is amended to read as follows:

1-23           (a)  An employee is eligible to use time contributed to the

 2-1     county sick leave pool if, because of a catastrophic injury or

 2-2     illness [or because of a previous donation of sick leave time to

 2-3     the pool], the employee has exhausted all the accrued paid leave

 2-4     and compensatory [sick leave] time to which the employee is

 2-5     otherwise entitled.

 2-6           SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.

 2-7           SECTION 5.  The importance of this legislation and the

 2-8     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 2-9     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

2-10     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

2-11     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.

         _______________________________     _______________________________

             President of the Senate              Speaker of the House

               I hereby certify that S.B. No. 660 passed the Senate on

         April 10, 1997, by the following vote:  Yeas 31, Nays 0.

                                             _______________________________

                                                 Secretary of the Senate

               I hereby certify that S.B. No. 660 passed the House on

         May 21, 1997, by a non-record vote.

                                             _______________________________

                                                 Chief Clerk of the House

         Approved:

         _______________________________

                     Date

         _______________________________

                   Governor