Amend CSHB 320 by adding the following appropriately numbered
SECTION and renumbering subsequent SECTIONS of the bill
accordingly:
SECTION __. Chapter 158, Local Government Code, is amended by
adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. LOCAL CONTROL OF SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
EMPLOYMENT MATTERS
Sec. 158.071. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
to a county that contains the majority of the territory of a
municipality that:
(1) has a population of more than one million; and
(2) has adopted Chapter 174.
Sec. 158.072. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Association" means an organization:
(A) in which at least five percent of the peace
officers and detention officers employed by the sheriff's
department participate; and
(B) that exists for the purpose, in whole or in
part, of dealing with the county concerning grievances, labor
disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of work, or conditions of work
affecting the peace officers and detention officers.
(2) "Public employer" means a sheriff's department, a
county, or an agency, board, or commission controlled by a county
that is required to establish the wages, salaries, rates of pay,
hours of work, working conditions, and other terms and conditions
of employment of peace officers and detention officers employed by
the sheriff's department.
Sec. 158.073. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS,
RECOGNITION, AND STRIKES. (a) A county may not be denied local
control over the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, or
other terms and conditions of employment, to the extent the public
employer and the bargaining team recognized as the sole and
exclusive bargaining agent under Section 158.074 agree as provided
by this subchapter. Applicable statutes and applicable local
orders, ordinances, and civil service rules and regulations apply
to an issue not governed by the agreement.
(b) A public employer and the recognized bargaining team may
meet and confer only if the bargaining team does not advocate the
illegal right to strike by public employees.
(c) A peace officer or detention officer of a sheriff's
department may not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage
against this state or a political subdivision of this state. A
peace officer or detention officer who participates in a strike
forfeits any civil service rights, reemployment rights, and other
rights, benefits, or privileges the peace officer or detention
officer may have as a result of the person's employment or prior
employment with the sheriff's department. This subsection does not
affect the right of a person to cease work if the person is not
acting in concert with others in an organized work stoppage.
(d) The public employer's chief executive officer or the
chief executive officer's designee shall select a group of persons
to represent the public employer as its sole and exclusive
bargaining agent for issues related to the employment of peace
officers and detention officers by the sheriff's department.
Sec. 158.074. RECOGNITION OF PEACE OFFICERS AND DETENTION
OFFICERS ASSOCIATIONS AND BARGAINING TEAM. (a) In a county that
chooses to meet and confer under this subchapter, the public
employer shall recognize an association submitting a petition for
recognition signed by at least five percent of the peace officers
and detention officers employed by the sheriff's department,
excluding the sheriff and persons the sheriff may designate as
exempt from a civil service system under Section 158.038(b), as an
association entitled to participate in selecting the members of the
bargaining team under this section.
(b) In a county that chooses to meet and confer under this
chapter, the public employer shall recognize a bargaining team as
the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all of the peace
officers and detention officers employed by the sheriff's
department, excluding the sheriff and persons the sheriff may
designate as exempt under Section 158.038(b).
(c) If only one association is recognized by the public
employer under Subsection (a), that association shall determine the
composition of the bargaining team.
(d) If more than one association is recognized by the public
employer under Subsection (a), the recognized associations shall
jointly determine the composition of the bargaining team. If the
associations are unable to agree on the procedures for selecting
the members of the bargaining team, the American Arbitration
Association shall mediate an agreement between the associations to
resolve the question concerning the composition of the bargaining
team. The associations are liable for the expenses of the
mediation.
(e) If at any time at least one-half of the associations
recognized under Subsection (a) call for the selection of a new
bargaining team, the recognized associations shall select the
members of a new bargaining team in accordance with this section.
Sec. 158.075. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed agreement and a
document prepared and used by the sheriff's department in
connection with the proposed agreement are available to the public
under Chapter 552, Government Code, only after the agreement is
ratified by the commissioners court.
(b) This section does not affect the application of
Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
and used by the sheriff's department in connection with the
agreement.
Sec. 158.076. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF AGREEMENT.
(a) An agreement under this subchapter is enforceable and binding
on the public employer, the recognized associations, and peace
officers and detention officers covered by the agreement only if:
(1) the commissioners court ratified the agreement by
a majority vote;
(2) the recognized associations ratified the agreement
by jointly conducting a secret ballot election at which only the
peace officers and detention officers of the county in the
recognized associations were eligible to vote, and a majority of
the votes cast at the election favored ratifying the agreement; and
(3) the sheriff of the county ratified the agreement.
(b) An agreement ratified as described by Subsection (a)
may establish a procedure by which the parties agree to resolve
disputes related to a right, duty, or obligation provided by the
agreement, including binding arbitration on a question involving
interpretation of the agreement.
(c) A state district court of a judicial district in which
the county is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve a
dispute under the ratified agreement on the application of a party
to the agreement 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 the agreement. The court may issue proper
restraining orders, temporary and permanent injunctions, or any
other writ, order, or process, including contempt orders, that are
appropriate to enforce the agreement.
Sec. 158.077. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
(a) A written agreement ratified under this subchapter preempts,
during the term of the agreement, and to the extent of any
conflict, all contrary state statutes, local ordinances, executive
orders, civil service provisions, or rules adopted by the sheriff
or county or a division or agent of the sheriff or county, such as
a personnel board or a civil service commission.
(b) An agreement ratified under this subchapter may not
interfere with the right of a person affected by the agreement 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 federal Equal Employment
Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action litigation.