HBA-NRS, JEK C.S.H.B. 2677 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 2677
By: Bailey
Urban Affairs
4/17/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Firefighters and police officers of the City of Houston are currently
covered by meet and confer legislation, but there are no provisions
covering the employment matters of Houston's other municipal employees.
C.S.H.B. 2677 grants public employee associations of a municipality of 1.5
million or more the right to meet and confer with a public employer over
issues such as wages, hours, working conditions, and all other terms and
conditions of employment, and prohibits strikes and work stoppages by
employees who participate in these organizations. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 2677 amends the Local Government Code to provide for local control
over the employment matters of municipal employees in municipalities of 1.5
million or more. The bill does not apply to firefighters or police officers
in municipalities that have adopted The Fire and Police Employee Relations
Act or the provisions for municipal civil service.  

C.S.H.B. 2677 provides that a municipality may not be denied local control
over employment matters, including wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of
employment, other conditions of employment, or other personnel issues on
which  the public employer and an association recognized as the sole and
exclusive bargaining agent for all nonclassified municipal employees agree.
The bill authorizes a public employer and an association recognized as a
sole and exclusive bargaining agent to meet and confer only if the
association does not advocate the illegal right to strike by public
employees. The bill prohibits employees of a municipality from engaging in
strikes or organized work stoppages against the state or a political
subdivision of this state.  An employee who participates in a strike
forfeits all civil service rights, benefits, reemployment rights, and any
other rights or privileges an employee enjoys as a result of employment or
prior employment with the municipality.  

C.S.H.B. 2677 authorizes a public employer to recognize an association as
the sole and exclusive negotiating agent for a bargaining unit if a
petition is submitted by the association that is signed by a majority of
the nonclassified employees of the municipality. The bill authorizes an
association to submit a petition requesting an election to determine
whether an association is the majority representative of the covered
employees and sets forth provisions for such an election. The bill requires
the municipality to designate a team to represent the public employer as
its sole and exclusive bargaining agent.  

C.S.H.B. 2677 provides that  an agreement  between an association and a
public employer is a public record.  The bill specifies that a written
agreement between a public employer and a recognized association is
enforceable and binding on the public employer, the recognized association,
and the employees covered by the agreement if the governing body of the
municipality ratifies the agreement by majority vote and the association
ratifies the agreement by a majority vote of its members by secret ballot.
A district court of the  judicial district in which the municipality is
located has full authority and jurisdiction to enforce any ratified written
agreement between a public employer and a recognized association.  

An agreement made between a public employer and a recognized association
supersedes any previous statute concerning employment matters and preempts
any contrary statutes, local ordinances, executive orders, or rules adopted
by the state or a political subdivision or agent of the state. 

The bill authorizes a petition signed by a least 10 percent of the
qualified voters of the municipality to be presented to the municipal
secretary calling an election for the repeal of the agreement not later
than the 45th day after the date the agreement is ratified by both the
municipality and the association. The bill prohibits an agreement from
interfering with the right of a member of an association to pursue
allegations of discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin,
religion, age, sex, or disability or to pursue affirmative action
litigation.   

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 2677 modifies the original bill to require a municipality to
designate a team to represent the public employer as its sole and exclusive
bargaining agent. The substitute modifies the original bill to authorize a
public employer to recognize an association that submits a petition as the
sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all of the covered employees rather
than regardless of whether the public employer has recognized the
association selected by petition. The substitute specifies that
documentation in relation to agreements between a public employer and an
association is public information only after ratification by the governing
body of the municipality. The substitute sets forth provisions for the
repeal of an agreement between a public employer and an association and
provisions for the protected rights of individual employees.