HBA-NRS H.B. 2708 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2708
By: Reyna, Arthur
County Affairs
4/22/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law does not authorize a county to enter into an agreement with an
association that is the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for a group of
public employees concerning local control of working conditions and terms
of employment. House Bill 2708 allows the Bexar County Sheriff's Department
and its employees to negotiate local control of working conditions and
terms of employment. 

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

House Bill 2708 amends the Local Government Code to prohibit a county that
has adopted a sheriff's department civil service system but has not adopted
The Fire and Police Employee Relations Act from being denied local control
over the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, other terms and
conditions of employment, or other state-mandated personnel issues, to the
extent agreed upon by the public employer and the association recognized as
the sole and exclusive bargaining agent. The bill does not require either a
public employer or an association to meet and confer on any issue or reach
an agreement. The bill prohibits an employee of a sheriff's department from
engaging in a strike or organized work stoppage against this state or a
political subdivision of this state.  

In a county that chooses to meet and confer,  the bill requires that the
public employer recognize an association submitting a petition for
recognition signed by a majority of the employees of the sheriff's
department as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all of the
employees of the sheriff's department. The bill provides that whether an
association represents a majority of the covered employees shall be
resolved by a fair election conducted according to procedures agreeable to
the parties.  

The bill provides that 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 only after the agreement is ratified by the
commissioners court. Such an agreement is enforceable and binding on the
public employer, the recognized association, and employees covered by the
agreement only if both the commissioners court and the recognized
association ratify the agreement. The bill provides that 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.
The bill provides that a written agreement supersedes 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. Not later than the 45th day after the date an agreement
is ratified by both the county and the association, the bill authorizes a
petition signed by a number of qualified voters equal to 10 percent of the
votes cast in the county in the most recent general election to be
presented to the county clerk calling an election for the repeal of the
agreement.  



 EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.