By Reyna of Bexar                                     H.B. No. 2706
         77R6746 ATP-F                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to a legislative, vacation, and sick leave time bank for
 1-3     certain peace officers and firefighters.
 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
 1-5           SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 614, Government Code, is
 1-6     amended by adding Section 614.011 to read as follows:
 1-7           Sec. 614.011.  LEGISLATIVE, VACATION, AND SICK LEAVE TIME
 1-8     BANK. (a)  A peace officer or firefighter may donate each month an
 1-9     unlimited amount of hours, in increments of one-quarter hour, of
1-10     the person's accumulated vacation or compensatory time to the
1-11     legislative, vacation, and sick leave time bank of an employee
1-12     organization.  The employer shall establish and maintain a
1-13     legislative, vacation, and sick leave time bank for each employee
1-14     organization.
1-15           (b)  The peace officer or firefighter must authorize the
1-16     donation in writing on a form provided by the employee organization
1-17     and approved by the employer.  After receiving the signed
1-18     authorization on an approved form, the employer shall transfer
1-19     donated time to the bank monthly until the employer receives the
1-20     peace officer's or firefighter's written revocation of the
1-21     authorization.
1-22           (c)  Only a peace officer or firefighter who is a member of
1-23     an employee organization may use for legislative, vacation, or sick
1-24     leave purposes the time donated to the bank of that employee
 2-1     organization.  A peace officer or firefighter may use for
 2-2     legislative leave purposes the time donated under this section
 2-3     instead of reimbursing the employer under Section 614.005.
 2-4           (d)  A request to use for legislative, vacation, or sick
 2-5     leave purposes the time in an employee organization's time bank
 2-6     must be in writing and submitted to the employer by the president
 2-7     or the equivalent officer of the employee organization or by that
 2-8     officer's designee.
 2-9           (e)  The employer shall account for the time donated to the
2-10     bank and used from the bank.  The employer may:
2-11                 (1)  determine and credit the actual cash value of the
2-12     donated time in the bank and determine and debit the actual cash
2-13     value of time used from the bank for legislative, vacation, or sick
2-14     leave purposes; or
2-15                 (2)  credit and debit a bank on an hour-for-hour basis
2-16     regardless of the cash value of the time donated or used.
2-17           (f)  A leave time bank authorized by this section is
2-18     perpetual.  Unused leave time donated to a leave time bank carries
2-19     over from year to year until used by the designated employee
2-20     organization.
2-21           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
2-22     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
2-23     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
2-24     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
2-25     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.