1-1     By:  Reyna of Bexar (Senate Sponsor - Madla)          H.B. No. 2706
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2001;
 1-3     May 11, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Intergovernmental Relations; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by
 1-5     the following vote:  Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to
 1-6     printer.)
 1-7                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-8                                   AN ACT
 1-9     relating to a legislative leave time bank for certain peace
1-10     officers and firefighters.
1-11           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-12           SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 614, Government Code, is
1-13     amended by adding Section 614.011 to read as follows:
1-14           Sec. 614.011.  LEGISLATIVE LEAVE TIME BANK. (a)  This section
1-15     applies only to counties with a population of more than one million
1-16     and less than 1.5 million.
1-17           (b)  A peace officer or firefighter may donate no more than
1-18     one hour each month, in increments of one-quarter hour, of the
1-19     person's accumulated vacation, sick, or compensatory time to the
1-20     legislative leave time bank of an employee organization.  The
1-21     employer shall establish and maintain a legislative leave time bank
1-22     for each employee organization.
1-23           (c)  The peace officer or firefighter must authorize the
1-24     donation in writing on a form provided by the employee organization
1-25     and approved by the employer.  After receiving the signed
1-26     authorization on an approved form, the employer shall transfer
1-27     donated time to the bank monthly until the employer receives the
1-28     peace officer's or firefighter's written revocation of the
1-29     authorization.
1-30           (d)  Only a peace officer or firefighter who is a member of
1-31     an employee organization may use for legislative leave purposes the
1-32     time donated to the bank of that employee organization.  A peace
1-33     officer or firefighter may use for legislative leave purposes the
1-34     time donated under this section instead of reimbursing the employer
1-35     under Section 614.005.
1-36           (e)  A request to use for legislative leave purposes the time
1-37     in an employee organization's time bank must be in writing and
1-38     submitted to the employer by the president or the equivalent
1-39     officer of the employee organization or by that officer's designee.
1-40           (f)  The employer shall account for the time donated to the
1-41     bank and used from the bank.  The employer may:
1-42                 (1)  determine and credit the actual cash value of the
1-43     donated time in the bank and determine and debit the actual cash
1-44     value of time used from the bank for legislative leave purposes; or
1-45                 (2)  credit and debit a bank on an hour-for-hour basis
1-46     regardless of the cash value of the time donated or used.
1-47           (g)  A leave time bank authorized by this section is
1-48     perpetual.  Unused leave time donated to a leave time bank carries
1-49     over from year to year until used by the designated employee
1-50     organization.
1-51           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
1-52     a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
1-53     provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
1-54     Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
1-55     Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
1-56                                  * * * * *