By Van de Putte                                        S.B. No. 964
         77R8282 T                           
                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-1                                   AN ACT
 1-2     relating to a legislative leave time bank for fire fighters and
 1-3     police officers in certain municipalities and counties.
 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 LEAVE TIME BANK. (a)  A peace
 1-8     officer or fire fighter may donate up to one hour per month, in
 1-9     increments of one-quarter hour, of accumulated vacation or
1-10     compensatory time to a time bank established and maintained by the
1-11     governmental body in the name of a peace or fire fighter employee
1-12     organization.  The peace officer or fire fighter must authorize the
1-13     donation in writing on a form provided by the employee organization
1-14     and approved by the governmental body.  The governmental body will
1-15     transfer the donated time to the employee organization's time bank
1-16     account each month until the peace officer or fire fighter revokes
1-17     the authorization in writing.
1-18           (b)  Leave time donated to a time bank under this section may
1-19     be used to fund legislative leave used by a peace officer or fire
1-20     fighter who is a member of a peace officer or fire fighter employee
1-21     organization in lieu of the cash reimbursement required by this
1-22     Chapter.  A request to use leave time in an organization's time
1-23     bank must be made in writing and submitted to the governmental body
1-24     by the president of the peace officer or fire fighter employee
 2-1     organization or the president's designee.  A leave time account
 2-2     authorized by this section is perpetual.  Unused leave time donated
 2-3     to a time bank account shall carry over from year to year until
 2-4     used by the designated employee organization.
 2-5           (c)  The governmental body may:
 2-6                 (1)  determine the cash value of the donated leave time
 2-7     and credit the amount to an account in the name of the organization
 2-8     and then deduct the cash value of legislative leave used from this
 2-9     account; or
2-10                 (2)  exchange hours used by a peace officer or fire
2-11     fighter for legislative leave on a one-for-one basis for hours
2-12     accumulated in the time bank account regardless of the cash value.
2-13           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.