LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
                              Austin, Texas
                                     
                    FISCAL NOTE, 77th Regular Session
  
                              April 10, 2001
  
  
          TO:  Honorable Frank Madla, Chair, Senate Committee on
               Intergovernmental Relations
  
        FROM:  John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
  
       IN RE:  SB1635  by Bernsen (Relating to firefighter employee
               relations in certain political subdivisions; providing
               penalties.), As Introduced
  
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*  No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.                    *
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The bill would require a political subdivision that employs firefighters
to provide those employees with compensation and other conditions of
employment that are substantially equal to the compensation and other
conditions of employment that prevail in comparable employment in the
private sector.  If a public employer has reached an agreement with an
association on compensation and conditions of employment, the employer
would be considered in compliance with the statute.

Under the provisions of the bill, firefighters employed by a political
subdivision with a population of 10,000 or more would be allowed to
organize and engage in collective bargaining with their employer
regarding compensation, hours, and other conditions of employment.  If it
is necessary to conduct an election among the firefighters employed by
the public employer to determine if an association representing the
firefighters represents a majority of the firefighters, the employer
would be required to pay election expenses unless two or more
associations seek recognition as the bargaining agent.

If arbitration becomes necessary in the collective bargaining process,
the employer and the association representing the employees would be
required to share the costs in even proportions.

The association representing the firefighters would be prohibited from
calling a strike or work slowdown and could be fined by a district court
up to $20,000 and order to forfeit membership dues for up to 12 months.
An agency would be prohibited from conducting a lockout of the
firefighters and could be fined up to $2,000.

Disputes between the employer and the firefighters would be required to
be settled in district court.

The statutes proposed in the bill would not apply to a municipality that
operates under Subchapters H or I, Chapter 143, Local Government Code
until after the expiration of an agreement ratified under those
subchapters.  The statutes would not apply to a political subdivision
that operates under Chapter 174, Local Government Code.

The bill would take effect on September 1, 2001.
  
Local Government Impact
  
Officials with the City of Amarillo anticipated that to bring their
firefighters' pay to a level equivalent to the public sector would
increase the city's costs by $149,150 per year.

Officials from the City of San Marcos projected an annual increase in
expenditures of at least $100,000 per year.

A representative from the City of Addison estimated an increase in
salaries and benefits paid to firefighters of at least 30 percent
annually.  For their firefighter staff of 58 FTEs, the increase would be
$1,142,000 per year.

The increase in salaries and benefits paid would vary by political
subdivision, depending on the current level of pay for firefighters
employed by the political subdivision, number of firefighters on staff,
and agreed upon salaries and work conditions considered to be comparable
to the public sector.
  
  
Source Agencies:   
LBB Staff:         JK, DB