H.B. 608 78(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


H.B. 608
By: Denny
County Affairs
Committee Report (Unamended)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

In each county there is a salary grievance committee composed of the
county judge and the sheriff, county tax assessor-collector, county
treasurer, county clerk, district clerk, county attorney or criminal
district attorney, and the number of public members necessary to provide
nine voting members;  nine public members, if the commissioners court
votes in January each year to have nine public members. The county judge
is chairman of the committee, but is not entitled to vote.  Public members
must be residents of the county.  A problem arises when public members are
unable to serve on the salary grievance committee and an available
alternate cannot be found from the list of nine alternates in the time
necessary to adopt the county budget.  The purpose of House Bill 608 is to
improve the ability to appoint an alternate to the salary grievance
committee by allowing the county judge to select from a larger pool of
alternates. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any
additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or
institution. 

ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 152.015 (b) and (d), Local Government Code, to
allow a county judge to select  a number of alternates equal the number of
public members needed for the salary grievance committee and to repeat the
process as the judge deems appropriate.  This section also clarifies the
procedure for replacing a member of the salary grievance committee with an
alternate. 

SECTION 2. EFFECTIVE DATE.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2003.