S.B. 1800 78(R) BILL ANALYSIS S.B. 1800 By: Van de Putte Defense Affairs and State-Federal Relations Committee Report (Unamended) BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, state agencies and institutions of higher education do not have formalized practices relating to leave for employees who, as members of the state military forces or the reserve component of the armed forces, are called to active duty. S.B. 1800 establishes that state employees who are members of the state military forces or the reserve component of the armed forces are entitled to paid leave and certain benefit protections when they are called to active duty. 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. Specifies, except as provided by Subsection (b), that certain persons are entitled to paid leave, rather than leave. Specifies that the leave is for not more than 15 work days in a federal fiscal year. Deletes salary from the list of items prohibited from being lost during a leave of absence. Makes a nonsubstantive change. SECTION 2. Amends Government Code to entitle a state employee called to state active duty as a member of the state military forces, rather than the National Guard, by the governor to receive paid emergency leave without loss of military leave under Section 431.005(a), or annual leave. SECTION 3. Amends Government Code by requiring a state agency to provide an employee activated to military services as a member of the reserve component of the armed forces with a statement containing the balance of the employee's accrued state compensatory time and accommodate an employee's request to use the balance of the employee's accrued state compensatory time before the compensatory time expires. SECTION 4. Amends Government Code to entitle a state employee called to state active duty, rather than active duty, as a member of the state military forces, rather than the Texas National Guard, by the governor because of an emergency to receive a leave of absence without a deduction in salary, if paid by state funds, in accordance with Section 431.0825. The bill also prohibits a state employee who is called to federal active duty as a member of the state military forces from receiving the employee's state salary except as provided by Sections 661.904(d) and (f) and 661.9041. SECTION 5. Specifies that an employee called to active duty under Title 10 and Title 32 of the United States Code is entitled to unpaid leave. The bill provides that the employee does not accrue vacation or sick leave during an unpaid leave of absence, rather than during that time. The bill authorizes the employee to retain any accrued vacation or sick leave. Provides that leave earned while in a state paid status is credited to the employee's balance when the employee returns to active state employment. This section authorizes the employee to use any accrued vacation leave, earned compensatory leave, or overtime leave under the federal Fair Labor and Standards Act of 1938 as amended, in whole or in part, to maintain benefits for the employee or the employee's dependents while the employee is on military duty described by Subsection (a). The bill requires the state agency employing the employee, before a state employee leaves for military service, to review with the employee any issues relating to maintaining state health insurance coverage during the employee's military duty, including how the employee maintains state health insurance coverage, how the coverage is affected by paid or unpaid leave, and how to pay any required premium. The bill authorizes the state employee activated for military service to continue to accrue Employee Retirement System retirement service credit by receiving a minimum of one hour of state pay during each month of active military service. Authorizes the employee to use any combination of paid leave or approved agency differential pay to qualify for state pay. SECTION 6. Amends Government Code by requiring the administrative head of a state agency to grant sufficient emergency leave as differential pay to a state employee on unpaid military leave if the employee's military gross pay is less than the employee's state gross pay. Prohibits the combination of emergency leave and military pay from exceeding the employee's actual state gross pay. SECTION 7. This Act takes effect: September 1, 2003.