78R10574 KSD-D
By: Goolsby H.B. No. 622
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 622:
By: Garza C.S.H.B. No. 622
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to business leave time accounts for police officer
employee organizations in certain municipalities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 142, Local Government Code, is amended
by adding Section 142.013 to read as follows:
Sec. 142.013. BUSINESS LEAVE TIME ACCOUNT FOR POLICE
OFFICERS IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) This section applies only
to police officers employed by a municipality with a population of
one million or more that has not adopted Chapter 174 and to which
Section 143.1261 does not apply.
(b) In this section:
(1) "Business leave" means leave taken for the purpose
of attending to the business of an employee organization.
(2) "Employee organization" includes:
(A) the Texas Peace Officers Association;
(B) the Dallas Police Association;
(C) the Dallas Fraternal Order of Police; and
(D) the Latino Peace Officers Association.
(c) A police officer may donate not more than two hours for
each month of accumulated vacation or compensatory time to the
business leave time account of an employee organization. The
municipality shall establish and maintain a business leave time
account for each employee organization.
(d) The police officer must authorize the donation in
writing on a form provided by the employee organization and
approved by the municipality. After receiving the signed
authorization on an approved form, the municipality shall transfer
donated time to the account monthly until the municipality receives
the police officer's written revocation of the authorization.
(e) Only a police officer who is a member of an employee
organization may use for business leave purposes the time donated
to the account of that employee organization. A police officer may
use for business leave purposes the time donated under this section
without receiving a reduction in salary and without reimbursing the
municipality.
(f) A request to use for business leave purposes the time in
an employee organization's time account must be in writing and
submitted to the municipality by the president or the equivalent
officer of the employee organization or by that officer's designee.
(g) The municipality shall grant a request for business
leave that complies with Subsection (f) unless:
(1) denial of the request is necessary because of an
emergency; or
(2) a grant of the request will result in having an
insufficient number of police officers to carry out the normal
functions of the municipality.
(h) The municipality shall account for the time donated to
the account and used from the account. The municipality shall
credit and debit the account on an hour-for-hour basis regardless
of the cash value of the time donated or used.
(i) An employee organization may not use for business leave
purposes more than 4,000 hours from its business leave time account
under this section in a calendar year. This subsection does not
prevent an employee organization from accumulating more than 4,000
hours, but only addresses the total number of donated hours that an
employee organization may use in any calendar year.
(j) The use of business leave by a police officer under this
section is not a break in service for any purpose and is treated as
any other paid leave.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
Act takes effect September 1, 2003.