78R4993 YDB-F
By: Bailey H.B. No. 1643
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to conditions of employment for peace officers employed by
certain political subdivisions.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subtitle C, Title 5, Local Government Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 176 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 176. LOCAL CONTROL OF PEACE OFFICER EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN
CERTAIN POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS
Sec. 176.001. APPLICABILITY. (a) Except as provided by
Subsection (b), this subchapter applies to a political subdivision
of this state that employs peace officers.
(b) This chapter does not apply to a political subdivision
that:
(1) has adopted Chapter 174;
(2) is covered by Subchapter H, I, or J, Chapter 143;
or
(3) is covered by Subchapter P, Chapter 451,
Transportation Code.
Sec. 176.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Association" means an organization in which peace
officers employed by a political subdivision of this state
participate and that exists for the purpose, in whole or in part, of
dealing with the political subdivision concerning grievances,
labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of work, or conditions of
work affecting peace officers.
(2) "Peace officer" means a person defined as a peace
officer by Article 2.12, Code of Criminal Procedure, or other law or
a person employed by a county as a detention officer or jailer.
(3) "Public employer" means a political subdivision of
this state or a law enforcement agency of the political subdivision
that is required to establish the wages, salaries, rates of pay,
hours of work, working conditions, and other terms and conditions
of employment of peace officers employed by the political
subdivision.
Sec. 176.003. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS.
(a) A political subdivision may not be denied local control over
the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, or other terms and
conditions of employment to the extent the public employer and the
association recognized as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent
under Section 176.006 agree as provided by this chapter.
Applicable statutes and applicable local orders, ordinances, and
civil service rules apply to an issue not governed by the agreement.
(b) An agreement under this chapter must be written.
(c) This chapter does not require a public employer or a
recognized association to meet and confer on any issue or reach an
agreement.
(d) A public employer and the recognized association may
meet and confer only if the association does not advocate an illegal
strike by public employees.
Sec. 176.004. STRIKES PROHIBITED. (a) A peace officer of
a political subdivision of this state may not engage in a strike or
organized work stoppage against this state or the political
subdivision.
(b) A peace officer who participates in a strike forfeits
any civil service rights, reemployment rights, and other rights,
benefits, or privileges the peace officer may have as a result of
the person's employment or prior employment with the political
subdivision.
(c) This section does not affect the right of a person to
cease work if the person is not acting in concert with others in an
organized work stoppage.
Sec. 176.005. SELECTION OF BARGAINING AGENT. The public
employer's chief executive officer or the chief executive officer's
designee shall select a group of persons to represent the public
employer as its sole and exclusive bargaining agent for issues
related to the employment of peace officers by the political
subdivision.
Sec. 176.006. RECOGNITION OF PEACE OFFICER ASSOCIATION.
(a) In a political subdivision that chooses to meet and confer
under this chapter, the public employer shall recognize an
association submitting a petition for recognition signed by a
majority of the peace officers employed by the political
subdivision or a law enforcement agency of the political
subdivision, excluding the head of the agency and the employees
exempt under Subsection (b), as the sole and exclusive bargaining
agent for all of the peace officers employed by the political
subdivision or law enforcement agency, excluding the agency head
and exempt employees.
(b) For the purposes of Subsection (a), exempt employees are
the employees that the head of the law enforcement agency of the
political subdivision designates as exempt in the manner prescribed
by Chapter 143 or 158.
(c) The public employer shall recognize the association
until recognition of the association is withdrawn by a majority of
the peace officers eligible to sign a petition for recognition.
Sec. 176.007. ELECTION. (a) Whether an association
represents a majority of the covered peace officers shall be
resolved by a fair election conducted according to procedures
agreeable to the parties.
(b) If the parties are unable to agree on election
procedures, either party may request the American Arbitration
Association to conduct the election and to certify the results.
Certification of the results of an election under this section
resolves the question concerning representation.
(c) The association is liable for the expenses of the
election, except that if two or more associations seeking
recognition as the bargaining agent submit petitions signed by a
majority of the peace officers eligible to sign the petition, the
associations shall share equally the costs of the election.
Sec. 176.008. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed agreement and a
document prepared and used by the political subdivision in
connection with a proposed agreement are available to the public
under Chapter 552, Government Code, only after the agreement is
ratified by the governing body of the political subdivision.
(b) This section does not affect the application of
Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
and used by the political subdivision in connection with the
agreement.
Sec. 176.009. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF
AGREEMENT. (a) An agreement under this chapter is enforceable and
binding on the public employer, the recognized association, and the
peace officers covered by the agreement only if:
(1) the governing body of the political subdivision
ratified the agreement by a majority vote; and
(2) the recognized association ratified the agreement
by conducting a secret ballot election at which only the peace
officers of the political subdivision or law enforcement agency of
the political subdivision in the association were eligible to vote,
and a majority of the votes cast at the election favored ratifying
the agreement.
(b) An agreement ratified as described by Subsection (a) may
establish a procedure by which the parties agree to resolve
disputes related to a right, duty, or obligation provided by the
agreement, including binding arbitration on a question involving
interpretation of the agreement.
(c) A state district court of a judicial district in which
the political subdivision is located has jurisdiction to hear and
resolve a dispute under the ratified agreement on the application
of a party to the agreement aggrieved by an action or omission of
the other party when the action or omission is related to a right,
duty, or obligation provided by the agreement. The court may issue
proper restraining orders, temporary and permanent injunctions, or
any other writ, order, or process, including contempt orders, that
are appropriate to enforcing the agreement.
Sec. 176.010. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
(a) A written agreement ratified under this chapter preempts,
during the term of the agreement and to the extent of any conflict,
all contrary state statutes, local ordinances, executive orders,
civil service provisions, or rules adopted by the head of the law
enforcement agency or political subdivision or by a division or
agent of the political subdivision, such as a personnel board or a
civil service commission.
(b) An agreement ratified under this chapter may not
interfere with the right of a member of a bargaining unit to pursue
allegations of discrimination based on race, creed, color, national
origin, religion, age, sex, or disability with the Commission on
Human Rights or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
or to pursue affirmative action litigation.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.