78R12630 KEG-D


By:  Noriega                                                      H.B. No. 2400



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to military leave and military leave time accounts for 
certain municipal fire fighters and police officers.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter G, Chapter 143, Local Government 
Code, is amended by adding Section 143.1262 to read as follows:
	Sec. 143.1262.  MILITARY LEAVE AND MILITARY LEAVE TIME 
ACCOUNTS.  (a)  A municipality shall maintain military leave time 
accounts for the fire and police departments and must maintain a 
separate military leave time account for each department.
	(b)  A military leave time account shall benefit a fire 
fighter or police officer who:
		(1)  is a member of the Texas National Guard or the 
armed forces reserves of the United States;
		(2)  was called to active federal military duty while 
serving as a fire fighter or police officer for the municipality;
		(3)  has served on active duty for a period of 12 
continuous months or longer; and
		(4)  has exhausted the balance of the person's 
vacation, holiday, and compensatory leave time accumulations.
	(c)  A fire fighter or police officer may donate any amount 
of accumulated vacation, holiday, sick, or compensatory leave time 
to the military leave time account in that fire fighter's or police 
officer's department to help provide salary continuation for fire 
fighters or police officers who qualify as eligible beneficiaries 
of the account under Subsection (b).  A fire fighter or police 
officer who wishes to donate time to an account under this section 
must authorize the donation in writing on a form provided by the 
fire or police department and approved by the municipality.
	(d)  A municipality shall equally distribute the leave time 
donated to a military leave time account among all fire fighters or 
police officers who are eligible beneficiaries of that account.  
The municipality shall credit and debit the applicable military 
leave time account on an hourly basis regardless of the cash value 
of the time donated or used.
	(e)  If a fire fighter or police officer employed by a 
municipality is called to active military duty for any period, the 
employing municipality must continue to maintain any health, 
dental, or life insurance coverage and any health or dental 
benefits coverage that the fire fighter or police officer received 
through the municipality on the date the fire fighter or police 
officer was called to active military duty until the municipality 
receives written instructions from the fire fighter or police 
officer to change or discontinue the coverage.
	(f)  A fire fighter or police officer may, without 
restriction as to the amount of time, voluntarily substitute for a 
fire fighter or police officer described by Subsections (b)(1) and 
(2) who has been called to active federal military duty for a period 
expected to last 12 months or longer.  A fire fighter or police 
officer who voluntarily substitutes under this subsection must be 
qualified to perform the duties of the absent fire fighter or police 
officer.
	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.