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H.B. No. 2400
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. Section 143.072, Local Government Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (g) and
(h) to read as follows:
(a) On written application of a fire fighter or police
officer, the commission shall grant the person a military leave of
absence without pay, subject to Section 143.075, to enable the
person to enter a branch of the United States military service. The
leave of absence may not exceed the period of compulsory military
service or the basic minimum enlistment period for the branch of
service the fire fighter or police officer enters.
(g) 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.
(h) In addition to other procedures prescribed by this
section, 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 Sections 143.075(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. Subchapter E, Chapter 143, Local Government
Code, is amended by adding Section 143.075 to read as follows:
Sec. 143.075. 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.
SECTION 3. 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.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2400 was passed by the House on May 2,
2003, by the following vote: Yeas 126, Nays 0, 2 present, not
voting; and that the House concurred in Senate amendments to H.B.
No. 2400 on May 30, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 143, Nays 0,
2 present, not voting.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
I certify that H.B. No. 2400 was passed by the Senate, with
amendments, on May 28, 2003, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays
0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
APPROVED: __________________
Date
__________________
Governor