78R6963 MCK-F

By:  West                                                         S.B. No. 1478



A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to protecting certain public employees who report 
violations of law.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:                        
	SECTION 1.  Section 554.002(a), Government Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
	(a)  A state or local governmental entity may not suspend or 
terminate the employment of, or take other adverse personnel action 
against, a public employee who in good faith reports a violation of 
law by the employing governmental entity or another public employee 
to:
		(1)  an appropriate law enforcement authority; or               
		(2)  a person within the employing governmental entity 
who has authority to act on the violation.
	SECTION 2.  Section 554.003(c), Government Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
	(c)  In a suit under this chapter against an employing state 
or local governmental entity, a public employee may not recover 
compensatory damages for future pecuniary losses, emotional pain, 
suffering, inconvenience, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of 
life, and other nonpecuniary losses in an amount that exceeds 10 
times the public employee's annual salary, exclusive of overtime 
compensation[:
		[(1)  $50,000, if the employing state or local 
governmental entity has fewer than 101 employees in each of 20 or 
more calendar weeks in the calendar year in which the suit is filed 
or in the preceding year;
		[(2)  $100,000, if the employing state or local 
governmental entity has more than 100 and fewer than 201 employees 
in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the calendar year in which 
the suit is filed or in the preceding year;
		[(3)  $200,000, if the employing state or local 
governmental entity has more than 200 and fewer than 501 employees 
in each of 20 or more calendar weeks in the calendar year in which 
the suit is filed or in the preceding year;  and
		[(4)  $250,000, if the employing state or local 
governmental entity has more than 500 employees in each of 20 or 
more calendar weeks in the calendar year in which the suit is filed 
or in the preceding year].
	SECTION 3.  Section 554.004(b), Government Code, is amended 
to read as follows:
	(b)  The public employee must show that the report of the 
violation of law was a determining factor in the suspension, 
termination, or adverse personnel action.  The public employee is 
not required to show that the suspension, termination, or adverse 
personnel action occurred solely because [It is an affirmative 
defense to a suit under this chapter that the employing state or 
local governmental entity would have taken the action against the 
employee that forms the basis of the suit based solely on 
information, observation, or evidence that is not related to the 
fact that] the employee made a report protected under this chapter 
of a violation of law.
	SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and 
applies only to a suit filed on or after that date.  A suit filed 
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in 
effect on the date the suit was filed, and the former law is 
continued in effect for that purpose.