LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD

Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 78TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION

April 6, 2003

TO:	Honorable Glenn Lewis, Chair, House Committee on County Affairs
FROM:	John Keel, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:	HB3160 by Capelo (Relating to collective bargaining by employees of local governments.), As Introduced

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

The bill would authorize political subdivisions to recognize a labor organization as the bargaining agent for a group of public employees for the purposes of entering into a collective bargaining contract. The bill would take effect immediately if it were to receive a two-thirds vote in each house; otherwise, it would take effect September 1, 2003.

Under current statute, collective bargaining by public employees is prohibited.

Local Government Impact

If a political subdivision were to choose to enter into the collective bargaining process, the entity would incur costs of staff time and possibly legal counsel during the process, costs of which are not expected to be significant. Additional costs resulting from the bargaining process would vary, depending on the agreement reached and the number of employees affected. The costs to the political subdivision could be significant.

Source Agencies:
LBB Staff:	JK, DLBa