BILL ANALYSIS
Senate Research Center S.B. 1136
79R3199 DRH-D By: Seliger
AUTHOR'S/SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT
Currently, during the formation of a county salary grievance committee by a county commissioners court, names are selected from the grand jury pool for the area. These names are then announced in a public session and recorded with the county clerk. This process enables a local employee whose salary is being debated to lobby the members of the committee to influence their decision.
As proposed, S.B. 1136 removes the requirement to announce the names of a county salary grievance committee in a public session. The salary grievance committee would still meet in a public hearing, but the identities of the members would remain sealed with the county clerk until the first meeting of the committee.
RULEMAKING AUTHORITY
SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS
SECTION 1. Amends Section 152.015(b), Local Government Code, to require the county judge to draw at random a number of slips (with the name of each person who served on a grand jury in the county during the preceding calendar year) equal to the number of public members needed for the county's salary grievance committee and require the clerk to keep a list of the names drawn. Authorizes a county judge to repeat this process and make a list of alternates to be kept by the clerk. Prohibits the names of the persons who are drawn and have accepted to serve as public members from being disclosed publicly until the first public hearing held by the committee.
SECTION 2. Effective date: September 1, 2005.