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79R2387 KEG-F
By: Isett H.B. No. 2248
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to salary increases, equity adjustments, and merit
payments for certain state employees.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter K, Chapter 659, Government Code, is
amended by adding Section 659.2545 to read as follows:
Sec. 659.2545. EQUITY ADJUSTMENTS. (a) A state agency is
authorized to adjust the salary rate of an employee whose position
is classified under the position classification plan to any rate
within the employee's salary group range as necessary to maintain
desirable salary relationships:
(1) between and among employees of the agency; or
(2) between employees of the agency and employees who
hold similar positions in the relevant labor market.
(b) In determining desirable salary relationships under
Subsection (a), a state agency shall consider the education,
skills, related work experience, length of service, and job
performance of agency employees and similar employees in the
relevant labor market.
(c) A state agency may award an equity adjustment to an
employee under this section only if:
(1) the employee has worked in the employee's current
position for not less than six months while maintaining at least a
satisfactory level of job performance; and
(2) the adjustment does not take effect during the
same fiscal year as another equity adjustment made to the
employee's salary under this section.
(d) A state agency shall adopt internal written rules
relating to making equity adjustments under this section. The
rules shall include procedures under which the agency will review
and analyze the salary relationships between agency employees who
receive salaries under the same job classification and perform the
same type and level of work to determine if inequities exist.
SECTION 2. As soon as practicable after the effective date
of this Act, the classification officer under Subchapter C, Chapter
654, Government Code, shall make adjustments to the job
classifications within the position classification plan as
necessary to reflect the changes proposed under Option 3 of the
state auditor's report entitled "A Biennial Report on the State's
Compensation System for Fiscal Years 2006 and 2007" (Report No.
05-701, September 2004) to Salary Schedule A, B, and C positions.
SECTION 3. (a) In this section and Section 4 of this Act:
(1) "State agency" means:
(A) a board, commission, department,
institution, office, or other agency in the executive branch of
state government that is created by the constitution or a statute of
this state, including an institution of higher education as defined
by Section 61.003, Education Code, other than a public junior
college; or
(B) the Supreme Court of Texas, the Texas Court
of Criminal Appeals, a court of appeals, or another agency in the
judicial branch.
(2) "Total employee pay expenditures" means the total
amount spent by a state agency during a fiscal year for the purpose
of paying the salary and wages of all employees of the agency,
regardless of the fund from which the expenditures were made.
(b) During the state fiscal year beginning September 1,
2005, and the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2006, a state
agency shall spend an amount equal to one percent of the agency's
total employee pay expenditures during the previous state fiscal
year for the purpose of:
(1) providing merit salary increases and one-time
merit payments for employees of the agency in accordance with
Section 659.255, Government Code; and
(2) funding any equity adjustments made by the agency
under Section 659.2545, Government Code, as added by this Act, that
are scheduled to take effect before January 1, 2006.
SECTION 4. (a) Except as provided by this section,
effective January 1, 2006, each employee of a state agency who is
employed under a position classified under Salary Schedule A or B of
the state's position classification plan or who holds a position
that is exempt from the classification plan is entitled to an
increase in the employee's gross salary for each remaining month of
the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2005, and each month of
the state fiscal year beginning September 1, 2006, in an amount
equal to three percent of the employee's gross monthly salary on
December 31, 2005, but not less than $175 per month.
(b) This section does not apply to:
(1) a statewide elected official, a justice or judge
of an appellate or district court, a district attorney, a criminal
district attorney, or a county attorney performing the duties of a
district attorney; or
(2) a member of a board, commission, or other
governing body who may receive a compensatory per diem or expense
reimbursement but not a salary for employment.
(c) An employee eligible for a salary increase under this
section is subject to any maximum salary rate provided by the
General Appropriations Act for the employee's exempt or classified
position. The salary increase provided by this section does not
apply to the extent that the salary increase would cause the
employee's salary to exceed that maximum rate.
(d) The expenses of an agency that are related to an
employee's salary increase under this section, including the cost
of benefits associated with the salary increase, shall be paid by
the agency and divided among available funds held in the state
treasury and local funds in a manner that is proportionate to the
agency's method of financing for any regular compensation provided
to the employee during December 2005.
(e) A salary increase provided to a state agency employee
under this section shall be provided in addition to any salary
increase associated with changes made to job classifications in the
state's position classification plan under Section 2 of this Act
and any merit increase, one-time merit payment, or equity
adjustment provided to the employee in accordance with Section 3 of
this Act.
SECTION 5. 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, 2005.