| TO: | Honorable Tom Craddick, Speaker of the House, House of Representatives |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Deputy Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB304 by Talton (Relating to conditions of employment for police officers employed by certain municipalities.), As Passed 2nd House |
The bill would amend Chapter 142 of the Local Government Code to establish procedures in certain municipalities for establishing a meet and confer agreement between police officers and the municipality.
The procedures would include meetings between a police officers association and the municipality, a possible certification election within the police department regarding the association, and the option of holding an election in which the citizens of the municipality would vote on the proposal to allow the municipality to operate under the state law that authorizes a meet and confer agreement. An election must be held on the next regularly scheduled general election for municipal officials that would allow sufficient time to prepare the ballot in compliance with other law.
The bill would also amend Chapter 143, Local Government Code, to authorize a municipality with a population of less than 560,000 that has not recognized an association as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent before September 1, 2005 to adopt rules for police officers converting vacation and sick leave days to hours in a manner that supercedes other provisions of the statute if certain criteria are met.
The bill would take effect September 1, 2005.
If an eligible municipality and police association were to meet and confer, the costs to the municipality would be for staff and staff time. If an agreement is reached, the agreement itself would dictate any other fiscal impact. The fiscal impact of using the proposed new statute for converting days to hours for calculating paid leave time and consequently, payment upon an officer leaving classified service, would vary by affected department.
| Source Agencies: |
| LBB Staff: | JOB, JB, DLBa
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