| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the right of certain counties to maintain local control |
|
|
over wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Subtitle B, Title 5, Local Government Code, is |
|
|
amended by adding Chapter 161 to read as follows: |
|
|
CHAPTER 161. LOCAL CONTROL OF EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN CERTAIN |
|
|
COUNTIES |
|
|
Sec. 161.001. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies |
|
|
only to a county: |
|
|
(1) that is located on an international border; |
|
|
(2) that has a population of more than 560,000; |
|
|
(3) in which more than 10 incorporated municipalities |
|
|
are located; and |
|
|
(4) that has adopted a resolution or policy providing |
|
|
for a consultation system in which the county will meet or consult |
|
|
with an employee association representing employees if the |
|
|
association demonstrates that the association is supported by at |
|
|
least 30 percent of the employees eligible to participate. |
|
|
(b) This chapter does not apply to: |
|
|
(1) police officers who are covered by Chapter 174; or |
|
|
(2) an employee association in which employees |
|
|
described by Subdivision (1) participate. |
|
|
Sec. 161.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter: |
|
|
(1) "Covered employee" means an employee of a county, |
|
|
other than a department head or a police officer who is covered by |
|
|
Chapter 174. |
|
|
(2) "Employee association" means an organization in |
|
|
which county employees participate and that exists for the purpose, |
|
|
wholly or partly, of dealing with one or more employers, whether |
|
|
public or private, concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages, |
|
|
rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work affecting |
|
|
public employees and whose members pay dues by means of an automatic |
|
|
payroll deduction. |
|
|
(3) "Public employer" means any county or political |
|
|
subdivision controlled by a county that is required to establish |
|
|
the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours, working conditions, and |
|
|
other terms and conditions of employment of public employees. The |
|
|
term may include, under appropriate circumstances, a county judge, |
|
|
county commissioner, commissioners court, director of personnel, |
|
|
personnel board, or one or more other officials regardless of the |
|
|
name by which they are designated. |
|
|
Sec. 161.003. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS AND |
|
|
RECOGNITION. (a) A county may not be denied local control over |
|
|
wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, other terms and |
|
|
conditions of employment, or other state-mandated personnel |
|
|
issues. A public employer may enter into a mutual agreement |
|
|
governing these issues with an employee association recognized |
|
|
under this chapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for |
|
|
all covered employees that does not advocate the illegal right to |
|
|
strike by county employees. The applicable statutes, local orders |
|
|
or ordinances, and civil service rules govern a term or condition of |
|
|
employment on which the public employer and the association do not |
|
|
agree. |
|
|
(b) An agreement under this chapter must be written. |
|
|
(c) This chapter does not require the public employer and |
|
|
the recognized employee association to meet and confer or reach an |
|
|
agreement on any issue. |
|
|
(d) This chapter does not authorize an agreement regarding |
|
|
pension or pension-related matters governed by Subtitle F, Title 8, |
|
|
Government Code. |
|
|
Sec. 161.004. PETITION FOR RECOGNITION: ELECTION OR ACTION |
|
|
BY COMMISSIONERS COURT. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the |
|
|
date the commissioners court of a county receives from an employee |
|
|
association a petition signed by the majority of all covered |
|
|
employees of the county that requests recognition of the |
|
|
association as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all the |
|
|
covered employees of that employer, the commissioners court shall: |
|
|
(1) grant recognition of the association as requested |
|
|
in the petition and find that a public employer may meet and confer |
|
|
under this chapter without conducting an election by the voters in |
|
|
the county under Section 161.006; |
|
|
(2) defer granting recognition of the association and |
|
|
order an election by the voters in the county under Section 161.006 |
|
|
regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer under this |
|
|
chapter; or |
|
|
(3) order a certification election under Section |
|
|
161.005 to determine whether the association represents a majority |
|
|
of the covered employees of the county. |
|
|
(b) If the commissioners court of a county orders a |
|
|
certification election under Subsection (a)(3) and the employee |
|
|
association named in the petition is certified to represent a |
|
|
majority of the covered employees, the commissioners court shall, |
|
|
not later than the 30th day after the date that results of that |
|
|
election are certified: |
|
|
(1) grant recognition of the association as requested |
|
|
in the petition for recognition and find that a public employer may |
|
|
meet and confer under this chapter without conducting an election |
|
|
by the voters in the county under Section 161.006; or |
|
|
(2) defer granting recognition of the association and |
|
|
order an election by the voters in the county under Section 161.006 |
|
|
regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer under this |
|
|
chapter. |
|
|
Sec. 161.005. CERTIFICATION ELECTION. (a) Except as |
|
|
provided by Subsection (b), a certification election ordered under |
|
|
Section 161.004(a)(3) to determine whether an employee association |
|
|
represents a majority of the covered employees shall be conducted |
|
|
according to procedures agreeable to the parties. |
|
|
(b) If the parties are unable to agree on procedures for the |
|
|
certification election, either party may request the American |
|
|
Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify the |
|
|
results of the election. |
|
|
(c) The results of an election shall be certified if the |
|
|
employee association receives a majority of valid votes cast in the |
|
|
election. |
|
|
(d) Certification of the results of an election under this |
|
|
section resolves the question concerning representation. |
|
|
(e) The employee association is liable for the expenses of |
|
|
the certification election, except that if two or more associations |
|
|
seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent |
|
|
submit a petition signed by at least 30 percent of the employees |
|
|
eligible to sign the petition for recognition, all the associations |
|
|
named in any petition shall share equally the costs of the election. |
|
|
Sec. 161.006. ELECTION TO AUTHORIZE OPERATING UNDER THIS |
|
|
CHAPTER. (a) The commissioners court of a county that receives a |
|
|
petition for recognition under Section 161.004 may order an |
|
|
election to determine whether a public employer may meet and confer |
|
|
under this chapter. |
|
|
(b) An election ordered under this section must be held as |
|
|
part of the next regularly scheduled general election for county |
|
|
officials that is held after the date the commissioners court of the |
|
|
county orders the election and that allows sufficient time to |
|
|
prepare the ballot in compliance with other requirements of law. |
|
|
(c) The ballot for an election ordered under this section |
|
|
shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: |
|
|
"Authorizing __________ (name of the county) to operate under the |
|
|
state law allowing a county to meet and confer and make agreements |
|
|
with the association representing county employees as provided by |
|
|
state law, preserving the prohibition against strikes and organized |
|
|
work stoppages, and providing penalties for strikes and organized |
|
|
work stoppages." |
|
|
(d) An election called under this section must be held and |
|
|
the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the Election |
|
|
Code. |
|
|
(e) If an election authorized under this section is held, |
|
|
the county may operate under the other provisions of this chapter |
|
|
only if a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the |
|
|
proposition. |
|
|
(f) If an election authorized under this section is held, an |
|
|
employee association may not submit a petition for recognition to |
|
|
the commissioners court of the county under Section 161.004 before |
|
|
the second anniversary of the date of the election. |
|
|
Sec. 161.007. CHANGE OR MODIFICATION OF RECOGNITION. |
|
|
(a) The county employees may modify or change the recognition of |
|
|
the employee association granted under this chapter by filing with |
|
|
the commissioners court of the county a petition signed by a |
|
|
majority of all covered employees. |
|
|
(b) The commissioners court of the county may: |
|
|
(1) recognize the change or modification as provided |
|
|
by the petition; or |
|
|
(2) order a certification election in accordance with |
|
|
Section 161.005 regarding whether to do so. |
|
|
Sec. 161.008. STRIKES PROHIBITED. (a) A county employee |
|
|
may not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage against this |
|
|
state or the county. |
|
|
(b) A county employee who participates in a strike forfeits |
|
|
any civil service rights, reemployment rights, and other rights, |
|
|
benefits, or privileges the employee may have as a result of the |
|
|
employee's employment or prior employment with the county. |
|
|
(c) This section does not affect the right of a person to |
|
|
cease work if the person is not acting in concert with others in an |
|
|
organized work stoppage. |
|
|
Sec. 161.009. RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION. (a) A |
|
|
public employer that chooses to meet and confer under this chapter |
|
|
shall recognize an employee association that is recognized under |
|
|
Section 161.004 or 161.005 as the sole and exclusive bargaining |
|
|
agent for the covered employees of that employer. |
|
|
(b) The public employer shall recognize the employee |
|
|
association until recognition of the association is withdrawn, in |
|
|
accordance with Section 161.007, by a majority of the county |
|
|
employees eligible to sign a petition for recognition. |
|
|
Sec. 161.010. SELECTION OF BARGAINING AGENT; BARGAINING |
|
|
UNIT. (a) The commissioners court of a county shall select one or |
|
|
more persons to represent the public employer as its sole and |
|
|
exclusive bargaining agent to meet and confer on issues related to |
|
|
the wages, hours of employment, and other terms and conditions of |
|
|
employment of county employees. |
|
|
(b) An employee association may designate one or more |
|
|
persons to negotiate or bargain on the association's behalf. |
|
|
(c) A county's bargaining unit is composed of all the |
|
|
covered employees of the county. |
|
|
Sec. 161.011. PROTECTED RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES. A meet and |
|
|
confer agreement ratified under this chapter may not interfere with |
|
|
the right of a member of a bargaining unit to pursue allegations of |
|
|
discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin, |
|
|
religion, age, sex, or disability with the Texas Workforce |
|
|
Commission civil rights division or the federal Equal Employment |
|
|
Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action litigation. |
|
|
Sec. 161.012. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed meet and |
|
|
confer agreement and a document prepared and used by the county, |
|
|
including a public employer, in connection with the proposed |
|
|
agreement are available to the public under Chapter 552, Government |
|
|
Code, only after the agreement is ready to be ratified by the |
|
|
commissioners court of the county. |
|
|
(b) This section does not affect the application of |
|
|
Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared |
|
|
and used in connection with the agreement. |
|
|
Sec. 161.013. OPEN DELIBERATIONS. (a) Deliberations |
|
|
relating to a meet and confer agreement or proposed agreement under |
|
|
this chapter between representatives of the county and |
|
|
representatives of the employee association recognized under this |
|
|
chapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the covered |
|
|
employees must be open to the public and comply with state law. |
|
|
(b) Subsection (a) may not be construed to prohibit the |
|
|
representatives of the county or the representatives of the |
|
|
recognized employee association from conducting private caucuses |
|
|
that are not open to the public during meet and confer negotiations. |
|
|
Sec. 161.014. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF |
|
|
AGREEMENT. (a) An agreement under this chapter is enforceable and |
|
|
binding on the county, the recognized employee association, and the |
|
|
employees covered by the meet and confer agreement only if: |
|
|
(1) the commissioners court of the county ratified the |
|
|
agreement by a majority vote; and |
|
|
(2) the recognized employee association ratified the |
|
|
agreement by conducting a secret ballot election at which the |
|
|
majority of the covered employees who are members of the |
|
|
association favored ratifying the agreement. |
|
|
(b) A meet and confer agreement ratified as described by |
|
|
Subsection (a) may establish a procedure by which the parties agree |
|
|
to resolve disputes related to a right, duty, or obligation |
|
|
provided by the agreement, including binding arbitration on a |
|
|
question involving interpretation of the agreement. |
|
|
(c) A state district court of a judicial district in which |
|
|
the county is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve a dispute |
|
|
under the ratified meet and confer agreement on the application of a |
|
|
party to the agreement aggrieved by an action or omission of the |
|
|
other party when the action or omission is related to a right, duty, |
|
|
or obligation provided by the agreement. The court may issue proper |
|
|
restraining orders, temporary and permanent injunctions, or any |
|
|
other writ, order, or process, including contempt orders, that are |
|
|
appropriate to enforcing the agreement. |
|
|
Sec. 161.015. ACTION OR ELECTION TO REPEAL AUTHORIZATION TO |
|
|
OPERATE UNDER THIS CHAPTER. (a) The commissioners court of a |
|
|
county that granted recognition of an employee association under |
|
|
Section 161.004 without conducting an election under Section |
|
|
161.006 may withdraw recognition of the association by providing to |
|
|
the association not less than 90 days' written notice that: |
|
|
(1) the commissioners court is withdrawing |
|
|
recognition of the association; and |
|
|
(2) any agreement between the commissioners court and |
|
|
the association will not be renewed. |
|
|
(b) The commissioners court of a county that granted |
|
|
recognition of an employee association after conducting an election |
|
|
under Section 161.006 may order an election to determine whether a |
|
|
public employer may continue to meet and confer under this chapter. |
|
|
The commissioners court may not order an election under this |
|
|
subsection until the second anniversary of the date of the election |
|
|
under Section 161.006. |
|
|
(c) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held as |
|
|
part of the next regularly scheduled general election for county |
|
|
officers that occurs after the date the commissioners court of the |
|
|
county orders the election and that allows sufficient time to |
|
|
prepare the ballot in compliance with other requirements of law. |
|
|
(d) The ballot for an election ordered under Subsection (b) |
|
|
shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: |
|
|
"Authorizing __________ (name of the county) to continue to operate |
|
|
under the state law allowing a county to meet and confer and make |
|
|
agreements with the association representing county employees as |
|
|
provided by state law, preserving the prohibition against strikes |
|
|
and organized work stoppages, and providing penalties for strikes |
|
|
and organized work stoppages." |
|
|
(e) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held |
|
|
and the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the |
|
|
Election Code. |
|
|
(f) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, the |
|
|
county may continue to operate under this chapter only if a majority |
|
|
of the votes cast at the election favor the proposition. |
|
|
(g) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, an |
|
|
employee association may not submit a petition for recognition to |
|
|
the commissioners court of the county under Section 161.004 before |
|
|
the second anniversary of the date of the election. |
|
|
Sec. 161.016. ELECTION TO REPEAL AGREEMENT. (a) Not later |
|
|
than the 45th day after the date a meet and confer agreement is |
|
|
ratified by the commissioners court of the county and the |
|
|
recognized employee association, a petition calling for the repeal |
|
|
of the agreement signed by at least 10 percent of the qualified |
|
|
voters residing in the county may be presented to the person charged |
|
|
with ordering an election under Section 3.004, Election Code. |
|
|
(b) If a petition is presented under Subsection (a), the |
|
|
commissioners court of the county shall: |
|
|
(1) repeal the meet and confer agreement; or |
|
|
(2) certify that it is not repealing the agreement and |
|
|
call an election to determine whether to repeal the agreement. |
|
|
(c) An election called under Subsection (b)(2) may be held |
|
|
as part of the next regularly scheduled general election for the |
|
|
county or at a special election called by the commissioners court |
|
|
for that purpose. The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for |
|
|
or against the proposition: "Repeal the meet and confer agreement |
|
|
ratified on _____ (date agreement was ratified) by the __________ |
|
|
(name of the commissioners court of the county) and the _____ (name |
|
|
of the recognized employee association) concerning wages, |
|
|
salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, and other terms of |
|
|
employment." |
|
|
(d) If a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the |
|
|
repeal of the agreement, the agreement is void. |
|
|
Sec. 161.017. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS. |
|
|
A written meet and confer agreement ratified under this chapter |
|
|
preempts, during the term of the agreement and to the extent of any |
|
|
conflict, all contrary state statutes, local orders or ordinances, |
|
|
executive orders, civil service provisions, or rules adopted by |
|
|
this state or a political subdivision or agent of this state, |
|
|
including a civil service commission or county, other than a |
|
|
statute, order, ordinance, executive order, civil service |
|
|
provision, or rule regarding pensions or pension-related matters. |
|
|
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2009. |