By: West S.B. No. 1946
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to business leave time accounts for firefighter employee
  organizations in certain municipalities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Subchapter A, Chapter 142, Local Government
  Code, is amended by adding Section 142.0135 to read as follows:
         Sec. 142.0135.  BUSINESS LEAVE TIME ACCOUNT FOR FIREFIGHTERS
  IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES.  (a)  This section applies only to
  firefighters employed by a municipality with a population of one
  million or more that has not adopted Chapter 174 and to which
  Chapter 143 does not apply.
         (b)  In this section:
               (1)  "Business leave" means leave taken for the purpose
  of attending to the business of an employee organization.
               (2)  "Employee organization" includes:
                     (A)  the Dallas Fire Fighters Association;
                     (B)  the Dallas Black Fire Fighters Association;
  and
                     (C)  the Dallas Hispanic Firefighters
  Association.
         (c)  A firefighter who is a member of an employee
  organization may donate not more than one hour for each quarter of
  accumulated leave time to the business leave time account of the
  employee organization to which the firefighter belongs.  The
  municipality shall establish and maintain a separate business leave
  time account for each employee organization that has approved or
  ratified the use of business leave time by its members under this
  section.
         (d)  Only a firefighter who is a member of an employee
  organization may use for business leave purposes the time donated
  to the account of the employee organization.  A firefighter may use
  for business leave purposes the time donated under this section
  without receiving a reduction in salary and without reimbursing the
  municipality.
         (e)  A request to use for business leave purposes the time in
  an employee organization's time account must be in writing and be
  submitted to the municipality by the president or the equivalent
  officer of the employee organization or by that officer's designee.
         (f)  The municipality shall grant a request for business
  leave that complies with Subsection (e) unless:
               (1)  denial of the request is necessary because of an
  emergency; or
               (2)  a grant of the request will result in having an
  insufficient number of firefighters to carry out the normal
  functions of the municipality.
         (g)  The municipality shall account for the time donated to
  each account and used from each account.  The municipality shall
  credit and debit an account on an hour-for-hour basis regardless of
  the cash value of the time donated or used.
         (h)  An employee organization may not use for business leave
  purposes more than 4,000 hours from its business leave time account
  under this section in a calendar year unless the municipality
  approves the use of hours in excess of 4,000.  This subsection does
  not prevent an employee organization from accumulating more than
  4,000 hours, but only addresses the total number of donated hours
  that an employee organization may use in any calendar year.
         (i)  The use of business leave by a firefighter under this
  section is not a break in service for any purpose and is treated as
  any other paid leave.
         SECTION 2.  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, 2009.