82R1255 KSD-F

By: Raymond H.B. No. 158

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to leave for junior college district or university system employees who are physically assaulted while on duty.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Subchapter Z, Chapter 51, Education Code, is amended by adding Section 51.9611 to read as follows:

Sec. 51.9611. ASSAULT LEAVE FOR EMPLOYEES OF JUNIOR COLLEGE DISTRICT OR UNIVERSITY SYSTEM. (a) In this section, "university system" has the meaning assigned by Section 61.003.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (f), an employee of a junior college district or university system, including an employee of a component institution of a university system, who is physically assaulted during the performance of the employee's regular duties is entitled to the number of days of paid leave necessary for the employee to recuperate from any physical injury that results from the assault. Notwithstanding any other law, during the period the employee is assigned to assault leave, the employee is entitled to be paid at a rate equal to the employee's regular rate of pay, except that the amount of pay must be reduced by the amount of any workers' compensation insurance benefits to which the employee is entitled to compensate the employee for employee pay lost as a result of the assault.

(c) On the employee's submission of a claim for assault leave, the junior college district or university system shall immediately assign the employee to assault leave. After an investigation of the employee's claim and any determination that the employee was not entitled to all or part of the assault leave taken, the district or system may change the employee's assault leave status and charge the assault leave to which the employee was not entitled against:

(1) any of the employee's accrued leave; or

(2) the employee's pay if the employee does not have sufficient accrued leave.

(d) For purposes of this section, an employee is physically assaulted if the person engaging in the conduct causing injury to the employee:

(1) could be prosecuted for assault for that conduct; or

(2) could not be prosecuted for assault for that conduct only because the person's age or mental capacity makes the person a nonresponsible person for purposes of criminal liability.

(e) Leave provided under this section is in addition to any other leave provided to an employee under a policy adopted under Section 51.961 or otherwise provided to an employee. Except as provided by Subsection (c)(1), leave taken under this section may not be deducted from any accrued leave.

(f) The leave period provided by this section may not extend beyond the earlier of:

(1) the date the employee's employment with the district or system is suspended or ends; or

(2) the second anniversary of the date of the assault.

(g) A junior college district or university system is entitled to reimbursement for the cost of paid leave provided under this section. The Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board shall reimburse the district or system in the appropriate amount from appropriations available for that purpose. If a district or system receives reimbursement under this subsection for leave to which the employee was not entitled, as determined under Subsection (c), the district or system shall reimburse the coordinating board for the amount received for that leave.

SECTION 2. Section 51.9611, Education Code, as added by this Act, applies only to leave based on conduct that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. Leave based on conduct that occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect on the date the conduct occurred, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 3. 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, 2011.