82R3392 JTS-F
 
  By: Anchia H.B. No. 1057
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to business leave time for certain municipal firefighters
  and police officers.
         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 142.014 to read as follows:
         Sec. 142.014.  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)  If the constitution and bylaws of an employee
  organization authorize the employee organization to participate in
  the establishment and maintenance of a business leave time account
  as provided by this section, a firefighter who is a member of an
  employee organization may donate not more than one hour of
  accumulated leave time for each calendar quarter 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 and has a specific
  provision in the constitution and bylaws of that employee
  organization.
         (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.  Sections 142.013(b) and (c), Local Government
  Code, are amended to read as follows:
         (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 Texas Peace Officers Association;
                     (B)  the Dallas Police Association;
                     (C)  the Dallas Fraternal Order of Police; [and]
                     (D)  the Latino Peace Officers Association; and
                     (E)  the Black Police Association of Greater
  Dallas.
         (c)  If the constitution and bylaws of an employee
  organization authorize the employee organization to participate in
  the establishment and maintenance of a business leave time account
  as provided by this section, a [A] police officer may donate not
  more than two hours for each month of accumulated vacation or
  compensatory time to the business leave time account of the [an]
  employee organization. The municipality shall establish and
  maintain a business leave time account for each employee
  organization.
         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.