82R10575 MCK-F

By: Cain H.B. No. 2954

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to eliminating longevity pay for state employees and judicial officers and authorizing merit pay for certain state employees.

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

SECTION 1. Section 30.024(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The governing board of the school may enter into an employment contract with any employee who provides, or supervises any employee who provides, direct and regular educational services to students or who provides other professional educational services. An employee employed under this subsection is not subject to Section 2252.901, Government Code. Each teacher shall be employed under a term contract as provided by Subchapter E, Chapter 21, or under a probationary contract as provided by Subchapter C, Chapter 21. An employee employed under a contract under this subsection:

(1) shall be paid in accordance with a salary structure adopted by the superintendent with the concurrence of the board that provides salaries, including assignment stipends, equal, on a daily-rate basis, to salaries, including assignment stipends, paid to employees employed in comparable positions by the Austin Independent School District;

(2) [is not eligible for longevity pay under Subchapter D, Chapter 659, Government Code, and] is not entitled to a paid day off from work on any national or state holiday;

(3) is eligible for sick leave accrual under the General Appropriations Act in each month in which at least one day of the month is included in the term of the employment contract and in any other month in which work is performed or paid leave is taken;

(4) may be permitted by the board to take paid time off from work during the term of the employment contract for personal reasons as designated by the board, but the paid time off may not exceed three days per contract term and may not be carried forward from one contract term to a subsequent contract term;

(5) may be permitted by the board to be paid the salary designated in the employment contract in 12 monthly installments; and

(6) shall work the hours established by the superintendent.

SECTION 2. Section 30.055(b), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The governing board of the school may enter into an employment contract with any employee who provides, or supervises any employee who provides, direct and regular educational services to students or who provides other professional, educational services. An employee employed under this subsection is not subject to Section 2252.901, Government Code. Each teacher shall be employed under a term contract as provided by Subchapter E, Chapter 21, or under a probationary contract as provided by Subchapter C, Chapter 21. An employee employed under a contract under this subsection:

(1) shall be paid in accordance with a salary structure adopted by the superintendent with the concurrence of the board that provides salaries, including assignment stipends, equal, on a daily-rate basis, to salaries, including assignment stipends, paid to employees employed in comparable positions by the Austin Independent School District;

(2) [is not eligible for longevity pay under Subchapter D, Chapter 659, Government Code, and] is not entitled to a paid day off from work on any national or state holiday;

(3) is eligible for sick leave accrual under the General Appropriations Act in each month in which at least one day of the month is included in the term of the employment contract and in any other month in which work is performed or paid leave is taken;

(4) may be permitted by the board to use a maximum of four days per contract term of accrued sick leave for personal reasons as designated by the board but the number of sick leave days not used for personal reasons during a contract term may not be carried forward to a subsequent contract term for use as personal leave;

(5) shall be paid the salary designated in the employment contract in 12 monthly installments if the employee chooses to be paid in that manner;

(6) shall work the hours established by the superintendent; and

(7) in addition to the contract salary received during the employee's first year of employment with the school and for the purpose of reducing a vacancy in a position that is difficult to fill because of the specialized nature and the limited number of qualified applicants, may be paid a salary supplement, not to exceed any salary supplement paid by the Austin Independent School District to an employee employed in a comparable position.

SECTION 3. Section 51.969(a), Education Code, as added by Chapter 889 (H.B. 2426), Acts of the 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The president of a medical and dental unit, as defined by Section 61.003, shall determine whether a nurse employed by the unit for patient care or clinical activities is a full-time employee for purposes of:

(1) employees group benefits under Chapter 1551 or 1601, Insurance Code; and

(2) leave under Chapter 661 or 662, Government Code[;

[(3) longevity pay under Section 659.043, Government Code].

SECTION 4. Section 57.48(k)(1), Education Code, is amended to read as follows:

(1) "Compensation" means base salary or wages, [longevity pay,] hazardous duty pay, benefit replacement pay, or an emolument provided in lieu of base salary or wages.

SECTION 5. Section 403.055(l)(1), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(1) "Compensation" means base salary or wages, [longevity pay,] hazardous duty pay, benefit replacement pay, or an emolument provided in lieu of base salary or wages.

SECTION 6. Section 659.003(a)(2), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(2) "Remuneration" includes salary, compensatory per diem, expense per diem, reimbursement for expenses, [longevity pay,] and fees.

SECTION 7. The heading to Subchapter D, Chapter 659, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

SUBCHAPTER D. MERIT [LONGEVITY] PAY

SECTION 8. Section 659.042, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 659.042. EXCLUSIONS. The following are not entitled to merit [longevity] pay under this subchapter:

(1) a member of the legislature;

(2) an individual who holds a statewide office that is normally filled by vote of the people[, except as provided by Section 659.0445];

(3) an independent contractor or an employee of an independent contractor;

(4) a temporary employee;

(5) an officer or employee of a public junior college;

(6) an academic employee of a state institution of higher education; or

(7) a state employee who retired from state employment on or after June 1, 2011 [2005], and who receives an annuity based wholly or partly on service as a state officer or state employee in a public retirement system, as defined by Section 802.001, that was credited to the state employee.

SECTION 9. Section 659.043, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 659.043. ELIGIBILITY [ENTITLEMENT]. [(a)] A state employee is eligible [entitled] to receive merit [longevity] pay in accordance with the merit pay policy adopted by the state agency employing the individual [to be included in the employee's monthly compensation if the employee:

[(1) is a full-time state employee on the first workday of the month;

[(2) is not on leave without pay on the first workday of the month; and

[(3) has accrued at least two years of lifetime service credit not later than the last day of the preceding month].

[(b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(2), an employee of the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired or the Texas School for the Deaf who is otherwise eligible for longevity pay is entitled to longevity pay for each month that the employee is in a full-time paid status on the first workday for which the school has work scheduled for the employee.]

SECTION 10. Section 659.044, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 659.044. AMOUNT APPROPRIATED FOR MERIT PAY; LIMITATIONS. (a) During a state fiscal year, a state agency may not be appropriated more than an amount equal to $200 times the number of full-time employees authorized for the state agency by the General Appropriations Act for merit pay under this subchapter. [Except as provided by Subsections (e) and (f) and Section 659.0445, the monthly amount of longevity pay is $20 for every two years of lifetime service credit.]

(b) A state agency may not award more than 10 percent of the amount appropriated to the state agency for merit pay during the state fiscal year to a single employee. [The amount increases when the 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 22nd, 24th, 26th, 28th, 30th, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 38th, 40th, and 42nd years of lifetime service credit are accrued.]

(c) The amount of merit pay that a state employee receives during a state fiscal year may not exceed 25 percent of the employee's base salary or wages [An increase is effective beginning with the month following the month in which the 4th, 6th, 8th, 10th, 12th, 14th, 16th, 18th, 20th, 22nd, 24th, 26th, 28th, 30th, 32nd, 34th, 36th, 38th, 40th, and 42nd years of lifetime service credit are accrued].

[(d) An employee may not receive from the state as longevity pay more than the amount determined under Subsection (a) or (e), as applicable, regardless of the number of positions the employee holds or the number of hours the employee works each week.

[(e) This subsection applies only to an employee of the Texas Youth Commission who is receiving less than the maximum amount of hazardous duty pay that the commission may pay to the employee under Section 659.303. The employee's monthly amount of longevity pay is the sum of:

[(1) $4 for each year of lifetime service credit, which may not include any period served in a hazardous duty position; and

[(2) the lesser of:

[(A) $4 for each year served in a hazardous duty position; or

[(B) the difference between:

[(i) $7 for each year served in a hazardous duty position; and

[(ii) the amount paid by the commission for each year served in a hazardous duty position.

[(f) A state employee who retired from state employment before June 1, 2005, and who returned to state employment before September 1, 2005, is entitled to receive longevity pay. The monthly amount of longevity pay the employee is entitled to receive equals the amount of longevity pay the employee was entitled to receive immediately before September 1, 2005. A state employee who retired from state employment before June 1, 2005, and who returns to state employment on or after September 1, 2005, is not entitled to receive longevity pay.]

SECTION 11. Section 659.045, Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 659.045. CHANGE IN STATUS. If a state employee ceases being a full-time state employee after the first workday of a month but otherwise qualifies for merit [longevity] pay, the employee's compensation for the month may include merit [includes full longevity] pay.

SECTION 12. Subchapter D, Chapter 659, Government Code, is amended by adding Section 659.0451 to read as follows:

Sec. 659.0451. MERIT PAY POLICY REQUIRED. Each state agency shall adopt a policy governing the agency's distribution of merit pay. The policy must include guidelines for determining when an employee's job performance warrants the distribution of merit pay.

SECTION 13. Section 661.034(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) Under this section, rate of compensation:

(1) includes an emolument in lieu of base pay for which the state employee was eligible on the last day of employment; and

(2) does not include [longevity or] hazardous duty pay.

SECTION 14. Section 661.063(c), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) Under this section, rate of compensation:

(1) includes an emolument in lieu of base pay for which the state employee was eligible; and

(2) does not include [longevity or] hazardous duty pay.

SECTION 15. Section 661.067(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) A state employee who remains on the payroll of a state agency under this section:

(1) is entitled to continue to receive all compensation and benefits that the state employee was receiving on the employee's last day of duty, including paid holidays[, longevity pay,] and hazardous duty pay;

(2) is entitled to a general salary increase for state employees that takes effect before the employee's accrued vacation time is exhausted; and

(3) may not use sick leave or accrue sick leave or vacation time.

SECTION 16. Section 661.904(b), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) The employee on an unpaid leave of absence during military duty described by Subsection (a) continues to accrue:

(1) [state service credit for purposes of longevity pay;

[(2)] vacation leave; and

(2) [(3)] sick leave.

SECTION 17. Section 661.909(f), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(f) Except for an employee who returns to state employment from military leave without pay under Section 661.904, a full calendar month during which an employee is on leave without pay is not counted in computing:

(1) [total state service for purposes related to longevity pay or to] the rate of accrual of vacation leave; or

(2) continuous state service for purposes related to merit salary provisions or vacation leave.

SECTION 18. Section 666.001(1), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(1) "Compensation" includes:

(A) base salary or wages;

(B) [longevity or] hazardous duty pay;

(C) benefit replacement pay;

(D) a payment for the balance of vacation and sick leave under Subchapter B, Chapter 661;

(E) a payment for the accrued balance of vacation time under Subchapter C, Chapter 661; and

(F) an emolument provided in lieu of base salary or wages.

SECTION 19. Section 811.001(7), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(7) "Compensation" means the base salary of a person; amounts that would otherwise qualify as compensation but are not received directly by a person pursuant to a good faith, voluntary, written salary reduction agreement in order to finance payments to a deferred compensation or tax sheltered annuity program specifically authorized by state law or to finance benefit options under a cafeteria plan qualifying under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (26 U.S.C. Section 125); [longevity and] hazardous duty pay; nonmonetary compensation, the value of which is determined by the retirement system; amounts by which a person's salary is reduced under a salary reduction agreement authorized by Chapter 610; and the benefit replacement pay a person earns under Subchapter H, Chapter 659, [as added by Chapter 417, Acts of the 74th Legislature, 1995,] except for the benefit replacement pay a person earns as a result of a payment made under Subchapter B, C, or D, Chapter 661. The term excludes overtime pay and a cleaning or clothing allowance.

SECTION 20. Section 814.203(c), Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) For the purposes of this section, "comparable pay" means 80 percent or more of the member's final state employment base pay before deductions for taxes or deferred compensation under state and federal law, including any [longevity or] hazardous duty pay, but excluding the monetary value of any insurance or retirement benefits. Comparable pay may be adjusted by the retirement system to account for adjustments in state pay rates.

SECTION 21. Section 301.355(a), Occupations Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) The president of a medical and dental unit, as defined by Section 61.003, Education Code, shall determine whether a nurse who is employed by the unit for practice in patient care or in clinical activities is a full-time employee for purposes of:

(1) employees group benefits under Chapter 1551 or 1601, Insurance Code; and

(2) leave under Chapter 661 or 662, Government Code[; and

[(3) longevity pay under Section 659.043, Government Code].

SECTION 22. The following sections of the Government Code are repealed:

(1) Section 659.041(1);

(2) Section 659.0411;

(3) Section 659.0445; and

(4) Section 659.046.

SECTION 23. The change in law made by this Act applies beginning with the first full pay period that begins on or after September 1, 2011.

SECTION 24. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.