82R1475 NAJ-F

By: Gallegos S.B. No. 344

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to municipal civil service for firefighters and police officers.

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

SECTION 1. Section 143.008(c), Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) The commission shall adopt rules that prescribe cause for disciplinary action against [removal or suspension of] a fire fighter or police officer. The rules must comply with the grounds for disciplinary action [removal] prescribed by Section 143.051.

SECTION 2. Sections 143.014(a) and (c), Local Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

(a) This section does not apply to:

(1) a municipality with a population of 1.5 million or more; or

(2) a municipality that has adopted Chapter 174 (The Fire and Police Employee Relations Act), unless the municipality specifically adopts the appointment procedure prescribed by this section through the collective bargaining process.

(c) In a police department, the total number of persons appointed to the classification immediately below that of department head may not exceed the total number of persons, plus one, serving in that classification on January 1, 1983. In a fire department in a municipality having fewer than 300 certified fire fighters, the department head may appoint not more than one person to the classification immediately below that of department head. If a municipality has 300 to 600 certified fire fighters, the department head may appoint two persons to the classification. If a municipality has more than 600 certified fire fighters, the department head may appoint three persons to the classification. [This subsection does not apply to a municipality that has adopted The Fire and Police Employee Relations Act (Article 5154c-1, Vernon's Texas Civil Statutes) unless the municipality specifically adopts the appointment procedure prescribed by this subsection through the collective bargaining process.]

SECTION 3. Section 143.038(b), Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(b) A [The department head may designate a] person from the next lower classification who is assigned to temporarily fill a position in a higher classification[. The designated person] is entitled to the base salary of the higher position plus the person's own longevity pay, [or] seniority pay, educational incentive pay, and certification pay during the time the person performs the duties.

SECTION 4. Section 143.041(c), Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) In addition to the base salary, each fire fighter or police officer is entitled to each of the following types of pay, if applicable:

(1) longevity [or seniority] pay as authorized by Section 141.032;

(2) educational incentive pay as authorized by Section 143.044;

(3) assignment pay as authorized by Sections 143.042 and 143.043;

(4) certification pay as authorized by Section 143.044;

(5) shift differential pay as authorized by Section 143.047; [and]

(6) fitness incentive pay as authorized by Section 143.044; and

(7) seniority pay as authorized by Section 143.048.

SECTION 5. Sections 143.044(b) and (c), Local Government Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b) If each fire fighter or police officer in a municipality is afforded an opportunity to qualify for certification, the municipality's governing body may authorize certification pay to:

(1) those fire fighters who meet the requirements for certification set by the Texas Commission on Fire Protection;

(2) [Commission on Fire Protection Personnel Standards and Education or for] those police officers who meet the requirements for certification set by the Commission on Law Enforcement Officer Standards and Education; or

(3) those fire fighters or police officers who meet the requirements for certification set by the Department of State Health Services.

(c) A municipality's governing body may authorize educational incentive pay for those fire fighters or police officers who successfully complete college course or degree requirements established by the municipality's governing body as qualifying for educational incentive pay. Educational incentive pay is authorized only if [If] the criteria for educational incentive pay are clearly established[, are] in writing[,] and the educational incentive pay is paid [are applied equally] to each fire fighter or police officer in a municipality who meets the course or degree requirements established by the municipality's governing body [criteria, the municipality's governing body may authorize educational incentive pay for each fire fighter or police officer who has successfully completed courses at an accredited college or university].

SECTION 6. Subchapter C, Chapter 143, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Section 143.048 to read as follows:

Sec. 143.048. SENIORITY PAY. (a) This section does not apply to a municipality with a population of 1.5 million or more.

(b) A municipality's governing body may authorize seniority pay for fire fighters and police officers based on length of service in the fire department or police department, length of service in the fire fighter's or police officer's current classification, or both.

(c) The municipality shall pay the seniority pay in a neutral and nondiscriminatory manner. All fire fighters or police officers in the same department or classification must receive the same seniority pay for the same level of seniority.

(d) A compensation plan that includes seniority pay under this section must provide all fire fighters and police officers with equal treatment of their seniority.

(e) This section does not prohibit a municipality from changing the municipality's existing compensation plan for fire fighters or police officers.

SECTION 7. Section 143.051, Local Government Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 143.051. CAUSE FOR DISCIPLINARY ACTION [REMOVAL OR SUSPENSION]. (a) In this section, "disciplinary action" means the indefinite suspension or dismissal, temporary suspension, or demotion of a fire fighter or police officer because of any type of misconduct or poor performance, including the failure to maintain a certification or fulfill a requirement imposed as a condition of employment.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (c), disciplinary action may not be taken against a fire fighter or police officer who has completed the probationary period described by Section 143.027.

(c) A commission rule prescribing cause for disciplinary action against [removal or suspension of] a fire fighter or police officer is not valid unless it involves one or more of the following grounds:

(1) conviction of a felony or other crime involving moral turpitude;

(2) violations of a municipal charter provision;

(3) acts of incompetency;

(4) neglect of duty;

(5) discourtesy to the public or to a fellow employee while the fire fighter or police officer is in the line of duty;

(6) acts showing lack of good moral character;

(7) drinking intoxicants while on duty or intoxication while off duty;

(8) conduct prejudicial to good order;

(9) refusal or neglect to pay just debts;

(10) absence without leave;

(11) shirking duty or cowardice at fires, if applicable; [or]

(12) violation of an applicable fire or police department rule or special order;

(13) failure to maintain a certification or fulfill a requirement imposed as a condition of employment; or

(14) consistent poor performance.

SECTION 8. Section 143.089(g), Local Government Code, is repealed.

SECTION 9. The change in law made by this Act to Section 143.051, Local Government Code, applies only to a ground for disciplinary action that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. A ground for removal or suspension that occurs before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it existed immediately before the effective date of this Act, and that law is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 10. 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.