82R8216 SLB-F
 
  By: Whitmire S.B. No. 1268
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the right of sheriff's departments in certain counties
  to maintain local control over wages, hours, and other terms and
  conditions of employment.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 158, Local Government Code, is amended
  by adding Subchapter C to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER C. LOCAL CONTROL OVER SHERIFF'S DEPARTMENT
  EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN CERTAIN COUNTIES
         Sec. 158.101.  APPLICABILITY.  This subchapter applies only
  to a county with a population of more than four million.
         Sec. 158.102.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Covered employee" means an employee of a county
  sheriff's department, other than an elected sheriff or other
  employee who is exempt under Section 158.013 or 158.038.
               (2)  "Employee association" means an organization in
  which county employees pay dues to participate and that exists for
  the purpose, wholly or partly, of dealing with one or more
  employers, whether public or private, concerning grievances, labor
  disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions
  of work affecting covered employees.
               (3)  "Public employer" means any county sheriff's
  department that is required to establish the wages, salaries, rates
  of pay, hours, working conditions, and other terms and conditions
  of employment of employees of the sheriff's department. The term
  may include, under appropriate circumstances, a county judge,
  county commissioner, sheriff, commissioners court, director of
  personnel, personnel board, or one or more other officials
  regardless of the name by which they are designated.
         Sec. 158.103.  GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS AND
  RECOGNITION.  (a)  A public employer may not be denied local control
  over wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, other terms and
  conditions of employment, or other state-mandated personnel
  issues. A public employer may enter into a mutual agreement
  governing these issues with an employee association recognized
  under this subchapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent
  for all covered employees that does not advocate the illegal right
  to strike by county employees.  The applicable statutes, local
  ordinances, and civil service rules govern a term or condition of
  employment on which the public employer and the association do not
  agree.
         (b)  An agreement under this subchapter must be written.
         (c)  This subchapter does not require the public employer and
  the recognized employee association to meet and confer on any issue
  or reach an agreement on any issue.
         Sec. 158.104.  PETITION FOR RECOGNITION:  ELECTION OR ACTION
  BY COMMISSIONERS COURT.  (a)  Not later than the 30th day after the
  date the commissioners court of a county receives from an employee
  association a petition signed by the majority of all covered
  employees that requests recognition of the association as the sole
  and exclusive bargaining agent for all the covered employees, the
  commissioners court shall:
               (1)  grant recognition of the association as requested
  in the petition and find that a public employer may meet and confer
  under this subchapter without conducting an election by the voters
  in the county under Section 158.106;
               (2)  defer granting recognition of the association and
  order an election by the voters in the county under Section 158.106
  regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer under this
  subchapter; or
               (3)  order a certification election under Section
  158.105 to determine whether the association represents a majority
  of the covered employees.
         (b)  If the commissioners court of a county orders a
  certification election under Subsection (a)(3) and the employee
  association named in the petition is certified to represent a
  majority of the covered employees, the commissioners court shall,
  not later than the 30th day after the date that results of that
  election are certified:
               (1)  grant recognition of the association as requested
  in the petition for recognition and find that a public employer may
  meet and confer under this subchapter without conducting an
  election by the voters in the county under Section 158.106; or
               (2)  defer granting recognition of the association and
  order an election by the voters in the county under Section 158.106
  regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer under this
  subchapter.
         Sec. 158.105.  CERTIFICATION ELECTION.  (a)  Except as
  provided by Subsection (b), a certification election ordered under
  Section 158.104(a)(3) to determine whether an employee association
  represents a majority of the covered employees shall be conducted
  according to procedures agreeable to the parties.
         (b)  If the parties are unable to agree on procedures for the
  certification election, either party may request the American
  Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify the
  results of the election.
         (c)  The results of an election shall be certified if the
  employee association receives a majority of the valid votes cast in
  the election.
         (d)  Certification of the results of an election under this
  section resolves the question concerning representation.
         (e)  The employee association is liable for the expenses of
  the certification election, except that if two or more associations
  seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent
  submit a petition signed by at least 30 percent of the employees
  eligible to sign the petition for recognition, all the associations
  named in any petition shall share equally the costs of the election.
         Sec. 158.106.  ELECTION TO AUTHORIZE OPERATING UNDER THIS
  SUBCHAPTER. (a)  A commissioners court that receives a petition for
  recognition under Section 158.104 may order an election to
  determine whether a public employer may meet and confer under this
  subchapter.
         (b)  An election ordered under this section must be held as
  part of the next regularly scheduled general election for county
  officials that is held after the date the commissioners court
  orders the election and that allows sufficient time to prepare the
  ballot in compliance with other requirements of law.
         (c)  The ballot for an election ordered under this section
  shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:  
  "Authorizing __________ (name of the county) to operate under the
  state law allowing a county to meet and confer and make agreements
  with the association representing employees of the county sheriff's
  department as provided by state law, preserving the prohibition
  against strikes and organized work stoppages, and providing
  penalties for strikes and organized work stoppages."
         (d)  An election called under this section must be held and
  the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the Election
  Code.
         (e)  If an election authorized under this section is held,
  the county may operate under the other provisions of this
  subchapter only if a majority of the votes cast at the election
  favor the proposition.
         (f)  If an election authorized under this section is held, an
  employee association may not submit a petition for recognition to
  the commissioners court under Section 158.104 before the second
  anniversary of the date of the election.
         Sec. 158.107.  CHANGE OR MODIFICATION OF RECOGNITION.  (a)  
  Covered employees may modify, change, or withdraw the recognition
  of the employee association granted under this subchapter by filing
  with the commissioners court a petition signed by a majority of all
  covered employees.
         (b)  The commissioners court may:
               (1)  recognize the modification, change, or withdrawal
  as provided by the petition; or
               (2)  order a certification election in accordance with
  Section 158.105 regarding whether to do so.
         Sec. 158.108.  STRIKES PROHIBITED.  (a)  A covered employee
  may not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage against this
  state or the county.
         (b)  A covered employee who participates in a strike forfeits
  any civil service rights, reemployment rights, and other rights,
  benefits, or privileges the employee may have as a result of the
  employee's employment or prior employment with the county.
         (c)  This section does not affect the right of a person to
  cease work if the person is not acting in concert with others in an
  organized work stoppage.
         Sec. 158.109.  RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION.  (a)  A
  public employer in a county that chooses to meet and confer under
  this subchapter shall recognize an association that is recognized
  under Section 158.104 or 158.105 as the sole and exclusive
  bargaining agent for the covered employees.
         (b)  The public employer shall recognize the employee
  association until recognition of the association is withdrawn, in
  accordance with Section 158.107, by a majority of the covered
  employees eligible to sign a petition for recognition.
         Sec. 158.110.  SELECTION OF BARGAINING AGENT; BARGAINING
  UNIT.  (a)  The public employer's chief executive officer or the
  chief executive officer's designee shall select one or more persons
  to represent the public employer as its sole and exclusive
  bargaining agent to meet and confer on issues related to the wages,
  hours of employment, and other terms and conditions of employment
  of covered employees.
         (b)  An employee association may designate one or more
  persons to negotiate or bargain on the association's behalf.
         (c)  A county's bargaining unit is composed of all the
  covered employees.
         Sec. 158.111.  PROTECTED RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES.  A meet and
  confer agreement ratified under this subchapter may not interfere
  with the right of a covered employee to pursue allegations of
  discrimination based on race, creed, color, national origin,
  religion, age, sex, or disability with the Texas Workforce
  Commission civil rights division or the federal Equal Employment
  Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action litigation.
         Sec. 158.112.  OPEN RECORDS.  (a) A proposed meet and confer
  agreement and a document prepared and used by the county, including
  a public employer, in connection with the proposed agreement are
  available to the public under Chapter 552, Government Code, only
  after the agreement is ready to be ratified by the commissioners
  court of the county.
         (b)  This section does not affect the application of
  Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
  and used in connection with the agreement.
         Sec. 158.113.  OPEN DELIBERATIONS.  (a)  Deliberations
  relating to a meet and confer agreement or proposed agreement under
  this subchapter between representatives of the public employer and
  representatives of the employee association recognized under this
  subchapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the
  covered employees must be open to the public and comply with state
  law.
         (b)  Subsection (a) may not be construed to prohibit the
  representatives of the public employer or the representatives of
  the recognized employee association from conducting private
  caucuses that are not open to the public during meet and confer
  negotiations.
         Sec. 158.114.  RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF
  AGREEMENT.  (a) An agreement under this subchapter is enforceable
  and binding on the public employer, the recognized employee
  association, and the employees covered by the meet and confer
  agreement only if:
               (1)  the commissioners court ratified the agreement by
  a majority vote; and
               (2)  the recognized employee association ratified the
  agreement by conducting a secret ballot election at which the
  majority of the members of the employee association who voted in the
  election favored ratifying the agreement.
         (b)  A meet and confer agreement ratified as described by
  Subsection (a) may establish a procedure by which the parties agree
  to resolve disputes related to a right, duty, or obligation
  provided by the agreement, including binding arbitration on a
  question involving interpretation of the agreement.
         (c)  A state district court of a judicial district in which
  the county is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve a dispute
  under the ratified meet and confer agreement on the application of a
  party to the agreement aggrieved by an action or omission of the
  other party when the action or omission is related to a right, duty,
  or obligation provided by the agreement. The court may issue proper
  restraining orders, temporary and permanent injunctions, or any
  other writ, order, or process, including contempt orders, that are
  appropriate to enforcing the agreement.
         Sec. 158.115.  ACTION OR ELECTION TO REPEAL AUTHORIZATION TO
  OPERATE UNDER THIS SUBCHAPTER.  (a) The commissioners court of a
  county that granted recognition of an employee association under
  Section 158.104 without conducting an election under Section
  158.106 may withdraw recognition of the association by providing to
  the association not less than 90 days' written notice that:
               (1)  the commissioners court is withdrawing
  recognition of the association; and
               (2)  any agreement between the commissioners court and
  the association will not be renewed.
         (b)  The commissioners court that granted recognition of an
  employee association after conducting an election under Section
  158.106 may order an election to determine whether a public
  employer may continue to meet and confer under this subchapter. The
  commissioners court may not order an election under this subsection
  until the second anniversary of the date of the election under
  Section 158.106.
         (c)  An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held as
  part of the next regularly scheduled general election for county
  officers that occurs after the date the commissioners court orders
  the election and that allows sufficient time to prepare the ballot
  in compliance with other requirements of law.
         (d)  The ballot for an election ordered under Subsection (b)
  shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:
  "Authorizing __________ (name of the county) to continue to operate
  under the state law allowing a county to meet and confer and make
  agreements with the association representing employees of the
  county sheriff's department as provided by state law, preserving
  the prohibition against strikes and organized work stoppages, and
  providing penalties for strikes and organized work stoppages."
         (e)  An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held
  and the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the
  Election Code.
         (f)  If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, the
  county may continue to operate under this subchapter only if a
  majority of the votes cast at the election favor the proposition.
         (g)  If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, an
  employee association may not submit a petition for recognition to
  the commissioners court under Section 158.104 before the second
  anniversary of the date of the election.
         Sec. 158.116.  ELECTION TO REPEAL AGREEMENT.  (a) Not later
  than the 45th day after the date a meet and confer agreement is
  ratified by the commissioners court and the recognized employee
  association, a petition calling for the repeal of the agreement
  signed by at least 10 percent of the qualified voters residing in
  the county may be presented to the person charged with ordering an
  election under Section 3.004, Election Code.
         (b)  If a petition is presented under Subsection (a), the
  commissioners court shall:
               (1)  repeal the meet and confer agreement; or
               (2)  certify that it is not repealing the agreement and
  call an election to determine whether to repeal the agreement.
         (c)  An election called under Subsection (b)(2) may be held
  as part of the next regularly scheduled general election for the
  county or at a special election called by the commissioners court
  for that purpose. The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for
  or against the proposition:  "Repeal the meet and confer agreement
  ratified on _____ (date agreement was ratified) by the __________
  (name of the commissioners court of the county) and the _____ (name
  of the recognized county employee association) concerning wages,
  salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, and other terms of
  employment."
         (d)  If a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the
  repeal of the agreement, the agreement is void.
         Sec. 158.117.  AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
  A written meet and confer agreement ratified under this subchapter
  preempts, during the term of the agreement and to the extent of any
  conflict, all contrary state statutes, local ordinances, executive
  orders, civil service provisions, or rules adopted by this state or
  a political subdivision or agent of this state, including a
  personnel board or civil service commission, other than a statute,
  ordinance, executive order, civil service provision, or rule
  regarding pensions or pension-related matters.
         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, 2011.