| TO: | Honorable José Menéndez, Chair, House Committee on Defense & Veterans' Affairs |
| FROM: | Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | HB418 by Farias (Relating to leave for certain veterans returning to state employment. ), Committee Report 1st House, Substituted |
The bill would give certain state employees who are reemployed following military service up to 15 days of leave in the year following their reemployment, with another 10 days of leave in following years. The leave would not reduce their other sources of leave and may be used for matters relating to their military service or reintegration into civilian life, including medical or mental health care or employee assistance counseling. Additional leave could be granted by the administrative head of the affected agency.
To be eligible for the leave, the employee must be a member of the reserves of the armed forces of the United States, including the National Guard. They must be ordered to active duty for 180 or more days during a period of war or certain ongoing conflicts, and receive an honorable or general discharge from that duty.
The LBB estimates that relatively few state employees would be in a position to make use of this leave. The agency that likely employs the most veterans, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, anticipates that the bill would not have a significant fiscal impact.
| Source Agencies: | 696 Department of Criminal Justice, 403 Veterans Commission
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| LBB Staff: | UP, KJo, SD, WM
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