BILL ANALYSIS

 

 

Senate Research Center	S.B. 1434
85R8629 PAM-D	By: Zaffirini
	Intergovernmental Relations
	3/24/2017
	As Filed

 

 

 

AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

In each Texas county that has a county auditor, the auditor is appointed and overseen by the district judge or judges with jurisdiction in the county. These judges (or judge) also are responsible for setting the salary of the auditor and the assistant auditors. Some counties have adopted official wage and position classification plans to establish a range of acceptable salaries for county employees. These plans promote consistency, prevent internal conflicts among employees regarding salaries, and aid in the budgeting process. Because their salaries are set by district judges, however, county auditors and assistant auditors are not subject to these county-adopted plans. This can create an undesirable situation where the salaries of almost all county employees adhere to the county's adopted pay scale, except those of a select few whose salaries are set by the district judges. This can not only cause problems during the county budgeting process and raise issues of fairness, but also can create a discrepancy within the auditor's office. In one county, for example, the salaries of the county auditor and assistant auditors are not set according to the county's wage and position classification plan, while the salaries of all other employees of the auditor's office are bound by the plan.

 

S.B. 1434 maintains district judges' responsibility to set the compensation of county auditors and assistant county auditors, but requires that the compensation be consistent with a county's adopted wage and classification pay plan.

 

As proposed, S.B. 1434 amends current law relating to compensation of county auditors and assistant auditors.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

This bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, institution, or agency.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1. Amends Section 152.905, Local Government Code, by adding Subsection (e), to prohibit the district judge or judges, in setting the compensation for a county auditor or assistant auditor considered at a hearing under this section, from setting the amount of compensation in an amount that is inconsistent with a wage and position classification plan adopted by the county.

 

SECTION 2. Requires the district judge or judges, in subsequent hearings setting the person's annual compensation, without reducing the person's annual compensation, to align the person's compensation with the wage and position classification plan adopted by the county for a county auditor or assistant auditor appointed before the effective date of this Act whose compensation does not conform to the person's position classification as provided by a wage and position classification plan adopted by the county that the person serves.

 

SECTION 3. Effective date: September 1, 2017.