BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3293

By: Johnson, Julie

Urban Affairs

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

It has been suggested that the negotiation process regarding the business leave time account for the Dallas firefighter employee organization is ineffective and that the organization cannot collectively pool vacation and compensatory time from the organization's members to allow the members to attend to the business of the employee organization without losing pay. C.S.H.B. 3293 seeks to address these issues by providing for two methods by which donations to the business leave time account of an employee organization by its members may be authorized for Dallas firefighters.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 3293 amends the Local Government Code to set out two methods by which donations to the business leave time account of an employee organization by its members may be authorized for firefighters employed by a municipality with a population of one million or more that has not adopted The Fire and Police Employee Relations Act and to which the fire fighters' and police officers' civil service law does not apply. The bill establishes that, if the majority of the membership of the employee organization has not affirmatively voted to require contributions by the employee organization's members to its business leave time account, a firefighter must authorize the donation in writing on a form provided by the employee organization and approved by the municipality and establishes that the municipality must, after receiving the signed authorization on an approved form, transfer donated time to the account monthly until the municipality receives the firefighter's written revocation of the authorization. If the majority of the membership of the employee organization has affirmatively voted to require contributions by the employee organization's members to its business leave time account:

·         the municipality is required to transfer donated time to the employee organization's business leave time account from the accumulated vacation or compensatory time of each firefighter who is a member of the employee organization in the amount approved by vote of the employee organization not to exceed the allowed amount;

·         the municipality is required to transfer the donated time to the account monthly beginning with the first calendar month that begins after the date of the employee organization vote requiring contributions; and

·         a firefighter who is a member of the employee organization, each year during the period beginning on the 60th day before the anniversary of the first day of the first calendar month in which donations were first transferred to the business leave time account of the employee organization and ending on the 30th day before that anniversary, may inform the municipality in writing on a form provided by the employee organization and approved by the municipality that the firefighter chooses to not donate time to the account during the 12-month period beginning with that anniversary.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2019.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL AND SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 3293 differs from the original in minor or nonsubstantive ways by conforming to certain bill drafting conventions.