86R10981 MP-F
 
  By: Walle H.B. No. 4308
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to conditions of employment for an employee of certain
  sheriff's or constable's departments.
         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 OF SHERIFF'S OR CONSTABLE'S DEPARTMENT
  EMPLOYMENT MATTERS
         Sec. 158.071.  APPLICABILITY.  This subchapter applies only
  to a county with a population of 3.3 million or more and in which
  Chapter 174 has not been adopted.
         Sec. 158.072.  DEFINITIONS.  In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Association" means an organization in which
  employees of a sheriff's or constable's department participate and
  that exists, wholly or partly, to deal with a public employer
  regarding grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, hours of
  work, or working conditions affecting the employees.
               (2)  "Public employer" means a sheriff's or constable's
  department, a county, or an agency, board, commission, or political
  subdivision controlled by a county that is required to establish
  wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, working conditions,
  and other terms of employment.
         Sec. 158.073.  GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS,
  RECOGNITION, AND STRIKES.  (a) A county may not be denied local
  control over the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work,
  working conditions, other terms of employment, or other
  state-mandated personnel issues, to the extent the public employer
  and the association recognized as the bargaining agent under
  Section 158.074 agree under this subchapter. Applicable statutes,
  local orders, ordinances, and civil service rules and regulations
  apply to an issue not governed by an agreement.
         (b)  This subchapter does not require a public employer or a
  recognized association to meet and confer on any issue or reach an
  agreement.
         (c)  A public employer and a recognized association may meet
  and confer only if the association does not advocate the illegal
  right to strike by public employees.
         (d)  An employee of a sheriff's or constable's department may
  not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage.  An employee who
  participates in a strike forfeits all rights, benefits, or
  privileges the employee may have as a result of the person's
  employment or prior employment with the sheriff's department or a
  constable's department, including any civil service or
  reemployment right. This subsection 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. 158.074.  RECOGNITION OF ASSOCIATION.  (a) In a county
  that chooses to meet and confer under this subchapter, the public
  employer shall recognize an association submitting a petition for
  recognition signed by a majority of the employees of the sheriff's
  department or a constable's department, excluding the sheriff or
  constable and persons the sheriff or constable has designated as
  exempt, as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the
  employees of the sheriff's or constable's department, excluding the
  sheriff or constable and persons the sheriff or constable has
  designated as exempt, until recognition of the association is
  withdrawn by a majority of the employees eligible to sign a petition
  for recognition.
         (b)  Whether an association represents a majority of covered
  employees must be resolved by an election conducted according to
  procedures agreeable to the parties. If the parties are unable to
  agree on election procedures, either party may request the American
  Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify the
  results. Certification of the results of an election under this
  subsection resolves the question concerning representation. An
  association seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive
  bargaining agent is liable for the expenses of the election, except
  that if two or more associations seeking recognition submit
  petitions signed by a majority of the employees eligible to sign the
  petition, the associations shall share equally the costs of the
  election.
         Sec. 158.075.  OPEN RECORDS.  (a) A proposed agreement or
  document prepared and used by a sheriff's or constable's department
  in connection with a proposed agreement shall be available to the
  public under Chapter 552, Government Code, only after the agreement
  is ratified by the commissioners court under Section 158.076.
         (b)  This section does not affect the application of
  Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
  and used by a sheriff's or constable's department in connection with
  an agreement.
         Sec. 158.076.  RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF
  AGREEMENT.  (a) An agreement under this subchapter is enforceable
  and binding on the public employer, association, and employees
  covered by the agreement only if:
               (1)  the commissioners court in the county in which the
  public employer is located ratifies the agreement by a majority
  vote; and
               (2)  the employees in the sheriff's or constable's
  department represented by the association ratify the agreement by
  majority vote using a secret ballot.
         (b)  A district court in the county in which the public
  employer is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve a dispute
  under a ratified agreement on the application of a party to the
  agreement aggrieved by an action or omission of the other party if
  the action or omission is related to a right, duty, or obligation
  provided by the agreement.  The court may issue restraining orders,
  temporary and permanent injunctions, or any other writ, order, or
  process, including contempt orders, that are appropriate to enforce
  the agreement.
         Sec. 158.077.  AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
  An 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 the sheriff, a constable,
  or the county or a division or agent of the sheriff's or constable's
  office or the county, including a personnel board or civil service
  commission.
         Sec. 158.078.  REPEAL OF AGREEMENT BY ELECTORATE.  (a) Not
  later than the 45th day after the date an agreement is ratified by a
  county and an association, a petition signed by a number of
  registered voters of the county equal to 10 percent of the votes
  cast in the county in the most recent general election may be
  presented to the county clerk requesting an election for the repeal
  of the agreement.
         (b)  On receipt of a petition, the commissioners court shall
  reconsider the agreement and repeal the agreement or call an
  election on the question of whether to repeal the agreement.
         (c)  The election ballot shall be printed to permit voting
  for or against the proposition: "Repeal of an agreement ratified by
  (the county) and (the sheriff's or constable's department
  association) concerning wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of
  work, working conditions, and other terms of employment."
         (d)  If at the election a majority of the votes favor repeal
  of the agreement, the agreement is void.
         Sec. 158.079.  PROTECTED RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES.  
  (a) For the purpose of a disciplinary appeal to a civil service
  commission or to a hearing authority, a member of an association may
  choose to be represented by any person or by the association.
         (b)  An agreement under this subchapter may not interfere
  with the right of a member of an association 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 United States Equal
  Employment Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action
  litigation.
         SECTION 2.   This Act takes effect September 1, 2019.