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.