HBA-MSH H.B. 1299 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1299
By: Kuempel
County Affairs
2/19/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a county does not have the authority to require a county
employee participating in the county sick leave pool to donate sick leave
time.  A county is unable to prohibit individuals who do not donate sick
leave from abusing the service provided by the pool.   House Bill 1299
authorizes a county to require employees to donate accrued sick leave or
accrued vacation leave time before being eligible to withdraw time from the
pool and increases the amount of such leave that an employee may donate
before leaving employment with the county. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 1299 amends the Local Government Code to authorize the
commissioners court of a county, by rule, to require a district, county, or
precinct employee to enroll in the county sick leave pool as a condition
for eligibility to use time contributed to the pool under certain
circumstances and to transfer at least one day of accrued sick leave time
or, if allowed, accrued vacation leave time as a condition of enrollment.
The bill authorizes an employee who is terminated or who resigns or retires
to donate not more than 10 days of accrued sick leave or vacation leave
time to take effect immediately before the effective date of the
termination, resignation, or retirement. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

On passage, or if the Act does not receive the necessary vote, the Act
takes effect September 1, 2001.