HBA-JEK H.B. 2706 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 2706
By: Reyna, Arthur
Urban Affairs
7/25/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

State law authorizes peace officers and firefighters employed by counties
of 500,000 or more to take legislative leave to communicate with their
legislators.  The law requires the employee or an association representing
the employee to reimburse the public employer for any expenses incurred as
a result of the legislative leave.  A time bank for legislative leave could
lessen the costs incurred to employees and employee organizations due to
taken legislative leave.  House Bill 2706  requires a county with a
population of one million to 1.5 million to establish and maintain a
legislative leave time bank for each of its peace officer or firefighter
employee organizations. 

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 2706 amends the Government Code to require an employer that is a
county with a population of more than1 million and less than 1.5 million to
establish and maintain a legislative leave time bank for each of its peace
officer or firefighter employee organizations.  The bill authorizes a peace
officer or firefighter to donate no more than one hour of vacation, sick,
or compensatory time to the time bank each month in increments of
one-quarter hour.  Unused leave time donated to a leave time bank carries
over from year to year until used by the designated employee organization. 

H.B. 2706 sets forth provisions related to the written donation of time,
the transfer of time to the time bank, and a written request to use time in
the time bank.  The bill authorizes a peace officer or firefighter to use
time from the bank for legislative leave purposes instead of reimbursing
the employer.  The bill authorizes the employer to credit and debit the
time bank on an hour-for-hour basis or on the actual cash value of donated
time in the time bank. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

Vetoed.