HBA-CMT H.B. 3603 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3603
By: Capelo
Urban Affairs
7/11/2001
Enrolled



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Municipalities covered by the provisions for municipal civil service are
required to provide line of duty illness or injury leave to a police
officer or firefighter with full pay for up to one year.  After the
one-year period, the municipality's governing body is authorized to extend
the leave at full or reduced pay. Previously, if a firefighter's or police
officer's salary was reduced below 60 percent of the person's regular
monthly salary and the municipality had a firefighter or police officer's
pension fund, the person could have retired on pension until able to return
to work.  It may have been unclear whether police officers and firefighters
who were members of different pension funds were covered by this provision.
House Bill 3603 clarifies that police officers and firefighters in civil
service municipalities are covered  by the provisions for retirement on
pension regardless of the type of pension fund in which they are a member.  

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 3603 amends the Local Government Code to provide that if after
one year a firefighter's or police officer's line of duty illness or injury
leave of absence is not extended or the person's salary is reduced below 60
percent of the person's regular monthly salary and the person is a member
of a pension fund, the person is authorized to retire on pension until able
to return to duty.  The bill only applies to a city that has adopted the
provisions for municipal civil service.     

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.