HBA-MSH H.B. 798 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 798
By: Gallego
County Affairs
3/11/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, the amount of money that may be offered to an employee
of a political subdivision as a part of a severance package or employment
termination agreement is not limited.  Cities wishing to hire a new city
manager may be forced to buy out the remaining term of a city manager's
contract.  This could be rather expensive, especially for small cities.
House Bill 798 limits the duration of a contract for employment with a
political subdivision and the money contained in a severance package or
employment termination agreement. 

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 798 amends the Local Government Code to prohibit the duration of
a contract for employment with a political subdivision from exceeding the
length of the term a member of the governing body of the political
subdivision is elected to serve.  The bill prohibits a political
subdivision from making a payment to an employee, as part of a severance
package or employee termination agreement, in an amount that exceeds the
amount of the employee's salary for 50 percent of the time remaining on an
employment contract.  The bill provides that the amount an employee may be
paid for other benefits accrued during employment is not limited. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.