CHAPTER 146. LOCAL CONTROL OF MUNICIPAL EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES - Texas Statutes

LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE

TITLE 5. MATTERS AFFECTING PUBLIC OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

SUBTITLE A. MUNICIPAL OFFICERS AND EMPLOYEES

CHAPTER 146. LOCAL CONTROL OF MUNICIPAL EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN

CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES

Sec. 146.001. APPLICABILITY. (a) This chapter applies only to

a municipality with a population of 1.5 million or more.

(b) This chapter does not apply to:

(1) firefighters or police officers who are covered by

Subchapter H, I, or J of Chapter 143 or by Chapter 174; or

(2) an employee association in which those employees

participate.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.002. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:

(1) "Covered employee" means an employee of a municipality,

other than a department head or a firefighter or police officer

who is covered by Subchapter H, I, or J of Chapter 143 or by

Chapter 174.

(2) "Employee association" means an organization in which

municipal employees participate and that exists for the purpose,

wholly or partly, of dealing with one or more employers, whether

public or private, concerning grievances, labor disputes, wages,

rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of work

affecting public employees and whose members pay dues by means of

an automatic payroll deduction.

(3) "Public employer" means any municipality or agency, board,

commission, or political subdivision controlled by a municipality

that is required to establish the wages, salaries, rates of pay,

hours, working conditions, and other terms and conditions of

employment of public employees. The term may include, under

appropriate circumstances, a mayor, manager, administrator of a

municipality, municipal governing body, director of personnel,

personnel board, or one or more other officials regardless of the

name by which they are designated.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.003. GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS AND

RECOGNITION. (a) A municipality may not be denied local control

over the wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of work, other

terms and conditions of employment, or other state-mandated

personnel issues. A public employer may enter into a mutual

agreement governing these issues with an employee association

recognized under this chapter as the sole and exclusive

bargaining agent for all covered employees that does not advocate

the illegal right to strike by municipal employees. The

applicable statutes, local ordinances, and civil service rules

govern a term or condition of employment on which the public

employer and the association do not agree.

(b) An agreement under this chapter must be written.

(c) This chapter does not require the public employer and the

recognized employee association to meet and confer or reach an

agreement on any issue.

(d) This chapter does not authorize an agreement regarding

pension or pension-related matters governed by Chapter 358, Acts

of the 48th Legislature, Regular Session, 1943 (Article 6243g,

Vernon's Texas Civil Statues), or a successor statute.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.004. PETITION FOR RECOGNITION: ELECTION OR ACTION BY

GOVERNING BODY. (a) Not later than the 30th day after the date

the governing body of a municipality receives from an employee

association a petition signed by the majority of all covered

employees that requests recognition of the association as the

sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all the covered

employees, the governing body shall:

(1) grant recognition of the association as requested in the

petition and find that a public employer may meet and confer

under this chapter without conducting an election by the voters

in the municipality under Section 146.006;

(2) defer granting recognition of the association and order an

election by the voters in the municipality under Section 146.006

regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer under

this chapter; or

(3) order a certification election under Section 146.005 to

determine whether the association represents a majority of the

covered employees.

(b) If the governing body of a municipality orders a

certification election under Subsection (a)(3) and the

association named in the petition is certified to represent a

majority of the covered employees, the governing body shall, not

later than the 30th day after the date that results of that

election are certified:

(1) grant recognition of the association as requested in the

petition for recognition and find that a public employer may meet

and confer under this chapter without conducting an election by

the voters in the municipality under Section 146.006; or

(2) defer granting recognition of the association and order an

election by the voters in the municipality under Section 146.006

regarding whether a public employer may meet and confer under

this chapter.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.005. CERTIFICATION ELECTION. (a) Except as provided

by Subsection (b), a certification election ordered under Section

146.004(a)(3) to determine whether an employee association

represents a majority of the covered employees shall be conducted

according to procedures agreeable to the parties.

(b) If the parties are unable to agree on procedures for the

certification election, either party may request the American

Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify

the results of the election.

(c) Certification of the results of an election under this

section resolves the question concerning representation.

(d) The association is liable for the expenses of the

certification election, except that if two or more associations

seeking recognition as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent

submit a petition signed by at least 30 percent of the employees

eligible to sign the petition for recognition, all the

associations named in any petition shall share equally the costs

of the election.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.006. ELECTION TO AUTHORIZE OPERATING UNDER THIS

CHAPTER. (a) The governing body of a municipality that receives

a petition for recognition under Section 146.004 may order an

election to determine whether a public employer may meet and

confer under this chapter.

(b) An election ordered under this section must be held as part

of the next regularly scheduled general election for municipal

officials that is held after the date the governing body of the

municipality orders the election and that allows sufficient time

to prepare the ballot in compliance with other requirements of

law.

(c) The ballot for an election ordered under this section shall

be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:

"Authorizing __________ (name of the municipality) to operate

under the state law allowing a municipality to meet and confer

and make agreements with the association representing municipal

employees as provided by state law, preserving the prohibition

against strikes and organized work stoppages, and providing

penalties for strikes and organized work stoppages."

(d) An election called under this section must be held and the

returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the Election

Code.

(e) If an election authorized under this section is held, the

municipality may operate under the other provisions of this

chapter only if a majority of the votes cast at the election

favor the proposition.

(f) If an election authorized under this section is held, an

association may not submit a petition for recognition to the

governing body of the municipality under Section 146.004 before

the second anniversary of the date of the election.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.007. CHANGE OR MODIFICATION OF RECOGNITION. (a) The

municipal employees may modify or change the recognition of the

employee association granted under this chapter by filing with

the governing body of the municipality a petition signed by a

majority of all covered employees.

(b) The governing body of the municipality may:

(1) recognize the change or modification as provided by the

petition; or

(2) order a certification election in accordance with Section

146.005 regarding whether to do so.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.008. STRIKES PROHIBITED. (a) A municipal employee may

not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage against this

state or the municipality.

(b) A municipal employee who participates in a strike forfeits

any civil service rights, reemployment rights, and other rights,

benefits, or privileges the employee may have as a result of the

employee's employment or prior employment with the municipality.

(c) This section 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.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.009. RECOGNITION OF EMPLOYEE ASSOCIATION. (a) A

public employer in a municipality that chooses to meet and confer

under this chapter shall recognize an association that is

recognized under Section 146.004 or 146.005 as the sole and

exclusive bargaining agent for the covered employees.

(b) The public employer shall recognize the employee association

until recognition of the association is withdrawn, in accordance

with Section 146.007, by a majority of the municipal employees

eligible to sign a petition for recognition.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.010. SELECTION OF BARGAINING AGENT; BARGAINING UNIT.

(a) The public employer's chief executive officer or the chief

executive officer's designee shall select one or more persons to

represent the public employer as its sole and exclusive

bargaining agent to meet and confer on issues related to the

wages, hours of employment, and other terms and conditions of

employment of municipal employees.

(b) An employee association may designate one or more persons to

negotiate or bargain on the association's behalf.

(c) A municipality's bargaining unit is composed of all the

covered employees.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.011. PROTECTED RIGHTS OF EMPLOYEES. A meet and confer

agreement ratified under this chapter may not interfere with the

right of a member of a bargaining unit 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 federal Equal Employment

Opportunity Commission or to pursue affirmative action

litigation.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.012. OPEN RECORDS. (a) A proposed meet and confer

agreement and a document prepared and used by the municipality,

including a public employer, in connection with the proposed

agreement are available to the public under Chapter 552,

Government Code, only after the agreement is ready to be ratified

by the governing body of the municipality.

(b) This section does not affect the application of Subchapter

C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared and used

in connection with the agreement.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.013. OPEN DELIBERATIONS. (a) Deliberations relating to

a meet and confer agreement or proposed agreement under this

chapter between representatives of the public employer and

representatives of the employee association recognized under this

chapter as the sole and exclusive bargaining agent for the

covered employees must be open to the public and comply with

state law.

(b) Subsection (a) may not be construed to prohibit the

representatives of the public employer or the representatives of

the recognized employee association from conducting private

caucuses that are not open to the public during meet and confer

negotiations.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.014. RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF AGREEMENT. (a)

An agreement under this chapter is enforceable and binding on

the public employer, the recognized employee association, and the

employees covered by the meet and confer agreement only if:

(1) the governing body of the municipality ratified the

agreement by a majority vote; and

(2) the recognized employee association ratified the agreement

by conducting a secret ballot election at which the majority of

the covered employees who are members of the association favored

ratifying the agreement.

(b) A meet and confer agreement ratified as described by

Subsection (a) may establish a procedure by which the parties

agree to resolve disputes related to a right, duty, or obligation

provided by the agreement, including binding arbitration on a

question involving interpretation of the agreement.

(c) A state district court of a judicial district in which the

municipality is located has jurisdiction to hear and resolve a

dispute under the ratified meet and confer agreement on the

application of a party to the agreement aggrieved by an action or

omission of the other party when the action or omission is

related to a right, duty, or obligation provided by the

agreement. The court may issue proper restraining orders,

temporary and permanent injunctions, or any other writ, order, or

process, including contempt orders, that are appropriate to

enforcing the agreement.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.015. ACTION OR ELECTION TO REPEAL AUTHORIZATION TO

OPERATE UNDER THIS CHAPTER. (a) The governing body of a

municipality that granted recognition of an employee association

under Section 146.004 without conducting an election under

Section 146.006 may withdraw recognition of the association by

providing to the association not less than 90 days' written

notice that:

(1) the governing body is withdrawing recognition of the

association; and

(2) any agreement between the governing body and the association

will not be renewed.

(b) The governing body of a municipality that granted

recognition of an employee association after conducting an

election under Section 146.006 may order an election to determine

whether a public employer may continue to meet and confer under

this chapter. The governing body may not order an election under

this subsection until the second anniversary of the date of the

election under Section 146.006.

(c) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held as

part of the next regularly scheduled general election for

municipal officers that occurs after the date the governing body

of the municipality orders the election and that allows

sufficient time to prepare the ballot in compliance with other

requirements of law.

(d) The ballot for an election ordered under Subsection (b)

shall be printed to allow voting for or against the proposition:

"Authorizing __________ (name of the municipality) to continue to

operate under the state law allowing a municipality to meet and

confer and make agreements with the association representing

municipal employees as provided by state law, preserving the

prohibition against strikes and organized work stoppages, and

providing penalties for strikes and organized work stoppages."

(e) An election ordered under Subsection (b) must be held and

the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the

Election Code.

(f) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, the

municipality may continue to operate under this chapter only if a

majority of the votes cast at the election favor the proposition.

(g) If an election ordered under Subsection (b) is held, an

association may not submit a petition for recognition to the

governing body of the municipality under Section 146.004 before

the second anniversary of the date of the election.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.016. ELECTION TO REPEAL AGREEMENT. (a) Not later than

the 45th day after the date a meet and confer agreement is

ratified by the governing body of the municipality and the

recognized employee association, a petition calling for the

repeal of the agreement signed by at least 10 percent of the

qualified voters residing in the municipality may be presented to

the person charged with ordering an election under Section 3.004,

Election Code.

(b) If a petition is presented under Subsection (a), the

governing body of the municipality shall:

(1) repeal the meet and confer agreement; or

(2) certify that it is not repealing the agreement and call an

election to determine whether to repeal the agreement.

(c) An election called under Subsection (b)(2) may be held as

part of the next regularly scheduled general election for the

municipality or a special election called by the governing body

for that purpose. The ballot shall be printed to provide for

voting for or against the proposition: "Repeal the meet and

confer agreement ratified on _____ (date agreement was ratified)

by the __________ (name of the governing body of the

municipality) and the _____ (recognized municipal employee

association) concerning wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of

work, and other terms of employment."

(d) If a majority of the votes cast at the election favor the

repeal of the agreement, the agreement is void.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.

Sec. 146.017. AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS. A

written meet and confer agreement ratified under this chapter

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

this state or a political subdivision or agent of this state,

including a personnel board, civil service commission, or

home-rule municipality, other than a statute, ordinance,

executive order, civil service provision, or rule regarding

pensions or pension-related matters.

Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch.

1144, Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.