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  S.B. No. 1104
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to the conditions of employment for emergency medical
  services personnel employed by certain municipalities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Chapter 142, Local Government Code, is amended
  by adding Subchapter D to read as follows:
  SUBCHAPTER D. LOCAL CONTROL OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
  PERSONNEL EMPLOYMENT MATTERS IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES
         Sec. 142.151.  APPLICABILITY.  This subchapter applies only
  to a municipality:
               (1)  with a population of 460,000 or more that operates
  under a city manager form of government; and
               (2)  that employs emergency medical services personnel
  in a municipal department other than the fire department.
         Sec. 142.152.  DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
               (1)  "Association" means an organization in which
  emergency medical services personnel participate and that exists
  for the purpose, wholly or partly, of dealing with one or more
  public or private employers concerning grievances, labor disputes,
  wages, rates of pay, hours of employment, or conditions of
  employment affecting public employees.
               (2)  "Emergency medical services personnel" has the
  meaning assigned by Section 773.003, Health and Safety Code.  The
  term applies only to an individual certified under Chapter 773,
  Health and Safety Code.
               (3)  "Public employer" means a municipality or an
  agency, board, commission, or political subdivision controlled by a
  municipality that is required to establish the wages, salaries,
  rates of pay, hours of employment, working conditions, and other
  terms and conditions of employment of public employees. The term,
  under appropriate circumstances, may include a mayor, manager,
  municipal administrator, municipal governing body, director of
  personnel, personnel board, or one or more other officials,
  regardless of the name by which an official is designated.
         Sec. 142.153.  GENERAL PROVISIONS RELATING TO AGREEMENTS.
  (a)  A municipality may not be denied local control over wages,
  salaries, rates of pay, hours of employment, other terms and
  conditions of employment, or other personnel issues on which the
  public employer and an association that is recognized as the sole
  and exclusive bargaining agent under Section 142.155 for all
  emergency medical services personnel in the municipality agree.  
  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 subchapter must be written.
         (c)  This subchapter does not require the public employer and
  an association to meet and confer or reach an agreement on any
  issue.
         Sec. 142.154.  STRIKES PROHIBITED.  (a)  A public employer
  and an association recognized as the sole and exclusive bargaining
  agent under Section 142.155 may meet and confer only if the
  association does not advocate the illegal right to strike by public
  employees.
         (b)  Emergency medical services personnel of a municipality
  may not engage in a strike or organized work stoppage against this
  state or a political subdivision of this state.
         (c)  Emergency medical services personnel who participate in
  a strike forfeit all civil service rights, reemployment rights, and
  other rights, benefits, or privileges enjoyed as a result of
  employment or previous employment with the municipality.
         (d)  This section does not affect the right of a person to
  cease employment if the person is not acting in concert with other
  emergency medical services personnel.
         Sec. 142.155.  RECOGNITION OF EMERGENCY MEDICAL SERVICES
  PERSONNEL ASSOCIATION. The governing body of a municipality may
  recognize an association that submits a petition signed by a
  majority of the emergency medical services personnel in the
  municipality, excluding the head of the emergency medical services
  department and any person who is exempt under Subsection (b), as the
  sole and exclusive bargaining agent for all of the covered
  emergency medical services personnel until recognition of the
  association is withdrawn by a majority of the covered emergency
  medical services personnel.
         (b)  For purposes of Subsection (a), exempt employees are
  assistant department heads in the rank or classification
  immediately below that of the department head and any other
  employees who are designated as exempt or whose job titles are
  designated as exempt by the mutual agreement of the recognized
  association and the public employer.
         Sec. 142.156.  ELECTION.  (a)  Whether an association
  represents a majority of the covered emergency medical services
  personnel shall be resolved by a fair election, conducted according
  to procedures agreed on by the parties, at which only a person
  eligible to sign a petition under Section 142.155 may vote.
         (b)  If the parties are unable to agree on election
  procedures under Subsection (a), a party may request the American
  Arbitration Association to conduct the election and to certify the
  results. Certification of the results of an election under this
  subsection resolves the question concerning representation.
         (c)  The association shall pay the costs of an election under
  this section, except that if two or more associations seeking
  recognition as the bargaining agent submit petitions signed by a
  majority of the covered emergency medical services personnel, the
  associations shall share equally the costs of the election.
         Sec. 142.1565.  ELECTION TO AUTHORIZE OPERATING UNDER THIS
  SUBCHAPTER. (a)  If the governing body of a municipality does not
  recognize an association that submits a petition under Section
  142.155 and that has been determined by the governing body or under
  Section 142.156 to represent a majority of the covered emergency
  medical services personnel, the governing body shall order an
  election to determine whether a public employer may meet and confer
  under this subchapter.
         (b)  An election ordered under this section 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.
         (c)  The ballot for an election ordered under this section
  shall be printed to allow 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 emergency
  medical services personnel 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 ordered under this section must be held and
  the returns prepared and canvassed in conformity with the Election
  Code.
         (e)  If an election under this section is held, the
  municipality may operate under the other provisions of this
  subchapter only if a majority of the votes cast at the election
  favor the proposition.
         (f)  If an election under this section is held, an
  association may not submit a petition for recognition to the
  governing body of the municipality under Section 142.155 before the
  second anniversary of the date of the election.
         Sec. 142.157.  SELECTION OF BARGAINING AGENTS.  The public
  employer's manager or chief executive, as appropriate, and the head
  of the emergency medical services department shall designate a
  group of persons to represent the public employer as its sole and
  exclusive bargaining agent.
         Sec. 142.158.  OPEN RECORDS REQUIRED. (a)  A proposed
  agreement and any document prepared and used by the municipality in
  connection with a proposed agreement are available to the public
  under the public information law, Chapter 552, Government Code,
  only after the agreement is ratified by the municipality's
  governing body.
         (b)  This section does not affect the application of
  Subchapter C, Chapter 552, Government Code, to a document prepared
  and used by the municipality in connection with the agreement.
         Sec. 142.159.  RATIFICATION AND ENFORCEABILITY OF
  AGREEMENT. (a)   An agreement made under this subchapter between a
  public employer and an association is binding on the public
  employer, the association, and the emergency medical services
  personnel covered by the agreement if:
               (1)  the municipality's governing body ratifies the
  agreement by a majority vote; and
               (2)  the association recognized under Section 142.155
  ratifies the agreement by a majority vote of its members voting in
  an election by secret ballot at which only members of the
  association who are eligible to sign a petition under Section
  142.155 may vote.
         (b)  An 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 interpretation of the
  agreement.
         (c)  The state district court of the judicial district in
  which the municipality is located has jurisdiction to hear and
  resolve a dispute under the ratified agreement on the application
  of a party to the agreement aggrieved by an act or omission of the
  other party. The court may issue proper restraining orders,
  temporary and permanent injunctions, or any other writ, order, or
  process, including a contempt order, that is appropriate to enforce
  the agreement.
         Sec. 142.160.  AGREEMENT SUPERSEDES CONFLICTING PROVISIONS.
  (a)  An agreement under this subchapter supersedes a previous
  statute concerning wages, salaries, rates of pay, hours of
  employment, or other terms and conditions of employment to the
  extent of any conflict with the statute.
         (b)  An agreement under this subchapter preempts any
  contrary executive order, local ordinance, or rule adopted by this
  state or a political subdivision or agent of this state, including a
  personnel board, a civil service commission, or a municipality.
         (c)  An agreement under this subchapter may not diminish or
  qualify any right, benefit, or privilege of an employee under this
  chapter or other law unless approved by a majority vote by secret
  ballot of the members of the association recognized under Section
  142.155 at which only members of the association who are eligible to
  sign a petition under Section 142.155 may vote.
         Sec. 142.1605.  ACTION OR ELECTION TO REPEAL AUTHORIZATION
  TO OPERATE UNDER THIS SUBCHAPTER.  (a)  The governing body of a
  municipality that granted recognition of an association under
  Section 142.155 without conducting an election under Section
  142.1565 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 association after conducting an election under
  Section 142.1565 may order an election to determine whether a
  public employer may continue to meet and confer under this
  subchapter. The governing body may not order an election under this
  subsection until the second anniversary of the date of the election
  under Section 142.1565.
         (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 emergency medical services personnel 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 subchapter 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 142.155 before the
  second anniversary of the date of the election.
         Sec. 142.161.  REPEAL OF AGREEMENT BY ELECTORATE.  (a)  Not
  later than the 45th day after the date an agreement is ratified by
  both the municipality and the association, a petition signed by at
  least 10 percent of the qualified voters of the municipality may be
  presented to the municipal secretary calling for an election to
  repeal the agreement.
         (b)  On receipt by the municipal secretary of a petition
  described by Subsection (a), the governing body of the municipality
  shall reconsider the agreement and either repeal the agreement or
  call an election of the qualified voters of the municipality to
  determine if the voters favor repealing the agreement. The
  election shall be called for the next election held in the
  municipality that allows sufficient time to comply with applicable
  provisions of law or at a special election called by the governing
  body for that purpose.
         (c)  If at the election a majority of the votes cast favor
  repeal of the adoption of the agreement, the agreement is void.
         (d)  The ballot for an election under this section shall be
  printed to permit voting for or against the proposition:  "Repeal of
  the adoption of the agreement ratified by the municipality and the
  emergency medical services personnel association concerning wages,
  salaries, rates of pay, hours of employment, and other terms and
  conditions of employment."
         Sec. 142.162.  PROTECTED RIGHTS OF INDIVIDUAL EMPLOYEES.
  (a)  For the purpose of any disciplinary appeal, a member of the
  association may choose to be represented by any person of the
  member's choice or by the association.
         (b)  An agreement may not interfere with the right of a
  member of the association to pursue allegations of discrimination
  based on race, creed, color, national origin, religion, age, sex,
  or disability with the civil rights division of the Texas Workforce
  Commission or the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
  or to pursue affirmative action litigation.
         Sec. 142.163.  BINDING INTEREST ARBITRATION.  (a)  A
  municipality may be required to submit to binding interest
  arbitration only if approved by a majority of those voting in a
  public referendum conducted in accordance with the municipality's
  charter.
         (b)  Subsection (a) does not affect any disciplinary
  arbitration or arbitration provision in a ratified agreement.
         SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2007.
 
 
 
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1104 passed the Senate on
  April 19, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
  the Senate concurred in House amendments on May 11, 2007, by the
  following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1104 passed the House, with
  amendments, on May 9, 2007, by the following vote: Yeas 143,
  Nays 1, one present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor