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