Personnel

H.B. 445 (Raney/Lucio) - Paid Military Leave: requires a city, or other governmental entity, to give an employee an annual accounting of the state-mandated military paid leave time that the employee is entitled to and has used that year. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

H.B. 593 (Collier/Whitmire) - Animal Encounter Training:  requires a peace officer to complete a canine encounter and behavior training program: (1) as part of the minimum curriculum requirements for a basic proficiency certificate; (2) within two years of becoming licensed; and (3) as a requirement before receiving an intermediate or advanced proficiency certificate. (Effective September 1, 2015, with the training requirement becoming effective on January 1, 2016.)

H.B. 786 (Walle/Zaffirini) - Breastfeeding: requires a public employer, including a city, to: (1) develop policies for its employees that encourage and accommodate breastfeeding; (2) provide breaks and a private room for breastfeeding; and (3) avoid discriminating against an individual based on the employee’s exercise of her right to breastfeed in the workplace. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

H.B. 1094 (Geren/Eltife) - First Responder Death Benefits: extends from two years after remarriage to life the time that a remarried spouse of a first responder who died in the course and scope of employment may receive workers’ compensation death benefits. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

H.B. 1151 (S. Thompson/Garcia) - Harassment:  makes it an unlawful employment practice under state law to harass or allow harassment of an unpaid intern. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

H.B. 1278 (Hughes/Lucio) - First Responder Death Benefits: increases the amount of state death benefits given to the families of public safety employees killed in the line of duty. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

H.B. 1707 (Stephenson/Huffman) - Emergency Services Retirement System: authorizes a governmental entity, including a city, to use wire transfer or an ACH debit for deposits to the Texas Emergency Services Retirement System. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

H.B. 1790 (Marquez/Lucio) - Civil Service: requires a civil service city to allow a peace officer or fire fighter to volunteer to work in place of a police or fire co-worker any time such a co-worker is disabled by injury or illness. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

H.B. 2020 (Martinez/Campbell) - Emergency Medical Services: authorizes a certified emergency medical technician-paramedic or a licensed paramedic, acting under the authority of a doctor, to provide health services, including advanced life support in an emergency or urgent care setting, including in an emergency room. (Effective immediately.)

H.B. 2498 (Zerwas/Eltife) - Emergency Medical Services Personnel: requires: (1) adoption of the Recognition of Emergency Medical Services Personnel Licensure Interstate Compact (“REPLICA”) to allow EMS personnel to work in different states if: (a) the personnel is licensed using certain national exams; (b) the work in a different state is needed for transportation of a patient; or (c) the work is needed due to a declaration of an emergency or disaster; (2) expediting the licensure of certain former or current military personnel who have certain national certification for EMS; and (3) joining the interstate commission that oversees the compact. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

H.B. 2680 (G. Bonnen/L. Taylor) - Training Funds: changes the allocation of Texas Commission on Law Enforcement training funds to add the number of telecommunicators into the calculation of personnel for distribution of the funds. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

H.B. 2771 (Martinez/L. Taylor) - Workers’ Compensation: expands the definition of “course and scope of employment” for workers’ compensation purposes to include the time a firefighter or emergency medical personnel is traveling to an emergency. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

H.B. 2828 (Phillips/Burton) - Criminal Background Checks: authorizes a city to obtain criminal history record information from the Texas Department of Public Safety for: (1) applicants for employment; (2) employees; (3) city vendor applicants for employment or employees; (4) city volunteers; and (5) city volunteer applicants. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

H.B. 3212 (P. King/Menendez) - Retired Peace Officer Identification Cards: requires a city to: (1) provide an identification card to certain retired peace officers; and (2) issue a replacement card if a card is lost or stolen and the officer or retired officer provides an affidavit stating that the card was stolen or lost. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

S.B. 202 (Nelson/Price) - Code Enforcement Officers/Sanitarians: provides that: (1) the Code Enforcement Officers Licensing and Sanitarian Licensing Programs are transferred from the Department of State Health Services to the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR); and (2) TDLR may establish an advisory committee to provide advice and recommendations to the department on technical matters relevant to the administration of each of those programs. (The provisions in the bill relating to the transfer of the programs above become effective September 1, 2017.)

S.B. 208 (Campbell/Burkett) - Texas Workforce Commission: among other things, repeals the Texas Workforce Commission’s authorization to review fire department exams for discrimination. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

S.B. 1462 (West/E. Johnson) - Emergency Services Personnel: authorizes emergency services personnel to administer an opioid antagonist to a person who appears to be suffering from an opioid-related drug overdose. (Effective September 1, 2015.)

S.B. 1899 (Campbell/Martinez) - Emergency Medical Services Personnel: (1) authorizes a certified emergency medical technician-paramedic or a licensed paramedic, who is acting under the authority of a doctor, to provide health services, including advanced life support in an emergency or urgent care setting, including in an emergency room; (2) requires the Department of State Health Services to: (a) create an emergency services provider jurisprudence exam; and (b) determine who must take the exam at each emergency medical services provider; (3) requires each emergency medical services provider to: (a) have a physical location which they own or have a long term lease; and (b) maintain certain equipment. (Effective immediately.)

S.B. 1987 (Menendez/Minjarez) - Peace Officer Training: requires that an officer be trained, within two years of licensure or when the officer applies for an intermediate proficiency certificate, on procedures for interacting with drivers who are deaf or hard of hearing.  (Effective January 1, 2016.)

Disclaimer

Texas Municipal League member cities may use the material herein for any purpose. No other person or entity may reproduce, duplicate, or distribute any part of this document without the written authorization of the Texas Municipal League.