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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the establishment of a county employee family leave |
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pool program. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Chapter 157, Local Government Code, is amended |
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by adding Subchapter E-1 to read as follows: |
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SUBCHAPTER E-1. COUNTY EMPLOYEE FAMILY LEAVE POOL PROGRAM |
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Sec. 157.081. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter: |
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(1) "Family leave pool" means a county employee family |
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leave pool created under a program. |
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(2) "Pool administrator" means the individual |
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responsible for administering a family leave pool. |
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(3) "Program" means a county employee family leave |
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pool program established under this subchapter. |
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Sec. 157.082. ESTABLISHMENT OF COUNTY EMPLOYEE FAMILY LEAVE |
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POOL PROGRAM. (a) The commissioners court of a county by order may |
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establish a program to allow an employee of the county to |
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voluntarily transfer sick or vacation leave time earned by the |
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employee to a county employee family leave pool. |
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(b) A program established under this section must: |
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(1) create a county employee family leave pool; and |
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(2) at a minimum comply with the provisions of this |
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subchapter. |
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(c) If a program is established for a county under this |
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section, the county judge of the county shall: |
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(1) serve as the pool administrator of the family |
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leave pool for the county; or |
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(2) appoint an individual to serve as the pool |
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administrator of the family leave pool for the county. |
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Sec. 157.083. CONTRIBUTION TO FAMILY LEAVE POOL. (a) A |
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county employee may contribute to the family leave pool of the |
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county that employs the employee one or more days of the employee's |
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accrued sick or vacation leave. |
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(b) The pool administrator for a county shall credit the |
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county's family leave pool with the amount of time contributed by a |
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county employee and deduct a corresponding amount of time from the |
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employee's earned sick or vacation leave as if the employee had used |
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the time for personal purposes. |
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(c) A retiring county employee may designate the number of |
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the retiring employee's accrued sick or vacation leave hours to be |
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used for retirement credit and the number of the retiring |
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employee's accrued sick or vacation leave hours to be donated on |
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retirement to the family leave pool of the county that employs the |
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retiring employee. |
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Sec. 157.084. USE OF TIME IN POOL. (a) A county employee is |
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eligible to use time contributed to the family leave pool of the |
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county that employs the employee if the employee has exhausted the |
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employee's eligible compensatory, discretionary, sick, and |
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vacation leave because of: |
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(1) the birth of a child; |
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(2) the placement of a foster child or adoption of a |
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child under 18 years of age; |
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(3) the placement of any person 18 years of age or |
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older requiring guardianship; |
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(4) a serious illness to an immediate family member or |
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the employee, including a pandemic-related illness; |
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(5) an extenuating circumstance created by an ongoing |
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pandemic, including providing essential care to a family member; or |
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(6) a previous donation of time to the pool. |
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(b) A county employee who applies to use time under |
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Subsection (a) to care for another person must submit and be listed |
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on the other person's birth certificate, birth facts, or adoption |
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or foster paperwork for a child under 18 years of age, including |
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being listed as the mother, father, adoptive parent, foster parent, |
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or partner of the child's mother, father, adoptive parent, or |
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foster parent, or provide documentation that the employee is the |
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guardian of a person who is 18 years of age or older and requiring |
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guardianship. |
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Sec. 157.085. WITHDRAWAL OF TIME FROM POOL. (a) A county |
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employee may apply to the pool administrator for the county that |
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employs the employee fo
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