HBA-CMT H.B. 3500 77(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 3500
By: Hinojosa
Urban Affairs
4/8/2001
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Current law, does not require municipal fire and police departments to pay
their firefighters and police officers additional wages for the use of
additional language skills.  House Bill 3500 entitles the payment of
additional wages to a municipal firefighter or police officer for the use
of additional language skills outside the scope of the firefighter's or
police officer's job description. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

ANALYSIS

House Bill 3500 amends the Local Government Code to provide that a
firefighter or police officer is entitled to appropriate additional wages
if the firefighter or police officer provides a service to the department
that uses an additional language skill possessed by the firefighter or
police officer and the additional language skill is used outside the course
and scope of the position of the firefighter or police officer as indicated
by the official job description of that individual.  The bill requires a
fire or police department to establish guidelines to determine the types of
additional language skills and the levels of fluency in the language skills
that require the department to pay additional wages and the appropriate
levels of additional wages.   

The bill provides that a department that requires a firefighter or police
officer to use additional language skills possessed by the firefighter or
police officer without the payment of additional wages is liable to the
firefighter or police officer for damages in the amount of $500 for each
day the requirement is imposed without the payment of additional wages.   

The bill requires the governing body of a municipality of 1.5 million or
more to authorize assignment pay for bilingual personnel performing
specialized functions as interpreters or translators in their respective
departments.  

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.  The provisions on civil penalties take effect January
1, 2001, and apply only to the use of additional language skills on or
after January 1, 2002.