HBA-MSH C.S.H.B. 798 77(R)BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisC.S.H.B. 798
By: Gallego
County Affairs
4/22/2001
Committee Report (Substituted)



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, the amount of money that may be offered to an employee
of a political subdivision as a part of a severance package or employment
termination agreement is not limited.  Cities wishing to hire a new city
manager may be forced to buy out the remaining term of a city manager's
contract.  This could be rather expensive, especially for small cities.
C.S.H.B. 798 limits the duration of a contract for employment with a
political subdivision and the money contained in a severance package or
employment termination agreement. 

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

C.S.H.B. 798 amends the Local Government Code to prohibit the duration of a
contract for employment with a political subdivision from exceeding the
length of the term a member of the governing body of the political
subdivision is elected to serve.  The bill prohibits a political
subdivision from making a payment to an employee as part of a severance
package or as part of any other agreement or settlement made in relation to
the termination of employment in an amount that exceeds the amount of the
employee's salary for 50 percent of the time remaining on an employment
contract.  The bill provides that the amount an employee may be paid for
other benefits accrued during employment is not limited. 

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2001.

COMPARISON OF ORIGINAL TO SUBSTITUTE

C.S.H.B. 798 modifies the original by removing the provisions that limits
the amount of a payment made as part of an employee termination agreement
and adding a provision that limits the amount of a payment made as part of
any agreement or settlement made in relation to the termination of a
person's employment.