Sec. 142.014. BUSINESS LEAVE TIME ACCOUNT FOR FIREFIGHTERS IN CERTAIN MUNICIPALITIES. (a) This section applies only to firefighters employed by a municipality with a population of one million or more that has not adopted Chapter 174 and to which Chapter 143 does not apply.

(b) In this section:

(1) "Business leave" means leave taken for the purpose of attending to the business of an employee organization.

(2) "Employee organization" includes:

(A) the Dallas Fire Fighters Association;

(B) the Dallas Black Fire Fighters Association; and

(C) the Dallas Hispanic Firefighters Association.

(c) If the constitution and bylaws of an employee organization authorize the employee organization to participate in the establishment and maintenance of a business leave time account as provided by this section, a firefighter who is a member of an employee organization may donate not more than one hour of accumulated vacation or compensatory time for each calendar quarter to the business leave time account of the employee organization to which the firefighter belongs. The municipality shall establish and maintain a separate business leave time account for each employee organization that has approved or ratified the use of business leave time by its members under this section and has a specific provision in the constitution and bylaws of that employee organization.

(d) Only a firefighter who is a member of an employee organization may use for business leave purposes the time donated to the account of the employee organization. A firefighter may use for business leave purposes the time donated under this section without receiving a reduction in salary and without reimbursing the municipality.

(e) A request to use for business leave purposes the time in an employee organization's time account must be in writing and be submitted to the municipality by the president or the equivalent officer of the employee organization or by that officer's designee.

(f) The municipality shall grant a request for business leave that complies with Subsection (e) unless:

(1) denial of the request is necessary because of an emergency; or

(2) a grant of the request will result in having an insufficient number of firefighters to carry out the normal functions of the municipality.

(g) The municipality shall account for the time donated to each account and used from each account. The municipality shall credit and debit an account on an hour-for-hour basis regardless of the cash value of the time donated or used.

(h) An employee organization may not use for business leave purposes more than 4,000 hours from its business leave time account under this section in a calendar year unless the municipality approves the use of hours in excess of 4,000. This subsection does not prevent an employee organization from accumulating more than 4,000 hours, but only addresses the total number of donated hours that an employee organization may use in any calendar year.

(i) The use of business leave by a firefighter under this section is not a break in service for any purpose and is treated as any other paid leave.

Added by Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 734 (H.B. 1057), Sec. 1, eff. June 17, 2011.