TITLE: Relating to the administration of oaths and issuance of subpoenas in certain county or sheriff department employee grievance proceedings; creating a criminal offense.

SUMMARY: Relating to the administration of oaths and issuance of subpoenas in certain county or sheriff department employee grievance proceedings; creating a criminal offense.

FULL TEXT:
AN ACT relating to the administration of oaths and issuance of subpoenas in certain county or sheriff department employee grievance proceedings; creating a criminal offense. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: SECTION 1. Subchapter A, Chapter 174, Local Government Code, is amended by adding Section 174.009 to read as follows: Sec. 174.009. OATHS AND SUBPOENAS IN GRIEVANCE PROCEEDINGS. (a) An arbitrator or hearing officer authorized to hear a grievance proceeding under a collective bargaining agreement has the authority to administer oaths and issue subpoenas in the manner and to the extent authorized for an arbitration board under Section 174.157, except that: (1) a request for a subpoena under this subsection must be made not later than the 10th day before the date the proceeding will be held, except for good cause shown; and (2) the following are not subject to a subpoena under this subsection: (A) a person who is actively engaged in providing representation to a party to the proceeding; and (B) notes and other documents prepared by a person described by Paragraph (A) in the scope of the person's representation. (b) An oath administered under this section has the same force and effect as an oath administered by a magistrate in the magistrate's judicial capacity. (c) A response to a subpoena duces tecum under this section is considered to have been made under oath. (d) A person who is subpoenaed under this section commits an offense if the person fails to appear as required by the subpoena. An offense under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000, confinement in the county jail for not more than 30 days, or both the fine and confinement. SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.