@Mice of tfp Bttornep &neral 

%btate of Emas 

DAN MORALES November 3.1993 

Al-rORNEY GENERAL 

Honorable O.H. ‘Ike” Harris Opinion No. DM-270 

chfiir 

CWWlttUOllS~Affairs 

Texas State Senate 

P.O. Box 12068 

hstin,Texas 78711 

You have requested our opinion repding the number of vacation days to which 

police officers and fire fighters are entitled in a city with a population of more than 30,000. 

Section 142.0013 oft&Local hwrmnem Code provides: 

(a) A member of a &e or police department in a municip&y 

withapopllationofmonthan25,000mayool,u~inm 

anageacy,berequiredtokondutymonthan~&~inawaL 

(b) Amanberofa6reorpolicedepartmentinamunicipality 

with a population of more then 30,000 is entitled to 15 vakxtion days 

eachyearwithpayifthememberhasbeenre@rlyemployediothe 

-or&=-- for at least one year. The municipal 

officials sum the Sre and police departments shall designate 

thedaysoftheweekduringwhichamanbaofafiredepartmentor 

policed~~~isnotrequindtobeondutymdthe&ysduriag 

whichthememberisallowedtobeonvacation 

(c) Ai%efighterandapoliceofhrsbllbegrantedtheaame 

number of vacation days and holidays or days in lieu of vacation 

days or llolkiays$ granted to other municipal employees. 

SpecSally, you inquire about the possible conflict between sobsections (b) and (c) io 

cities with a population of geater than 30,000. 

Itiswiomaticthstrtlportionsofa~e~be~~if~ffeasibleto 

doso,andeffect@veotoeach. Bbckv.Awn!ricunBankersI- Co.. 478 S.W.2d 

434 (Tex. 1972); Brown v. Owens, 674 S.W.2d 748 (Tex. 1984). Subsections (b) and (c) 

of section 142.0013 may be harmooized by consbuiq rubsection (b) as an exception to 

the more general rule of subsection (c). Section 311.026 of the Gownment Code 

provides that, where “a geoerel provision contkts with a special or local provisioo, the 

provisionsshallbewnstnred,ifpossible.K,thateffectbgiventoboth.,Ontheotha 

hand ifthere ranainsMirCCCOllCilable~~Ctbetwcmthetwoprovisions.“therpecirrlor 

local provision prevails as an exception to the Send won” 

p. 1411 
Honorable O.H. “Ike” Harris - Page 2 @M-270) 

chstrued in this light, subsection (b) applies only to those iire fighters and police 

officers who (1) are employed by a “municipality with a population of more than 30,000,” 

and (2) have been “regularly employed” in their respective departments “for at least one 

year.” Subsection (b) provides a minimum for those individuals: 15 vacation days each 

YCarWitilptiy. If,howmr.Acity’SpOliCyistOgranttoits~~~~~Ohave~edat 

kast25yearsKnicevacationintheamountof2Odaysperyeor.afirefighterorpolice 

officer with 25 years setvice in that particular city would also be entitled to 20 vacation 

days. Likewise, a fire fighter or police officer with less than one year of service should 

receive whatever vacation time is awarded to all municipal employees with less than one 

year of service. Thus a fire fighta or police officer in a city of more than 30.000 must be 

grantdtl’e msximum vacation time available under either subsection (b) or subsection (c), 

whichever is greater in his particular case.’ 

SUMMARY 

A fire fighi~ and a police officer in a city of @eater than 30,000 

is entitled to the number of vacation days granted under either 

subsection (b) or subsection (c) of section 142.0013 of the Local 

Oowrntnent Code, whichever is greater. 

DAN MORALES 

Attorney General of Texas 

WILL PRYOR 

Fii Assistant Attorney OKled 

MARYKELLER 

Deputy Attorney Ciewal for LitiSation 

RENEAHICKS 

State Solicitor 

MADELEINE B. JOHNSON 

Chair, Opiion Committee 

Prepared by Rick Gilpin 

Deputy Chief, Opiion Committee 

p. 1412