Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0044 Page: 1 of 4
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KEN PAXTON
ATTORNEY GENERAL OF TEXAS
December 4, 2015
The Honorable Carol Alvarado Opinion No. KP-0044
Chair, House Committee on Urban Affairs
Texas House of Representatives Re: Whether section 142.056 of the Local
Post Office Box 2910 Government Code limits the frequency of
Austin, Texas 78768-2910 elections regarding the exclusive bargaining
agent for municipal police (RQ-0029-KP)
Dear Representative Alvarado:
Chapter 142, subchapter B of the Local Government Code authorizes certain municipalities
to negotiate with the exclusive bargaining agent of covered police officers pursuant to a "meet and
confer" agreement. See TEX. Loc. Gov'T CODE 142.051-.068. On behalf of Representative
Chris Turner, you ask whether section 142.056 in subchapter B limits the frequency of elections
regarding the exclusive bargaining agent for municipal police.1
The request letter provides the following facts. For several years, the Arlington Police
Association (the "APA") has been the recognized exclusive representative of covered police
officers of the City of Arlington (the "City") for meet-and-confer purposes. Supp. Request at 1.
Recently, the Arlington Municipal Police Association (the "AMPA") submitted a petition to be
recognized as the exclusive representative instead of the APA. Id. The city ordered an election
pursuant to section 142.056, held in February 2015, to allow the affected police officers to decide
if AMPA would become their new representative. Id. Because a majority of officers did not vote
for the AMPA, the APA remains the exclusive representative for bargaining purposes. Id. at 1-2.
The AMPA has now submitted a second petition to be recognized as the exclusive representative.
Id. at 2. Although the election on the first petition was held earlier this year, the city is
contemplating ordering an election on the second petition. Id. The request letter notes that section
142.056 does not state how often an election must be held in response to such petitions and
therefore asks "whether [section] 142.056 should be interpreted to include a 12-month election bar
rule" similar to statutes in the National Labor Relations Act (the "NLRA"). Id. (citing 29 U.S.C.
159(c)(3)).
'See Letter from Honorable Carol Alvarado, Chair, House Comm. on Urban Affairs, to Honorable Ken
Paxton, Tex. Att'y Gen. at 1 (June 16, 2015) and Letter from Honorable Chris Turner, Tex. House of Reps., to
Honorable Ken Paxton, Tex. Att'y Gen. at 2 (June 16, 2015) ("Supp. Request"),
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/opinion/requests-for-opinion-rqs; see also Letter from Honorable Robert
Rivera, Arlington City Council, to Honorable Chris Turner (June 10, 2015) (on file with the Op. Comm) (collectively
the "Request Letter").
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Texas. Attorney-General's Office. Texas Attorney General Opinion: KP-0044, text, December 4, 2015; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1051006/m1/1/: accessed June 21, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.