CLEAT Defeats Bad bills During Legislative Session

By Charley Wilkison

Public Affairs Director

Some of the biggest victories in the legislative war zone come when we are able to kill legislation that would harm your profession, your income or your ability to do your job. If passing bills is seen as an honorable, soaring mission, then killing bills is the ultimate in guerrilla warfare.

We would rather spend years developing a longterm strategy and pass large, meaningful bills that benefit you and your family’s future.

However, the reality of our work is that we spend most of the 140 20-hour days fighting to kill very bad bills. The stress and the use of our political capital is oftentimes disheartening as we fight against legislators who should know better.

It’s hard to do and it makes political enemies out of innocent bystanders, but it has to be done and this session was no exception.

The Texas Legislature remains a very dangerous place as it relates to your pay, benefits and working conditions. It is a battle zone when it comes to your jurisdictional authority, arrest powers and the ability to do your job.

Some of our biggest battles were fought regarding bills about banning stun guns, cutting your retirement cost of living adjustments, threats to civil service, and sneak amendments that would have threatened your extra job and your future health care benefits.

We fought against ghost prisoners that corrections officers would have had to guard but would not be able to actually count, as well as many other crazed pieces of legislation.

We are proud to announce that the following bills are dead or we amended the heck out of them and made them into bills that do not have the negative affect intended:

HB 297. Relating to the abolition of the death penalty.

 

SB 2156. Relating to the number of persons who may be appointed to the classification immediately below department head in a police department covered by municipal civil service.