| (B) The comptroller may
not certify a state employee organization unless it demonstrates to the comptroller that the membership fees collected from state employees will be equal to an average of at least one-half of the membership fees received by the organization nationwide. A state employee organization may satisfy this requirement by submitting financial records that compare the membership fees to be received from state employees with the membership fees received from other individuals throughout the nation. (4) Electronic funds transfers. The comptroller may not certify a state employee organization unless: (A) the organization has submitted a request to be paid through electronic funds transfers under rules adopted by the comptroller; and (B) the comptroller has approved the request. (5) Exception. (A) The comptroller shall certify a state employee organization that demonstrates to the satisfaction of the
comptroller that the organization had a membership of at least 4,000 state employees on April 1, 1991. The organization is not required to satisfy any of the other substantive requirements of this subsection except for paragraph (4) of this subsection. (B) A state employee organization may demonstrate that the organization had a membership of at least 4,000 state employees on April 1, 1991, only by: (i) submitting a membership roster containing the name of each state employee who was a member of the organization on April 1, 1991; (ii) the date each employee joined the organization; and (iii) the date through which each employee's membership fees were paid as of April 1, 1991. (6) Notifications. (A) The comptroller shall mail a notice to a state employee organization about the comptroller's approval or disapproval of the organization's request for
certification by no later than the 30th day after the comptroller receives the request if the request is complete in all respects. (B) The comptroller shall notify each state agency of the comptroller's certification of a state employee organization by no later than the 30th day after the comptroller makes the certification. (h) Effective date of certification. The first deduction to pay a membership fee to an eligible organization may be made from salary or wages paid on the first workday of the second month following the month in which the comptroller certifies the organization. (i) Payments of deducted membership fees. (1) Payments by the comptroller through electronic funds transfers. The comptroller shall pay deducted membership fees to an eligible organization by electronic funds transfer unless it is infeasible to do so. (2) Payments through warrants issued by the
comptroller. (A) This paragraph applies only if it is infeasible for the comptroller to pay deducted membership fees to an eligible organization by electronic funds transfer. (B) The comptroller shall pay deducted membership fees by warrant. (C) The comptroller must issue one warrant for each combination of state agency, eligible organization, and payroll voucher submitted by the agency if the agency has at least one state employee from whose salary or wages a deduction is made under this section. The comptroller must make the warrant payable to the organization. (D) The comptroller must make each warrant available for pick-up by the state agency whose employees' membership fees are being paid by the warrant. The agency must mail or deliver the warrant to the payee of the warrant by no later than the 10th calendar day of the month. If the 10th calendar day of a month is not a workday, then the first
workday following the 10th calendar day is the deadline for the mailing or delivery of warrants. (3) Payments by institutions of higher education. (A) This paragraph applies only to membership fees in eligible organizations that have been deducted from salaries or wages that the comptroller does not pay directly to state employees of institutions of higher education. (B) An institution of higher education shall pay deducted membership fees to an eligible organization by electronic funds transfer unless it is infeasible to do so. (C) If it is infeasible for an institution of higher education to pay deducted membership fees to an eligible organization by electronic funds transfer, then the institution shall pay the fees by check. The check must be mailed or delivered to the organization by no later than the 20th calendar day of the month following the month when the salary or wages from which the deductions were
made were earned. If the 20th calendar day of a month is not a workday, then the first workday following the 20th calendar day is the deadline for the mailing or delivery of checks. (4) Payment reconciliation and discrepancies. (A) An eligible organization shall reconcile the detail report provided by a state agency under subsection (l) of this section with the amount of membership fees paid to the organization under this subsection. (B) An eligible organization must report all discrepancies between the detail report provided by a state agency under subsection (l) of this section and the actual amount of membership fees received under this subsection. The organization must ensure that the agency receives the organization's report of the discrepancies by no later than the 60th calendar day after the day on which the agency mailed the detail report to the organization. If the 60th calendar day is not a workday, then the
first workday following the 60th calendar day is the deadline. (C) A state agency that receives a report of discrepancies from an eligible organization shall investigate the discrepancy and notify the organization of the action to be taken to eliminate the discrepancy. A discrepancy may be eliminated by: (i) making a retroactive deduction if it is authorized by subsection (b)(7) of this section; (ii) recovering an excessive payment to an eligible organization of amounts deducted under this section from a subsequent payment to the organization; (iii) recovering an excessive payment to an eligible organization of amounts deducted under this section by obtaining a refund from the organization in accordance with subsection (k)(7) of this section; or (iv) the agency making corrections to the detail report if the report is incorrect. (5) Subordinate units of eligible
organizations. (A) A chapter or other subordinate unit of an eligible organization may receive directly from the comptroller or an institution of higher education a payment of deducted membership fees if: (i) the fees were deducted under authorization forms that authorized the payment of the fees to the organization; and (ii) the organization is credited on the accounting records of the State of Texas for the payment. (B) A request to pay deducted membership fees to a chapter or subordinate unit instead of the parent eligible organization must be submitted to the comptroller by the organization. (C) The comptroller may grant a request under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph only if the membership fee structure of the chapter or subordinate unit is the same as the membership fee structure of the parent eligible organization. (D) The comptroller's granting of a request
under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph is not a certification of the chapter or subordinate unit as an eligible organization. (E) The comptroller may require an eligible organization to submit proof that an entity is a chapter or other subordinate unit of the organization before a payment of deducted membership fees is paid directly to the entity. The comptroller may periodically require the organization to submit proof that the entity is still a chapter or other subordinate unit of the organization as a condition for continuing to pay deducted membership fees directly to the entity. (j) Solicitation. Nothing in this section prohibits the head of a state agency from permitting or prohibiting solicitation by eligible organizations on the premises of the agency. (k) Responsibilities of eligible organizations. (1) Disseminating information. (A) An eligible organization is solely
responsible for the dissemination of relevant information to its representatives and employees. (B) An eligible organization must ensure that its representatives and employees comply with the requirements of this section. (2) Notification to the comptroller. An eligible organization must notify the comptroller in writing immediately after a change occurs to: (A) the organization's name; (B) the street address of the headquarters of the organization; (C) the mailing address of the headquarters of the organization, if different from the street address; or (D) the full name, title, telephone number, or mailing address of the organization's primary contact. (3) Primary contact. The individual that a state employee organization designates as its primary contact must represent the organization for the purposes of: Cont'd... |
