SELECTION AND TERM OF PUBLIC MEMBERS ON GRIEVANCE COMMITTEE.

(a) The public members of the salary grievance committee shall be selected as provided by Subsection (b) or (b-1) at a meeting of the commissioners court at any time during the year, but not later than the 15th day after the date a request for a hearing is received under Section 152.016(a). If a request for a public hearing is not received, the commissioners court is not required to select public members.

(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), before the meeting required by Subsection (a), the county clerk shall place on a separate slip the name of each person who served on a grand jury in the county during the preceding calendar year. At the meeting the slips shall be folded, placed in an appropriate container, and mixed. The county judge shall draw at random a number of slips equal to the number of public members needed for the committee and shall announce the names on the slips. At the meeting the county judge may repeat this process and make a list of alternates.

(b-1) As an alternative to the process prescribed by Subsection (b), the commissioners court may direct the county clerk to use a computer to generate a randomized list of the names of all persons who served on a grand jury in the county during the preceding calendar year. At the meeting required by Subsection (a), the commissioners court shall:

(1) adopt the randomized list;

(2) enter the list into the minutes of the meeting; and

(3) select, in the order of the list, the necessary number of public members and alternates.

(b-2) A person whose name is selected under this section becomes a member of the committee or an alternate on submitting written acceptance of the selection to the clerk. If a person refuses or is unable to serve on the committee, a replacement shall be appointed from the list of alternates. If the list of alternates is exhausted or does not exist, a replacement shall be selected from the remaining names not already selected, in the same manner as the replaced member, at the next regular or called commissioners court meeting. This process shall be repeated until the required number of public members have accepted the selection.

(c) A public member serves until the later of:

(1) the end of the fiscal year in which the public member is appointed; or

(2) the time the committee takes a final vote on the last of the grievances for which the committee held a public hearing.

(d) A vacancy in a public member position shall be filled for the unexpired part of the term by appointment from the list of alternates. If the list of alternates is exhausted or does not exist, a replacement shall be selected from the remaining names not already selected, in the same manner as the vacating member, at a meeting of the commissioners court.