Chapter 617 of Texas' Government Code essentially prohibits collective bargaining by law enforcement officers. This chapter also prohibits strikes or work stoppages by law enforcement officers. Exceptions to the strict language of Chapter 617 are found in two other sets of statutes. Chapter 143 of the Local Government Code allows officers in the State capital to enter into a labor agreement with the city of Austin. Both Chapters 617 and 143 are superseded by Labor Code Chapter 174. The latter statute provides for collective bargaining by law enforcement officers only upon voter approval. As of February 1996, bargaining has been approved by voters in 24 cities and 5 counties. The history of police labor organizations in Texas has evolved to the point that every major police and sheriff's department has an employee organization. In the larger cities there are multiple organizations that often compete with one another. The Combined Law Enforcement Associations of Texas (CLEAT) serves as the bargaining agent for most of the eligible police units in the State. The leadership's stated goal is collective bargaining for all police officers in the State without the current local election requirement. The Texas Legislature appears willing to permit a bargaining agreement to be executed if the local government entity does not object. A permissive bargaining law would not require bargaining by a local governmental entity but would lift the prohibition found in Chapter 617 of the Government Code. Given the influence police groups have traditionally had with legislators, passage of a statewide bargaining law without local voter approval is possible in the near future. 3 tables and 12 footnotes