CS for CS for SB 256 Second Engrossed
2023256e2
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to employee organizations representing
3 public employees; amending s. 447.301, F.S.; requiring
4 a public employee who desires to be a member of an
5 employee organization to sign a membership
6 authorization form beginning on a specified date;
7 requiring that such form include a specified
8 statement; authorizing a public employee to revoke
9 membership in an employee organization at any time of
10 the year; requiring an employee organization to revoke
11 a public employee’s membership upon receipt of his or
12 her written request for revocation; prohibiting an
13 employee organization from limiting an employee’s
14 right to revoke membership to certain dates;
15 prohibiting a revocation form from requiring a reason
16 for the public employee’s decision to revoke his or
17 her membership; requiring employee organizations to
18 retain such authorization forms and requests for
19 revocation for inspection by the Public Employees
20 Relations Commission; providing applicability with
21 respect to certain employee organizations; authorizing
22 the commission to adopt rules; amending s. 447.207,
23 F.S.; authorizing the commission to waive certain
24 provisions for specified employee organizations under
25 certain circumstances; amending s. 447.303, F.S.;
26 prohibiting certain employee organizations from having
27 dues and uniform assessments deducted and collected by
28 the employer from certain salaries; authorizing public
29 employees to pay dues and uniform assessments directly
30 to the employee organization; authorizing certain
31 employee organizations to have dues and uniform
32 assessments deducted and collected by the employer
33 from certain salaries; amending s. 447.305, F.S.;
34 revising requirements for applications for initial
35 registrations and renewals of registration of employee
36 organizations; providing procedures for incomplete
37 applications; requiring certain employee organizations
38 to petition the commission for recertification as
39 bargaining agents; authorizing a public employer or
40 bargaining unit employee to challenge an employee
41 organization’s application for renewal of
42 registration; requiring the commission or one of its
43 designated agents to review the application; requiring
44 the commission to revoke the registration and
45 certification of the employee organization in certain
46 circumstances; authorizing the commission to conduct
47 investigations for specified purposes; authorizing the
48 commission to revoke or deny an employee
49 organization’s registration or certification under
50 certain circumstances; specifying that certain
51 decisions issued by the commission are reviewable
52 final agency actions; providing applicability with
53 respect to certain employee organizations; requiring
54 certain employee organizations to provide their
55 members with an annual audited financial report;
56 requiring employee organizations to notify their
57 members annually of all costs of membership; amending
58 s. 447.509, F.S.; revising prohibitions for employee
59 organizations and certain persons and entities
60 relating to employee organizations; amending s.
61 1012.2315, F.S.; removing duplicative provisions;
62 reenacting ss. 110.114(3) and 447.507(6)(a), F.S.,
63 relating to employee wage deductions and violation of
64 strike prohibition and penalties, respectively, to
65 incorporate the amendment made to s. 447.303, F.S., in
66 references thereto; providing effective dates.
67
68 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
69
70 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 447.301, Florida
71 Statutes, is amended to read:
72 447.301 Public employees’ rights; organization and
73 representation.—
74 (1)(a) Public employees shall have the right to form, join,
75 and participate in, or to refrain from forming, joining, or
76 participating in, any employee organization of their own
77 choosing.
78 (b)1. Beginning July 1, 2023, a public employee who desires
79 to be a member of an employee organization must sign and date a
80 membership authorization form, as prescribed by the commission,
81 with the bargaining agent.
82 2. The membership authorization form must identify the name
83 of the bargaining agent, the name of the employee, the class
84 code and class title of the employee, the name of the public
85 employer and employing agency, if applicable, the amount of the
86 initiation fee and of the monthly dues which the member must
87 pay, and the name and total amount of salary, allowances, and
88 other direct or indirect disbursements, including
89 reimbursements, paid to each of the five highest compensated
90 officers and employees of the employee organization disclosed
91 under s. 447.305(2)(c).
92 3. The membership authorization form must contain the
93 following statement in 14-point type:
94
95 The State of Florida is a right-to-work state.
96 Membership or non-membership in a labor union is not
97 required as a condition of employment, and union
98 membership and payment of union dues and assessments
99 are voluntary. Each person has the right to join and
100 pay dues to a labor union or to refrain from joining
101 and paying dues to a labor union. No employee may be
102 discriminated against in any manner for joining and
103 financially supporting a labor union or for refusing
104 to join or financially support a labor union.
105
106 4. A public employee may revoke membership in the employee
107 organization at any time of the year. Upon receipt of the
108 employee’s written revocation of membership, the employee
109 organization must revoke a public employee’s membership. The
110 employee organization may not limit an employee’s right to
111 revoke membership to certain dates. If a public employee must
112 complete a form to revoke membership in the employee
113 organization, the form may not require a reason for the public
114 employee’s decision to revoke his or her membership.
115 5. An employee organization must retain for inspection by
116 the commission such membership authorization forms and any
117 revocations.
118 6. This paragraph does not apply to members of an employee
119 organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent to
120 represent law enforcement officers, correctional officers, or
121 correctional probation officers as those terms are defined in s.
122 943.10(1), (2), or (3), respectively, or firefighters as defined
123 in s. 633.102.
124 7. The commission may adopt rules to implement this
125 paragraph.
126 Section 2. Subsection (12) is added to section 447.207,
127 Florida Statutes, to read:
128 447.207 Commission; powers and duties.—
129 (12) Upon a petition by a public employer after it has been
130 notified by the Department of Labor that the public employer’s
131 protective arrangement covering mass transit employees does not
132 meet the requirements of 49 U.S.C. s. 5333(b) and would
133 jeopardize the employer’s continued eligibility to receive
134 Federal Transit Administration funding, the commission may
135 waive, to the extent necessary for the public employer to comply
136 with the requirements of 49 U.S.C. s. 5333(b), any of the
137 following for an employee organization that has been certified
138 as a bargaining agent to represent mass transit employees:
139 (a) The prohibition on dues and assessment deductions
140 provided in s. 447.303(1).
141 (b) The requirement to petition the commission for
142 recertification.
143 (c) The revocation of certification provided in s.
144 447.305(6) and (7).
145 Section 3. Effective July 1, 2023, section 447.303, Florida
146 Statutes, is amended to read:
147 447.303 Dues; deduction and collection.—
148 (1) Except as authorized in subsection (2) or subject to a
149 waiver granted pursuant to s. 447.207(12)(a), an employee
150 organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent may
151 not have its dues and uniform assessments deducted and collected
152 by the employer from the salaries of those employees in the
153 unit. A public employee may pay dues and uniform assessments
154 directly to the employee organization that has been certified as
155 the bargaining agent.
156 (2)(a) An Any employee organization that which has been
157 certified as a bargaining agent to represent law enforcement
158 officers, correctional officers, or correctional probation
159 officers as those terms are defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), or
160 (3), respectively, or firefighters as defined in s. 633.102 has
161 shall have the right to have its dues and uniform assessments
162 deducted and collected by the employer from the salaries of
163 those employees who authorize the deduction and collection of
164 said dues and uniform assessments. However, such authorization
165 is revocable at the employee’s request upon 30 days’ written
166 notice to the employer and employee organization. Said
167 deductions shall commence upon the bargaining agent’s written
168 request to the employer.
169 (b) Reasonable costs to the employer of said deductions is
170 shall be a proper subject of collective bargaining.
171 (c) Such right to deduction, unless revoked under pursuant
172 to s. 447.507, is shall be in force for so long as the employee
173 organization remains the certified bargaining agent for the
174 employees in the unit.
175 (3) The public employer is expressly prohibited from any
176 involvement in the collection of fines, penalties, or special
177 assessments.
178 Section 4. Effective October 1, 2023, section 447.305,
179 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
180 447.305 Registration of employee organization.—
181 (1) Every employee organization seeking to become a
182 certified bargaining agent for public employees shall register
183 with the commission pursuant to the procedures set forth in s.
184 120.60 prior to requesting recognition by a public employer for
185 purposes of collective bargaining and prior to submitting a
186 petition to the commission requesting certification as an
187 exclusive bargaining agent. Further, if such employee
188 organization is not registered, it may not participate in a
189 representation hearing, participate in a representation
190 election, or be certified as an exclusive bargaining agent. The
191 application for registration required by this section shall be
192 under oath and in such form as the commission may prescribe and
193 shall include:
194 (a) The name and address of the organization and of any
195 parent organization or organization with which it is affiliated.
196 (b) The names and addresses of the principal officers and
197 all representatives of the organization.
198 (c) The amount of the initiation fee and of the monthly
199 dues which members must pay.
200 (d) The current annual audited financial statement of the
201 organization.
202 (e) The name of its business agent, if any; if different
203 from the business agent, the name of its local agent for service
204 of process; and the addresses where such person or persons can
205 be reached.
206 (f) A pledge, in a form prescribed by the commission, that
207 the employee organization will conform to the laws of the state
208 and that it will accept members without regard to age, race,
209 sex, religion, or national origin.
210 (g) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the
211 employee organization.
212 (h) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the
213 state and national groups with which the employee organization
214 is affiliated or associated. In lieu of this provision, and upon
215 adoption of a rule by the commission, a state or national
216 affiliate or parent organization of any registering labor
217 organization may annually submit a copy of its current
218 constitution and bylaws.
219 (2) A registration granted to an employee organization
220 pursuant to the provisions of this section shall run for 1 year
221 from the date of issuance. A registration shall be renewed
222 annually by filing application for renewal under oath with the
223 commission, which application shall reflect any changes in the
224 information provided to the commission in conjunction with the
225 employee organization’s preceding application for registration
226 or previous renewal, whichever is applicable. Each application
227 for renewal of registration shall include a current annual
228 audited financial statement, certified by an independent
229 certified public accountant licensed under chapter 473 and
230 report, signed by the employee organization’s its president and
231 treasurer or corresponding principal officers, containing the
232 following information in such detail as may be necessary
233 accurately to disclose its financial condition and operations
234 for its preceding fiscal year and in such categories as the
235 commission may prescribe:
236 (a) Assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the
237 fiscal year;
238 (b) Receipts of any kind and the sources thereof;
239 (c) Salary, allowances, and other direct or indirect
240 disbursements, including reimbursed expenses, to each officer
241 and also to each employee who, during such fiscal year, received
242 more than $10,000 in the aggregate from such employee
243 organization and any other employee organization affiliated with
244 it or with which it is affiliated or which is affiliated with
245 the same national or international employee organization;
246 (d) Direct and indirect loans made to any officer,
247 employee, or member which aggregated more than $250 during the
248 fiscal year, together with a statement of the purpose, security,
249 if any, and arrangements for repayment; and
250 (e) Direct and indirect loans to any business enterprise,
251 together with a statement of the purpose, security, if any, and
252 arrangements for repayment.
253 (3) In addition to subsection (2), an employee organization
254 that has been certified as the bargaining agent for public
255 employees must include for each such certified bargaining unit
256 the following information and documentation as of the 30th day
257 immediately preceding the date of renewal in its application for
258 any renewal of registration on or after October 1, 2023:
259 (a) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who are
260 eligible for representation by the employee organization.
261 (b) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who have
262 submitted signed membership authorization forms without a
263 subsequent revocation of such membership.
264 (c) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who paid
265 dues to the employee organization.
266 (d) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who did
267 not pay dues to the employee organization.
268 (e) Documentation provided by an independent certified
269 public accountant retained by the employee organization which
270 verifies the information provided in paragraphs (a)-(d).
271 (4) The employee organization must provide a copy of its
272 application for renewal of registration relating to a public
273 employer’s employees to the public employer on the same day the
274 application is submitted to the commission.
275 (5) An application for renewal of registration is
276 incomplete and is not eligible for consideration by the
277 commission if it does not include all of the information and
278 documentation required in subsection (3). The commission shall
279 notify the employee organization if the application is
280 incomplete. An incomplete application must be dismissed if the
281 required information and documentation are not provided within
282 10 days after the employee organization receives such notice.
283 (6) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter relating
284 to collective bargaining, an employee organization that had less
285 than 60 percent of the employees eligible for representation in
286 the bargaining unit pay dues during its last registration period
287 must petition the commission pursuant to s. 447.307(2) and (3)
288 for recertification as the exclusive representative of all
289 employees in the bargaining unit within 1 month after the date
290 on which the employee organization applies for renewal of
291 registration pursuant to subsection (2). The certification of an
292 employee organization that does not comply with this section is
293 revoked.
294 (7) The public employer or a bargaining unit employee may
295 challenge an employee organization’s application for renewal of
296 registration if the public employer or bargaining unit employee
297 believes that the application is inaccurate. The commission or
298 one of its designated agents shall review the application to
299 determine its accuracy and compliance with this section. If the
300 commission finds that the application is inaccurate or does not
301 comply with this section, the commission shall revoke the
302 registration and certification of the employee organization.
303 (8) The commission may conduct an investigation to confirm
304 the validity of any information submitted pursuant to this
305 section. The commission may revoke or deny an employee
306 organization’s registration or certification if it finds that
307 the employee organization:
308 (a) Failed to cooperate with the investigation conducted
309 pursuant to this subsection; or
310 (b) Intentionally misrepresented the information it
311 submitted pursuant to subsection (3).
312
313 A decision issued by the commission pursuant to this subsection
314 is a final agency action that is reviewable pursuant to s.
315 447.504.
316 (9) Subsections (3)-(8) do not apply to an employee
317 organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent to
318 represent law enforcement officers, correctional officers, or
319 correctional probation officers as those terms are defined in s.
320 943.10(1), (2), or (3), respectively, or firefighters as defined
321 in s. 633.102.
322 (10)(3) A registration fee shall accompany each application
323 filed with the commission. The amount charged for an application
324 for registration or renewal of registration shall not exceed
325 $15. All such money collected by the commission shall be
326 deposited in the General Revenue Fund.
327 (11)(4) Every employee organization shall keep accurate
328 accounts of its income and expenses, which accounts shall be
329 open for inspection at all reasonable times by any member of the
330 organization or by the commission. In addition, each employee
331 organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent must
332 provide to its members an annual audited financial report that
333 includes a detailed breakdown of revenues and expenditures, and
334 an accounting of membership dues and assessments. The employee
335 organization must notify its members annually of all costs of
336 membership.
337 Section 5. Paragraphs (d) and (e) are added to subsection
338 (1) of section 447.509, Florida Statutes, to read:
339 447.509 Other unlawful acts.—
340 (1) Employee organizations, their members, agents, or
341 representatives, or any persons acting on their behalf are
342 hereby prohibited from:
343 (d) Offering anything of value to a public officer as
344 defined in s. 112.313(1) which the public officer is prohibited
345 from accepting under s. 112.313(2).
346 (e) Offering any compensation, payment, or thing of value
347 to a public officer as defined in s. 112.313(1) which the public
348 officer is prohibited from accepting under s. 112.313(4).
349 Section 6. Effective October 1, 2023, paragraph (c) of
350 subsection (4) of section 1012.2315, Florida Statutes, is
351 amended to read:
352 1012.2315 Assignment of teachers.—
353 (4) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—
354 (c)1. In addition to the provisions under s. 447.305(2), an
355 employee organization that has been certified as the bargaining
356 agent for a unit of instructional personnel as defined in s.
357 1012.01(2) must include for each such certified bargaining unit
358 the following information in its application for renewal of
359 registration:
360 a. The number of employees in the bargaining unit who are
361 eligible for representation by the employee organization.
362 b. The number of employees who are represented by the
363 employee organization, specifying the number of members who pay
364 dues and the number of members who do not pay dues.
365 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 447 relating
366 to collective bargaining, an employee organization whose dues
367 paying membership is less than 50 percent of the employees
368 eligible for representation in the unit, as identified in
369 subparagraph 1., must petition the Public Employees Relations
370 Commission pursuant to s. 447.307(2) and (3) for recertification
371 as the exclusive representative of all employees in the unit
372 within 1 month after the date on which the organization applies
373 for renewal of registration pursuant to s. 447.305(2). The
374 certification of an employee organization that does not comply
375 with this paragraph is revoked.
376 Section 7. Effective July 1, 2023, for the purpose of
377 incorporating the amendment made by this act to section 447.303,
378 Florida Statutes, in a reference thereto, subsection (3) of
379 section 110.114, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
380 110.114 Employee wage deductions.—
381 (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and
382 (2), the deduction of an employee’s membership dues deductions
383 as defined in s. 447.203(15) for an employee organization as
384 defined in s. 447.203(11) shall be authorized or permitted only
385 for an organization that has been certified as the exclusive
386 bargaining agent pursuant to chapter 447 for a unit of state
387 employees in which the employee is included. Such deductions
388 shall be subject to the provisions of s. 447.303.
389 Section 8. Effective July 1, 2023, for the purpose of
390 incorporating the amendment made by this act to section 447.303,
391 Florida Statutes, in a reference thereto, paragraph (a) of
392 subsection (6) of section 447.507, Florida Statutes, is
393 reenacted to read:
394 447.507 Violation of strike prohibition; penalties.—
395 (6)(a) If the commission determines that an employee
396 organization has violated s. 447.505, it may:
397 1. Issue cease and desist orders as necessary to ensure
398 compliance with its order.
399 2. Suspend or revoke the certification of the employee
400 organization as the bargaining agent of such employee unit.
401 3. Revoke the right of dues deduction and collection
402 previously granted to said employee organization pursuant to s.
403 447.303.
404 4. Fine the organization up to $20,000 for each calendar
405 day of such violation or determine the approximate cost to the
406 public due to each calendar day of the strike and fine the
407 organization an amount equal to such cost, notwithstanding the
408 fact that the fine may exceed $20,000 for each such calendar
409 day. The fines so collected shall immediately accrue to the
410 public employer and shall be used by him or her to replace those
411 services denied the public as a result of the strike. In
412 determining the amount of damages, if any, to be awarded to the
413 public employer, the commission shall take into consideration
414 any action or inaction by the public employer or its agents that
415 provoked, or tended to provoke, the strike by the public
416 employees.
417 Section 9. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
418 act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.