Florida Senate - 2026 PROPOSED COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
Bill No. SB 1298
Ì396156=Î396156
GO.GO.02561
Proposed Committee Substitute by the Committee on Governmental
Oversight and Accountability
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to public records; amending s.
3 447.308, F.S.; providing an exemption from public
4 records requirements for a showing of interest signed
5 by the employees or group of employees who no longer
6 desire to be represented by a certified bargaining
7 agent; providing for future legislative review and
8 repeal of the exemption; providing for the reversion
9 of specified statutory text under certain conditions;
10 providing statements of public necessity; providing an
11 effective date.
12
13 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
14
15 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 447.308, Florida
16 Statutes, is amended to read:
17 447.308 Revocation of certification of employee
18 organization.—
19 (1) Any employee or group of employees which no longer
20 desires to be represented by the certified bargaining agent may
21 file with the commission a petition to revoke certification. The
22 petition must shall be accompanied by dated statements signed by
23 at least 30 percent of the employees in the unit, indicating
24 that such employees no longer desire to be represented for
25 purposes of collective bargaining by the certified bargaining
26 agent. The time of filing said petition is shall be governed by
27 the provisions of s. 447.307(3)(d) relating to petitions for
28 certification. The showing of interest signed by the employees
29 is confidential and exempt from s. 119.07(1) and s. 24(a),
30 Article I of the State Constitution, except that any employee,
31 employer, or employee organization having sufficient reason to
32 believe any of the employee signatures were obtained by
33 collusion, coercion, intimidation, or misrepresentation or are
34 otherwise invalid shall be given a reasonable opportunity to
35 verify and challenge the signatures appearing on the petition.
36 The commission or one of its designated agents shall investigate
37 the petition to determine its sufficiency. If the commission
38 finds the petition to be insufficient, it may dismiss the
39 petition. If the commission finds that the petition is
40 sufficient, it shall immediately:
41 (a) Identify the bargaining unit and determine which public
42 employees shall be qualified and entitled to vote in the
43 election held by the commission.
44 (b) Identify the public employer or employers.
45 (c) Order an election by secret ballot, the cost of said
46 election to be borne equally by the parties, except as the
47 commission may provide by rule. The commission’s order assessing
48 costs of an election may be enforced pursuant to the provisions
49 of this part.
50 Section 2. The amendment made by this act to s. 447.308(1),
51 Florida Statutes, is subject to the Open Government Sunset
52 Review Act in accordance with s. 119.15, Florida Statutes, and
53 shall stand repealed on October 2, 2031, unless reviewed and
54 saved from repeal through reenactment by the Legislature. If the
55 expansion of the exemption is not saved from repeal, the text of
56 that subsection shall revert to that in existence on June 30,
57 2026, except that any amendments to such text enacted other than
58 by this act shall be preserved and continue to operate to the
59 extent that such amendments are not dependent upon the amendment
60 to the text which expires pursuant to this section.
61 Section 3. The Legislature finds that it is a public
62 necessity that the showing of interest statements signed by
63 public employees indicating their desire to no longer be
64 represented by their bargaining agent be made confidential and
65 exempt from s. 119.07(1), Florida Statutes, and s. 24(a),
66 Article I of the State Constitution. The showing of interest
67 statements signed by public employees indicating their desire to
68 be represented by a bargaining agent is already confidential and
69 exempt pursuant to s. 447.307, Florida Statutes, in order to
70 avoid the practical effect of chilling the employees’ exercise
71 of the right to form and join a union. Similarly, the showing of
72 interest statements seeking to decertify a union must be kept
73 confidential in order to avoid the practical effect of chilling
74 the employees’ exercise of the right to no longer be represented
75 by a union. The Legislature finds that the harm that may result
76 from the release of this showing of interest information
77 outweighs any public benefit that may be derived from the
78 disclosure of the information.
79 Section 4. This act shall take effect upon becoming a law.