House Bill hb1943

    Florida House of Representatives - 2001                HB 1943

        By the Committee on State Administration and
    Representative Brummer





  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to the deduction and collection

  3         of a bargaining agent's dues and uniform

  4         assessments; amending s. 447.303, F.S.;

  5         eliminating a right of certain bargaining

  6         agents to have certain dues and assessments

  7         deducted and collected by an employer from

  8         certain employees; providing legislative

  9         findings and intent; providing that the

10         deduction and collection of certain dues and

11         assessments is a proper subject of collective

12         bargaining; providing requirements and

13         limitations; providing for accounting of funds;

14         providing for enforcement; providing an

15         effective date.

16

17  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

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19         Section 1.  Section 447.303, Florida Statutes, is

20  amended to read:

21         447.303  Dues; deduction and collection.--

22         (1)  Any employee organization which has been certified

23  as a bargaining agent, other than a certified bargaining agent

24  for instructional personnel as defined in s. 228.041, shall

25  have the right to have its dues and uniform assessments

26  deducted and collected by the employer from the salaries of

27  those employees who authorize the deduction of said dues and

28  uniform assessments.  However, such authorization is revocable

29  at the employee's request upon 30 days' written notice to the

30  employer and employee organization.  Said deductions shall

31  commence upon the bargaining agent's written request to the

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  1  employer.  Reasonable costs to the employer of said deductions

  2  shall be a proper subject of collective bargaining.  Such

  3  right to deduction, unless revoked pursuant to s. 447.507,

  4  shall be in force for so long as the employee organization

  5  remains the certified bargaining agent for the employees in

  6  the unit.  The public employer is expressly prohibited from

  7  any involvement in the collection of fines, penalties, or

  8  special assessments.

  9         (2)(a)  The Legislature recognizes and finds that

10  teacher shortages in this state have reached critical

11  proportions and anticipates that this state will need an

12  additional 162,000 teachers over the next 10 years to meet the

13  challenges of the state's growing student population. The

14  Legislature further finds that this teacher shortage is

15  exacerbated by the collective bargaining agent's emphasis on

16  increased salaries for long-tenured teachers, as opposed to

17  beginning teachers, and favored status for long-tenured

18  teachers over beginning teachers with respect to conditions of

19  employment. As a result of these disparities, many beginning

20  teachers leave the system in frustration.  The Legislature

21  also finds that, as a result of the recent merger and industry

22  consolidation of the collective bargaining agents that

23  represent instructional personnel as defined in s. 228.041, a

24  monopoly in such services has been created in this state.

25  Because of these facts and trends, the Legislature finds that

26  the current status of instructional personnel representation

27  constitutes a set of circumstances distinct and unique from

28  any other area of public employment. Therefore, the

29  Legislature finds that with regard to instructional personnel,

30  the deduction and collection of the certified bargaining

31  agent's dues and uniform assessments should not be mandated by

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  1  the Legislature but shall be a permissive subject of

  2  collective bargaining, as otherwise restricted in this

  3  subsection. Further, the Legislature acknowledges that this

  4  state is a right-to-work state as guaranteed by the State

  5  Constitution.  The Legislature finds that the State

  6  Constitution does not require an employer to deduct and

  7  collect a bargaining agent's dues and uniform assessments from

  8  an employee's salary and that such a procedure is a statutory

  9  construct that, under the circumstances, can no longer

10  generate support.

11         (b)  With regard to a certified bargaining agent that

12  represents instructional personnel as defined in s. 228.041,

13  any deduction and collection by an employer of that certified

14  bargaining agent's dues and uniform assessments from an

15  employee's salary may be a proper subject of collective

16  bargaining. If the deduction and collection of an agent's dues

17  and uniform assessments are collectively bargained, the

18  collectively bargained agreement shall provide that payroll

19  deduction for dues or uniform assessments shall not exceed an

20  amount actually used for activities of the certified

21  bargaining agent necessary to perform the agent's duties

22  regarding the resolution of labor-management issues which

23  consist of collective bargaining, contract administration, and

24  grievance adjustment. Such amount shall not include any

25  amounts used for any other purpose, including, but not limited

26  to: electoral activities; independent expenditures or

27  contributions to any candidate, political party, political

28  committee, or committee of continuous existence; voter

29  registration campaigns; or any other political or legislative

30  cause, including, but not limited to, ballot initiatives.

31  Additionally, the collectively bargained agreement must

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  1  require the written authorization of the employee,

  2  commencement of the deductions upon the bargaining agent's

  3  written request to the employer, collection of reasonable

  4  costs which must include all of the costs incurred by the

  5  employer for making such deduction, revocation provisions,

  6  including revocation pursuant to s. 447.507, and a prohibition

  7  against the public employer from collecting fines, penalties,

  8  special assessments, or for any purpose other than

  9  labor-management issues, as provided for in this subsection.

10         (c)  The collectively bargained agreement shall also

11  provide for a reasonable accounting of funds through a

12  segregation of funds received through payroll deduction or by

13  an independent audit of the use of such funds.

14         (d)  Any taxpayer or other aggrieved party may seek

15  enforcement of this subsection in a court of competent

16  jurisdiction.

17         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 2001.

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19            *****************************************

20                          HOUSE SUMMARY

21
      Provides that the deduction and collection of dues and
22    uniform assessments by a certified bargaining agent that
      represents educational personnel is a proper subject of
23    collective bargaining. Provides requirements and
      limitations. Provides for accounting of funds. Provides
24    for enforcement actions in court by taxpayers or
      aggrieved persons. See bill for details.
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