Florida Senate - 2023                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 256
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì692892LÎ692892                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
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       Senator Berman moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment 
    2  
    3         Delete lines 116 - 295
    4  and insert:
    5  943.10(1), (2), or (3), respectively, firefighters as defined in
    6  s. 633.102, or persons employed in any profession described in
    7  s. 420.503(19), relating to essential services.
    8         7.The commission may adopt rules to implement this
    9  paragraph.
   10         Section 2. Effective July 1, 2023, section 447.303, Florida
   11  Statutes, is amended to read:
   12         447.303 Dues; deduction and collection.—
   13         (1) Except as authorized in subsection (2), an employee
   14  organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent may
   15  not have its dues and uniform assessments deducted and collected
   16  by the employer from the salaries of those employees in the
   17  unit. A public employee may pay dues and uniform assessments
   18  directly to the employee organization that has been certified as
   19  the bargaining agent.
   20         (2)(a) An Any employee organization that which has been
   21  certified as a bargaining agent to represent law enforcement
   22  officers, correctional officers, or correctional probation
   23  officers as those terms are defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), or
   24  (3), respectively, firefighters as defined in s. 633.102, or
   25  persons employed in any profession described in s. 420.503(19),
   26  relating to essential services, has shall have the right to have
   27  its dues and uniform assessments deducted and collected by the
   28  employer from the salaries of those employees who authorize the
   29  deduction and collection of said dues and uniform assessments.
   30  However, such authorization is revocable at the employee’s
   31  request upon 30 days’ written notice to the employer and
   32  employee organization. Said deductions shall commence upon the
   33  bargaining agent’s written request to the employer.
   34         (b) Reasonable costs to the employer of said deductions is
   35  shall be a proper subject of collective bargaining.
   36         (c) Such right to deduction, unless revoked under pursuant
   37  to s. 447.507, is shall be in force for so long as the employee
   38  organization remains the certified bargaining agent for the
   39  employees in the unit.
   40         (3) The public employer is expressly prohibited from any
   41  involvement in the collection of fines, penalties, or special
   42  assessments.
   43         Section 3. Effective October 1, 2023, section 447.305,
   44  Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
   45         447.305 Registration of employee organization.—
   46         (1) Every employee organization seeking to become a
   47  certified bargaining agent for public employees shall register
   48  with the commission pursuant to the procedures set forth in s.
   49  120.60 prior to requesting recognition by a public employer for
   50  purposes of collective bargaining and prior to submitting a
   51  petition to the commission requesting certification as an
   52  exclusive bargaining agent. Further, if such employee
   53  organization is not registered, it may not participate in a
   54  representation hearing, participate in a representation
   55  election, or be certified as an exclusive bargaining agent. The
   56  application for registration required by this section shall be
   57  under oath and in such form as the commission may prescribe and
   58  shall include:
   59         (a) The name and address of the organization and of any
   60  parent organization or organization with which it is affiliated.
   61         (b) The names and addresses of the principal officers and
   62  all representatives of the organization.
   63         (c) The amount of the initiation fee and of the monthly
   64  dues which members must pay.
   65         (d) The current annual audited financial statement of the
   66  organization.
   67         (e) The name of its business agent, if any; if different
   68  from the business agent, the name of its local agent for service
   69  of process; and the addresses where such person or persons can
   70  be reached.
   71         (f) A pledge, in a form prescribed by the commission, that
   72  the employee organization will conform to the laws of the state
   73  and that it will accept members without regard to age, race,
   74  sex, religion, or national origin.
   75         (g) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the
   76  employee organization.
   77         (h) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the
   78  state and national groups with which the employee organization
   79  is affiliated or associated. In lieu of this provision, and upon
   80  adoption of a rule by the commission, a state or national
   81  affiliate or parent organization of any registering labor
   82  organization may annually submit a copy of its current
   83  constitution and bylaws.
   84         (2) A registration granted to an employee organization
   85  pursuant to the provisions of this section shall run for 1 year
   86  from the date of issuance. A registration shall be renewed
   87  annually by filing application for renewal under oath with the
   88  commission, which application shall reflect any changes in the
   89  information provided to the commission in conjunction with the
   90  employee organization’s preceding application for registration
   91  or previous renewal, whichever is applicable. Each application
   92  for renewal of registration shall include a current annual
   93  audited financial statement, certified by an independent
   94  certified public accountant licensed under chapter 473 and
   95  report, signed by the employee organization’s its president and
   96  treasurer or corresponding principal officers, containing the
   97  following information in such detail as may be necessary
   98  accurately to disclose its financial condition and operations
   99  for its preceding fiscal year and in such categories as the
  100  commission may prescribe:
  101         (a) Assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the
  102  fiscal year;
  103         (b) Receipts of any kind and the sources thereof;
  104         (c) Salary, allowances, and other direct or indirect
  105  disbursements, including reimbursed expenses, to each officer
  106  and also to each employee who, during such fiscal year, received
  107  more than $10,000 in the aggregate from such employee
  108  organization and any other employee organization affiliated with
  109  it or with which it is affiliated or which is affiliated with
  110  the same national or international employee organization;
  111         (d) Direct and indirect loans made to any officer,
  112  employee, or member which aggregated more than $250 during the
  113  fiscal year, together with a statement of the purpose, security,
  114  if any, and arrangements for repayment; and
  115         (e) Direct and indirect loans to any business enterprise,
  116  together with a statement of the purpose, security, if any, and
  117  arrangements for repayment.
  118         (3)In addition to subsection (2), an employee organization
  119  that has been certified as the bargaining agent for public
  120  employees must include for each such certified bargaining unit
  121  the following information and documentation as of the 30th day
  122  immediately preceding the date of renewal in its application for
  123  any renewal of registration on or after October 1, 2023:
  124         (a)The number of employees in the bargaining unit who are
  125  eligible for representation by the employee organization.
  126         (b)The number of employees in the bargaining unit who have
  127  submitted signed membership authorization forms without a
  128  subsequent revocation of such membership.
  129         (c) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who paid
  130  dues to the employee organization.
  131         (d) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who did
  132  not pay dues to the employee organization.
  133         (e)Documentation provided by an independent certified
  134  public accountant retained by the employee organization which
  135  verifies the information provided in paragraphs (a)-(d).
  136         (4) The employee organization must provide a copy of its
  137  application for renewal of registration relating to a public
  138  employer’s employees to the public employer on the same day the
  139  application is submitted to the commission.
  140         (5)An application for renewal of registration is
  141  incomplete and is not eligible for consideration by the
  142  commission if it does not include all of the information and
  143  documentation required in subsection (3). The commission shall
  144  notify the employee organization if the application is
  145  incomplete. An incomplete application must be dismissed if the
  146  required information and documentation are not provided within
  147  10 days after the employee organization receives such notice.
  148         (6)Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter relating
  149  to collective bargaining, an employee organization that had less
  150  than 60 percent of the employees eligible for representation in
  151  the bargaining unit pay dues during its last registration period
  152  must petition the commission pursuant to s. 447.307(2) and (3)
  153  for recertification as the exclusive representative of all
  154  employees in the bargaining unit within 1 month after the date
  155  on which the employee organization applies for renewal of
  156  registration pursuant to subsection (2). The certification of an
  157  employee organization that does not comply with this section is
  158  revoked.
  159         (7)The public employer or a bargaining unit employee may
  160  challenge an employee organization’s application for renewal of
  161  registration if the public employer or bargaining unit employee
  162  believes that the application is inaccurate. The commission or
  163  one of its designated agents shall review the application to
  164  determine its accuracy and compliance with this section. If the
  165  commission finds that the application is inaccurate or does not
  166  comply with this section, the commission shall revoke the
  167  registration and certification of the employee organization.
  168         (8) The commission may conduct an investigation to confirm
  169  the validity of any information submitted pursuant to this
  170  section. The commission may revoke or deny an employee
  171  organization’s registration or certification if it finds that
  172  the employee organization:
  173         (a)Failed to cooperate with the investigation conducted
  174  pursuant to this subsection; or
  175         (b)Intentionally misrepresented the information it
  176  submitted pursuant to subsection (3).
  177  
  178  A decision issued by the commission pursuant to this subsection
  179  is a final agency action that is reviewable pursuant to s.
  180  447.504.
  181         (9)Subsections (3)-(8) do not apply to an employee
  182  organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent to
  183  represent law enforcement officers, correctional officers, or
  184  correctional probation officers as those terms are defined in s.
  185  943.10(1), (2), or (3), respectively, firefighters as defined in
  186  s. 633.102, or persons employed in any profession described in
  187  s. 420.503(19), relating to essential services.