CS for CS for SB 256 First Engrossed (ntc)
2023256e1
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. 447.303,
23 F.S.; prohibiting certain employee organizations from
24 having dues and uniform assessments deducted and
25 collected by the employer from certain salaries;
26 authorizing public employees to pay dues and uniform
27 assessments directly to the employee organization;
28 authorizing certain employee organizations to have
29 dues and uniform assessments deducted and collected by
30 the employer from certain salaries; amending s.
31 447.305, F.S.; revising requirements for applications
32 for initial registrations and renewals of registration
33 of employee organizations; providing procedures for
34 incomplete applications; requiring certain employee
35 organizations to petition the commission for
36 recertification as bargaining agents; authorizing a
37 public employer or bargaining unit employee to
38 challenge an employee organization’s application for
39 renewal of registration; requiring the commission or
40 one of its designated agents to review the
41 application; requiring the commission to revoke the
42 registration and certification of the employee
43 organization in certain circumstances; authorizing the
44 commission to conduct investigations for specified
45 purposes; authorizing the commission to revoke or deny
46 an employee organization’s registration or
47 certification under certain circumstances; specifying
48 that certain decisions issued by the commission are
49 reviewable final agency actions; providing
50 applicability with respect to certain employee
51 organizations; requiring certain employee
52 organizations to provide their members with an annual
53 audited financial report; requiring employee
54 organizations to notify their members annually of all
55 costs of membership; amending s. 447.509, F.S.;
56 revising prohibitions for employee organizations and
57 certain persons and entities relating to employee
58 organizations; amending s. 1012.2315, F.S.; removing
59 duplicative provisions; reenacting ss. 110.114(3) and
60 447.507(6)(a), F.S., relating to employee wage
61 deductions and violation of strike prohibition and
62 penalties, respectively, to incorporate the amendment
63 made to s. 447.303, F.S., in references thereto;
64 providing effective dates.
65
66 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
67
68 Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 447.301, Florida
69 Statutes, is amended to read:
70 447.301 Public employees’ rights; organization and
71 representation.—
72 (1)(a) Public employees shall have the right to form, join,
73 and participate in, or to refrain from forming, joining, or
74 participating in, any employee organization of their own
75 choosing.
76 (b)1. Beginning July 1, 2023, a public employee who desires
77 to be a member of an employee organization must sign and date a
78 membership authorization form, as prescribed by the commission,
79 with the bargaining agent.
80 2. The membership authorization form must identify the name
81 of the bargaining agent, the name of the employee, the class
82 code and class title of the employee, the name of the public
83 employer and employing agency, if applicable, the amount of the
84 initiation fee and of the monthly dues which the member must
85 pay, and the name and total amount of salary, allowances, and
86 other direct or indirect disbursements, including
87 reimbursements, paid to each of the five highest compensated
88 officers and employees of the employee organization disclosed
89 under s. 447.305(2)(c).
90 3. The membership authorization form must contain the
91 following statement in 14-point type:
92
93 The State of Florida is a right-to-work state.
94 Membership or non-membership in a labor union is not
95 required as a condition of employment, and union
96 membership and payment of union dues and assessments
97 are voluntary. Each person has the right to join and
98 pay dues to a labor union or to refrain from joining
99 and paying dues to a labor union. No employee may be
100 discriminated against in any manner for joining and
101 financially supporting a labor union or for refusing
102 to join or financially support a labor union.
103
104 4. A public employee may revoke membership in the employee
105 organization at any time of the year. Upon receipt of the
106 employee’s written revocation of membership, the employee
107 organization must revoke a public employee’s membership. The
108 employee organization may not limit an employee’s right to
109 revoke membership to certain dates. If a public employee must
110 complete a form to revoke membership in the employee
111 organization, the form may not require a reason for the public
112 employee’s decision to revoke his or her membership.
113 5. An employee organization must retain for inspection by
114 the commission such membership authorization forms and any
115 revocations.
116 6. This paragraph does not apply to members of an employee
117 organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent to
118 represent law enforcement officers, correctional officers, or
119 correctional probation officers as those terms are defined in s.
120 943.10(1), (2), or (3), respectively, or firefighters as defined
121 in s. 633.102.
122 7. The commission may adopt rules to implement this
123 paragraph.
124 Section 2. Effective July 1, 2023, section 447.303, Florida
125 Statutes, is amended to read:
126 447.303 Dues; deduction and collection.—
127 (1) Except as authorized in subsection (2), an employee
128 organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent may
129 not have its dues and uniform assessments deducted and collected
130 by the employer from the salaries of those employees in the
131 unit. A public employee may pay dues and uniform assessments
132 directly to the employee organization that has been certified as
133 the bargaining agent.
134 (2)(a) An Any employee organization that which has been
135 certified as a bargaining agent to represent law enforcement
136 officers, correctional officers, or correctional probation
137 officers as those terms are defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), or
138 (3), respectively, or firefighters as defined in s. 633.102 has
139 shall have the right to have its dues and uniform assessments
140 deducted and collected by the employer from the salaries of
141 those employees who authorize the deduction and collection of
142 said dues and uniform assessments. However, such authorization
143 is revocable at the employee’s request upon 30 days’ written
144 notice to the employer and employee organization. Said
145 deductions shall commence upon the bargaining agent’s written
146 request to the employer.
147 (b) Reasonable costs to the employer of said deductions is
148 shall be a proper subject of collective bargaining.
149 (c) Such right to deduction, unless revoked under pursuant
150 to s. 447.507, is shall be in force for so long as the employee
151 organization remains the certified bargaining agent for the
152 employees in the unit.
153 (3) The public employer is expressly prohibited from any
154 involvement in the collection of fines, penalties, or special
155 assessments.
156 Section 3. Effective October 1, 2023, section 447.305,
157 Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
158 447.305 Registration of employee organization.—
159 (1) Every employee organization seeking to become a
160 certified bargaining agent for public employees shall register
161 with the commission pursuant to the procedures set forth in s.
162 120.60 prior to requesting recognition by a public employer for
163 purposes of collective bargaining and prior to submitting a
164 petition to the commission requesting certification as an
165 exclusive bargaining agent. Further, if such employee
166 organization is not registered, it may not participate in a
167 representation hearing, participate in a representation
168 election, or be certified as an exclusive bargaining agent. The
169 application for registration required by this section shall be
170 under oath and in such form as the commission may prescribe and
171 shall include:
172 (a) The name and address of the organization and of any
173 parent organization or organization with which it is affiliated.
174 (b) The names and addresses of the principal officers and
175 all representatives of the organization.
176 (c) The amount of the initiation fee and of the monthly
177 dues which members must pay.
178 (d) The current annual audited financial statement of the
179 organization.
180 (e) The name of its business agent, if any; if different
181 from the business agent, the name of its local agent for service
182 of process; and the addresses where such person or persons can
183 be reached.
184 (f) A pledge, in a form prescribed by the commission, that
185 the employee organization will conform to the laws of the state
186 and that it will accept members without regard to age, race,
187 sex, religion, or national origin.
188 (g) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the
189 employee organization.
190 (h) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the
191 state and national groups with which the employee organization
192 is affiliated or associated. In lieu of this provision, and upon
193 adoption of a rule by the commission, a state or national
194 affiliate or parent organization of any registering labor
195 organization may annually submit a copy of its current
196 constitution and bylaws.
197 (2) A registration granted to an employee organization
198 pursuant to the provisions of this section shall run for 1 year
199 from the date of issuance. A registration shall be renewed
200 annually by filing application for renewal under oath with the
201 commission, which application shall reflect any changes in the
202 information provided to the commission in conjunction with the
203 employee organization’s preceding application for registration
204 or previous renewal, whichever is applicable. Each application
205 for renewal of registration shall include a current annual
206 audited financial statement, certified by an independent
207 certified public accountant licensed under chapter 473 and
208 report, signed by the employee organization’s its president and
209 treasurer or corresponding principal officers, containing the
210 following information in such detail as may be necessary
211 accurately to disclose its financial condition and operations
212 for its preceding fiscal year and in such categories as the
213 commission may prescribe:
214 (a) Assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the
215 fiscal year;
216 (b) Receipts of any kind and the sources thereof;
217 (c) Salary, allowances, and other direct or indirect
218 disbursements, including reimbursed expenses, to each officer
219 and also to each employee who, during such fiscal year, received
220 more than $10,000 in the aggregate from such employee
221 organization and any other employee organization affiliated with
222 it or with which it is affiliated or which is affiliated with
223 the same national or international employee organization;
224 (d) Direct and indirect loans made to any officer,
225 employee, or member which aggregated more than $250 during the
226 fiscal year, together with a statement of the purpose, security,
227 if any, and arrangements for repayment; and
228 (e) Direct and indirect loans to any business enterprise,
229 together with a statement of the purpose, security, if any, and
230 arrangements for repayment.
231 (3) In addition to subsection (2), an employee organization
232 that has been certified as the bargaining agent for public
233 employees must include for each such certified bargaining unit
234 the following information and documentation as of the 30th day
235 immediately preceding the date of renewal in its application for
236 any renewal of registration on or after October 1, 2023:
237 (a) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who are
238 eligible for representation by the employee organization.
239 (b) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who have
240 submitted signed membership authorization forms without a
241 subsequent revocation of such membership.
242 (c) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who paid
243 dues to the employee organization.
244 (d) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who did
245 not pay dues to the employee organization.
246 (e) Documentation provided by an independent certified
247 public accountant retained by the employee organization which
248 verifies the information provided in paragraphs (a)-(d).
249 (4) The employee organization must provide a copy of its
250 application for renewal of registration relating to a public
251 employer’s employees to the public employer on the same day the
252 application is submitted to the commission.
253 (5) An application for renewal of registration is
254 incomplete and is not eligible for consideration by the
255 commission if it does not include all of the information and
256 documentation required in subsection (3). The commission shall
257 notify the employee organization if the application is
258 incomplete. An incomplete application must be dismissed if the
259 required information and documentation are not provided within
260 10 days after the employee organization receives such notice.
261 (6) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter relating
262 to collective bargaining, an employee organization that had less
263 than 60 percent of the employees eligible for representation in
264 the bargaining unit pay dues during its last registration period
265 must petition the commission pursuant to s. 447.307(2) and (3)
266 for recertification as the exclusive representative of all
267 employees in the bargaining unit within 1 month after the date
268 on which the employee organization applies for renewal of
269 registration pursuant to subsection (2). The certification of an
270 employee organization that does not comply with this section is
271 revoked.
272 (7) The public employer or a bargaining unit employee may
273 challenge an employee organization’s application for renewal of
274 registration if the public employer or bargaining unit employee
275 believes that the application is inaccurate. The commission or
276 one of its designated agents shall review the application to
277 determine its accuracy and compliance with this section. If the
278 commission finds that the application is inaccurate or does not
279 comply with this section, the commission shall revoke the
280 registration and certification of the employee organization.
281 (8) The commission may conduct an investigation to confirm
282 the validity of any information submitted pursuant to this
283 section. The commission may revoke or deny an employee
284 organization’s registration or certification if it finds that
285 the employee organization:
286 (a) Failed to cooperate with the investigation conducted
287 pursuant to this subsection; or
288 (b) Intentionally misrepresented the information it
289 submitted pursuant to subsection (3).
290
291 A decision issued by the commission pursuant to this subsection
292 is a final agency action that is reviewable pursuant to s.
293 447.504.
294 (9) Subsections (3)-(8) do not apply to an employee
295 organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent to
296 represent law enforcement officers, correctional officers, or
297 correctional probation officers as those terms are defined in s.
298 943.10(1), (2), or (3), respectively, or firefighters as defined
299 in s. 633.102.
300 (10)(3) A registration fee shall accompany each application
301 filed with the commission. The amount charged for an application
302 for registration or renewal of registration shall not exceed
303 $15. All such money collected by the commission shall be
304 deposited in the General Revenue Fund.
305 (11)(4) Every employee organization shall keep accurate
306 accounts of its income and expenses, which accounts shall be
307 open for inspection at all reasonable times by any member of the
308 organization or by the commission. In addition, each employee
309 organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent must
310 provide to its members an annual audited financial report that
311 includes a detailed breakdown of revenues and expenditures, and
312 an accounting of membership dues and assessments. The employee
313 organization must notify its members annually of all costs of
314 membership.
315 Section 4. Paragraphs (d) and (e) are added to subsection
316 (1) of section 447.509, Florida Statutes, to read:
317 447.509 Other unlawful acts.—
318 (1) Employee organizations, their members, agents, or
319 representatives, or any persons acting on their behalf are
320 hereby prohibited from:
321 (d) Offering anything of value to a public officer as
322 defined in s. 112.313(1) which the public officer is prohibited
323 from accepting under s. 112.313(2).
324 (e) Offering any compensation, payment, or thing of value
325 to a public officer as defined in s. 112.313(1) which the public
326 officer is prohibited from accepting under s. 112.313(4).
327 Section 5. Effective October 1, 2023, paragraph (c) of
328 subsection (4) of section 1012.2315, Florida Statutes, is
329 amended to read:
330 1012.2315 Assignment of teachers.—
331 (4) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING.—
332 (c)1. In addition to the provisions under s. 447.305(2), an
333 employee organization that has been certified as the bargaining
334 agent for a unit of instructional personnel as defined in s.
335 1012.01(2) must include for each such certified bargaining unit
336 the following information in its application for renewal of
337 registration:
338 a. The number of employees in the bargaining unit who are
339 eligible for representation by the employee organization.
340 b. The number of employees who are represented by the
341 employee organization, specifying the number of members who pay
342 dues and the number of members who do not pay dues.
343 2. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 447 relating
344 to collective bargaining, an employee organization whose dues
345 paying membership is less than 50 percent of the employees
346 eligible for representation in the unit, as identified in
347 subparagraph 1., must petition the Public Employees Relations
348 Commission pursuant to s. 447.307(2) and (3) for recertification
349 as the exclusive representative of all employees in the unit
350 within 1 month after the date on which the organization applies
351 for renewal of registration pursuant to s. 447.305(2). The
352 certification of an employee organization that does not comply
353 with this paragraph is revoked.
354 Section 6. Effective July 1, 2023, for the purpose of
355 incorporating the amendment made by this act to section 447.303,
356 Florida Statutes, in a reference thereto, subsection (3) of
357 section 110.114, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
358 110.114 Employee wage deductions.—
359 (3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and
360 (2), the deduction of an employee’s membership dues deductions
361 as defined in s. 447.203(15) for an employee organization as
362 defined in s. 447.203(11) shall be authorized or permitted only
363 for an organization that has been certified as the exclusive
364 bargaining agent pursuant to chapter 447 for a unit of state
365 employees in which the employee is included. Such deductions
366 shall be subject to the provisions of s. 447.303.
367 Section 7. Effective July 1, 2023, for the purpose of
368 incorporating the amendment made by this act to section 447.303,
369 Florida Statutes, in a reference thereto, paragraph (a) of
370 subsection (6) of section 447.507, Florida Statutes, is
371 reenacted to read:
372 447.507 Violation of strike prohibition; penalties.—
373 (6)(a) If the commission determines that an employee
374 organization has violated s. 447.505, it may:
375 1. Issue cease and desist orders as necessary to ensure
376 compliance with its order.
377 2. Suspend or revoke the certification of the employee
378 organization as the bargaining agent of such employee unit.
379 3. Revoke the right of dues deduction and collection
380 previously granted to said employee organization pursuant to s.
381 447.303.
382 4. Fine the organization up to $20,000 for each calendar
383 day of such violation or determine the approximate cost to the
384 public due to each calendar day of the strike and fine the
385 organization an amount equal to such cost, notwithstanding the
386 fact that the fine may exceed $20,000 for each such calendar
387 day. The fines so collected shall immediately accrue to the
388 public employer and shall be used by him or her to replace those
389 services denied the public as a result of the strike. In
390 determining the amount of damages, if any, to be awarded to the
391 public employer, the commission shall take into consideration
392 any action or inaction by the public employer or its agents that
393 provoked, or tended to provoke, the strike by the public
394 employees.
395 Section 8. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
396 act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law.