BILL NUMBER: AB 1659INTRODUCED BILL TEXT INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Butler FEBRUARY 14, 2012 An act to amend Section 3509 of the Government Code, relating to public employment. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST AB 1659, as introduced, Butler. Public Employment Relations Board: powers and duties. Existing law establishes the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), which is charged with administering various collective bargaining provisions. Under existing law, PERB has the power and duty, among others, to order elections, conduct any election, adopt rules, investigate an unfair practice charge, and to determine whether the charge is justified and the appropriate remedy for the unfair practice. Existing law also grants the employee relations commissions for the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles, notwithstanding the above provisions, the power and responsibility to take actions on recognition, unit determinations, elections, and all unfair practices, and to issue determinations and orders as the employee relations commissions deem necessary. This bill would grant the employee relations commissions for the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles the power and authority to take the actions specified above only if those commissions and their respective staff are independent of county and city management, as described, and the commissions are not funded within the same budget item that funds any other public office, department, or agency within the county or city. Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. Section 3509 of the Government Code is amended to read: 3509. (a) The powers and duties of the board described in Section 3541.3 shall also apply, as appropriate, to this chapter and shall include the authority as set forth in subdivisions (b) and (c). Included among the appropriate powers of the board are the power to order elections, to conduct any election the board orders, and to adopt rules to apply in areas where a public agency has no rule. (b) A complaint alleging any violation of this chapter or of any rules and regulations adopted by a public agency pursuant to Section 3507 or 3507.5 shall be processed as an unfair practice charge by the board. The initial determination as to whether the charge of unfair practice is justified and, if so, the appropriate remedy necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, shall be a matter within the exclusive jurisdiction of the board, except that in an action to recover damages due to an unlawful strike, the board shall have no authority to award strike-preparation expenses as damages, and shall have no authority to award damages for costs, expenses, or revenue losses incurred during, or as a consequence of, an unlawful strike. The board shall apply and interpret unfair labor practices consistent with existing judicial interpretations of this chapter. (c) The board shall enforce and apply rules adopted by a public agency concerning unit determinations, representation, recognition, and elections. (d) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, the employee relations commissions established by, and in effect for, the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles pursuant to Section 3507 shall have the power and responsibility to take actions on recognition, unit determinations, elections, and all unfair practices, and to issue determinations and orders as the employee relations commissions deem necessary, consistent with and pursuant to the policies of this chapter , only if the commissions and their respective staff are independent of county and city management, and the commissions are not funded within the same budget item that funds any other public office, department, or agency within the county or city. Independence from city and county management shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following: (1) The commission, and not the city or county management, shall be the custodian of records of the commission. (2) Once a budget is allocated to the commission, the commission shall have the sole discretion on how to allocate its funds. (3) The commission, and not the city or county management, shall have control over all employment issues related to its staff and hearing officers . (e) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, consistent with, and pursuant to, the provisions of Sections 3500 and 3505.4, superior courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over actions involving interest arbitration, as governed by Title 9 (commencing with Section 1280) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, when the action involves an employee organization that represents firefighters, as defined in Section 3251. (f) This section shall not apply to employees designated as management employees under Section 3507.5. (g) The board shall not find it an unfair practice for an employee organization to violate a rule or regulation adopted by a public agency if that rule or regulation is itself in violation of this chapter. This subdivision shall not be construed to restrict or expand the board's jurisdiction or authority as set forth in subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive.