HB 1445 2023
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to employee organizations representing 2
public employees; amending s. 447.301, F.S.; requiring 3
a public employee who desires to be a member of an 4
employee organization to sign a membership 5
authorization form beginning on a specified date; 6
requiring that such form include a specified 7
statement; authorizing a public employee to revoke 8
membership in an employee organization at any time of 9
the year; requiring an employee organization to revoke 10
a public employee's membership upon receipt of his or 11
her written request for revocation; prohibiting an 12
employee organization from limiting an employee's 13
right to revoke membership to certain dates; 14
prohibiting a revocation form from requiring a reason 15
for the public employee's decision to revoke his or 16
her membership; requiring employee organizations to 17
retain such authorization forms and requests for 18
revocation for inspection by the Public Employees 19
Relations Commission; providing applicability with 20
respect to certain employee organizations; authorizing 21
the commission to adopt rules; amending s. 447.303, 22
F.S.; prohibiting certain employee organizations from 23
having dues and uniform assessments deducted and 24
collected by the employer from certain salaries; 25
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
authorizing public employees to pay dues and uniform 26
assessments directly to the employee organization; 27
authorizing certain employee organizations to have 28
dues and uniform assessments deducted and collected by 29
the employer from certain salaries; amending s. 30
447.305, F.S.; revising requirements for application s 31
for initial registrations and renewals of registration 32
of employee organizations; providing procedures for 33
incomplete applications; requiring certain employee 34
organizations to petition the commission for 35
recertification as bargaining agents; authorizing a 36
public employer or bargaining unit employee to 37
challenge an employee organization's application for 38
renewal of registration; requiring the commission or 39
one of its designated agents to review the 40
application; requiring the commission to revoke the 41
registration and certification of the employee 42
organization in certain circumstances; authorizing the 43
commission to conduct investigations for specified 44
purposes; authorizing the commission to revoke or deny 45
an employee organization's registration or 46
certification under certain circumstances; specifying 47
that certain decisions issued by the commission are 48
reviewable final agency actions; providing 49
applicability with respect to certain employee 50
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
organizations; requiring certain employee 51
organizations to provide its members with an annual 52
audited financial report; requiring employee 53
organizations to notify its members annually of all 54
costs of membership; amending s. 447.509, F.S; 55
revising prohibitions for employee organizations and 56
certain persons and entities relatin g to employee 57
organizations; amending s. 1012.2315, F.S.; removing 58
duplicative provisions; reenacting ss. 110.114(3) and 59
447.507(6)(a), F.S., relating to employee wage 60
deductions and violation of strike prohibition and 61
penalties, respectively, to incorpora te the amendment 62
made to s. 447.303, F.S., in references thereto; 63
providing effective dates. 64
65
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 66
67
Section 1. Subsection (1) of section 447.301, Florida 68
Statutes, is amended to read: 69
447.301 Public employees' rights; organization and 70
representation.— 71
(1)(a) Public employees shall have the right to form, 72
join, and participate in, or to refrain from forming, joining, 73
or participating in, any employee organization of their own 74
choosing. 75
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(b)1. Beginning July 1, 2023, a public employee who 76
desires to be a member of an employee organization must sign and 77
date a membership authorization form, as prescribed by the 78
commission, with the bargaining agent. 79
2. The membership authorization form must ide ntify the 80
name of the bargaining agent, the name of the employee, the 81
class code and class title of the employee, the name of the 82
public employer and employing agency, if applicable, and the 83
amount of the initiation fee and of the monthly dues which the 84
member must pay. 85
3. The membership authorization form must contain the 86
following statement in 14 -point type: 87
88
The State of Florida is a right -to-work state. 89
Membership or non-membership in a labor union is not 90
required as a condition of employment, and uni on 91
membership and payment of union dues and assessments 92
are voluntary. Each person has the right to join and 93
pay dues to a labor union or to refrain from joining 94
and paying dues to a labor union. No employee may be 95
discriminated against in any manner for j oining and 96
financially supporting a labor union or for refusing 97
to join or financially support a labor union. 98
99
4. A public employee may revoke membership in the employee 100
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organization at any time of the year. Upon receipt of the 101
employee's written revocat ion of membership, the employee 102
organization must revoke a public employee's membership. The 103
employee organization may not limit an employee's right to 104
revoke membership to certain dates. If a public employee must 105
complete a form to revoke membership in th e employee 106
organization, the form may not require a reason for the public 107
employee's decision to revoke his or her membership. 108
5. An employee organization must retain for inspection by 109
the commission such membership authorization forms and any 110
revocations. 111
6. This paragraph does not apply to members of an employee 112
organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent to 113
represent law enforcement officers, correctional officers, or 114
correctional probation officers as those terms are defined in s. 115
943.10(1), (2), or (3), respectively, or firefighters as defined 116
in s. 633.102. 117
7. The commission may adopt rules to implement this 118
paragraph. 119
Section 2. Effective July 1, 2023, section 447.303, 120
Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 121
447.303 Dues; deduction and collection. — 122
(1) Except as authorized in subsection (2), an employee 123
organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent may 124
not have its dues and uniform assessments deducted and collected 125
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by the employer from the salaries of those employees in the 126
unit. A public employee may pay dues and uniform assessments 127
directly to the employee organization that has been certified as 128
the bargaining agent. 129
(2)(a) An Any employee organization that which has been 130
certified as a bargaining agent to represent law enforcement 131
officers, correctional officers, or correctional probation 132
officers as those terms are defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), or 133
(3), respectively, or firefighters as defined in s. 633.102 has 134
shall have the right to have its dues and un iform assessments 135
deducted and collected by the employer from the salaries of 136
those employees who authorize the deduction and collection of 137
said dues and uniform assessments. However, such authorization 138
is revocable at the employee's request upon 30 days' written 139
notice to the employer and employee organization. Said 140
deductions shall commence upon the bargaining agent's written 141
request to the employer. 142
(b) Reasonable costs to the employer of said deductions is 143
shall be a proper subject of collective barga ining. 144
(c) Such right to deduction, unless revoked under pursuant 145
to s. 447.507, is shall be in force for so long as the employee 146
organization remains the certified bargaining agent for the 147
employees in the unit. 148
(3) The public employer is expressly pr ohibited from any 149
involvement in the collection of fines, penalties, or special 150
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assessments. 151
Section 3. Effective October 1, 2023, section 447.305, 152
Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 153
447.305 Registration of employee organization. — 154
(1) Every employee organization seeking to become a 155
certified bargaining agent for public employees shall register 156
with the commission pursuant to the procedures set forth in s. 157
120.60 prior to requesting recognition by a public employer for 158
purposes of collective barga ining and prior to submitting a 159
petition to the commission requesting certification as an 160
exclusive bargaining agent. Further, if such employee 161
organization is not registered, it may not participate in a 162
representation hearing, participate in a representat ion 163
election, or be certified as an exclusive bargaining agent. The 164
application for registration required by this section shall be 165
under oath and in such form as the commission may prescribe and 166
shall include: 167
(a) The name and address of the organization and of any 168
parent organization or organization with which it is affiliated. 169
(b) The names and addresses of the principal officers and 170
all representatives of the organization. 171
(c) The amount of the initiation fee and of the monthly 172
dues which members m ust pay. 173
(d) The current annual audited financial statement of the 174
organization. 175
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(e) The name of its business agent, if any; if different 176
from the business agent, the name of its local agent for service 177
of process; and the addresses where such person o r persons can 178
be reached. 179
(f) A pledge, in a form prescribed by the commission, that 180
the employee organization will conform to the laws of the state 181
and that it will accept members without regard to age, race, 182
sex, religion, or national origin. 183
(g) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the 184
employee organization. 185
(h) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the 186
state and national groups with which the employee organization 187
is affiliated or associated. In lieu of this provision, and u pon 188
adoption of a rule by the commission, a state or national 189
affiliate or parent organization of any registering labor 190
organization may annually submit a copy of its current 191
constitution and bylaws. 192
(i) A pledge, in a form prescribed by the commission, that 193
the annual salary of an official of the employee organization 194
will not exceed the highest salary of any employee member in its 195
organization. This paragraph does not apply to an employee 196
organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent to 197
represent law enforcement officers, correctional officers, or 198
correctional probation officers as those terms are defined in s. 199
943.10(1), (2), or (3), respectively, or firefighters as defined 200
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S
in s. 633.102. 201
(2) A registration granted to an employee organi zation 202
pursuant to the provisions of this section shall run for 1 year 203
from the date of issuance. A registration shall be renewed 204
annually by filing application for renewal under oath with the 205
commission, which application shall reflect any changes in the 206
information provided to the commission in conjunction with the 207
employee organization's preceding application for registration 208
or previous renewal, whichever is applicable. Each application 209
for renewal of registration shall include a current annual 210
audited financial statement, certified by an independent 211
certified public accountant licensed under chapter 473 and 212
report, signed by the employee organization's its president and 213
treasurer or corresponding principal officers, containing the 214
following information in such detail as may be necessary 215
accurately to disclose its financial condition and operations 216
for its preceding fiscal year and in such categories as the 217
commission may prescribe: 218
(a) Assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the 219
fiscal year; 220
(b) Receipts of any kind and the sources thereof; 221
(c) Salary, allowances, and other direct or indirect 222
disbursements, including reimbursed expenses, to each officer 223
and also to each employee who, during such fiscal year, received 224
more than $10,000 in the aggregate from such employee 225
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organization and any other employee organization affiliated with 226
it or with which it is affiliated or which is affiliated with 227
the same national or international employee organization; 228
(d) Direct and indirect loans made t o any officer, 229
employee, or member which aggregated more than $250 during the 230
fiscal year, together with a statement of the purpose, security, 231
if any, and arrangements for repayment; and 232
(e) Direct and indirect loans to any business enterprise, 233
together with a statement of the purpose, security, if any, and 234
arrangements for repayment. 235
(3) In addition to subsection (2), an employee 236
organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent for 237
public employees must include for each such certified barga ining 238
unit the following information and documentation as of the 30th 239
day immediately preceding the date of renewal in its application 240
for any renewal of registration on or after October 1, 2023: 241
(a) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who are 242
eligible for representation by the employee organization. 243
(b) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who 244
have submitted signed membership authorization forms without a 245
subsequent revocation of such membership. 246
(c) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who 247
paid dues to the employee organization. 248
(d) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who did 249
not pay dues to the employee organization. 250
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(e) Documentation provided by the public employer 251
verifying the information provided in paragraph (a). 252
(f) Documentation provided by an independent certified 253
public accountant retained by the employee organization which 254
verifies the information provided in paragraphs (b), (c), and 255
(d). 256
(4) The employee organization must provide a copy of its 257
application for renewal of registration relating to a public 258
employer's employees to the public employer on the same day the 259
application is submitted to the commission. 260
(5) An application for renewal of registration is 261
incomplete and is not eligib le for consideration by the 262
commission if it does not include all of the information and 263
documentation required in subsection (3). The commission shall 264
notify the employee organization if the application is 265
incomplete. An incomplete application must be dis missed if the 266
required information and documentation are not provided within 267
10 days after the employee organization receives such notice. 268
(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter 269
relating to collective bargaining, an employee organization that 270
had less than 60 percent of the employees eligible for 271
representation in the bargaining unit pay dues during its last 272
registration period must petition the commission pursuant to s. 273
447.307(2) and (3) for recertification as the exclusive 274
representative of all employees in the bargaining unit within 1 275
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month after the date on which the employee organization applies 276
for renewal of registration pursuant to subsection (2). The 277
certification of an employee organization that does not comply 278
with this section is r evoked. 279
(7) The public employer or a bargaining unit employee may 280
challenge an employee organization's application for renewal of 281
registration if the public employer or bargaining unit employee 282
believes that the application is inaccurate. The commission or 283
one of its designated agents shall review the application to 284
determine its accuracy and compliance with this section. If the 285
commission finds that the application is inaccurate or does not 286
comply with this section, the commission shall revoke the 287
registration and certification of the employee organization. 288
(8) The commission may conduct an investigation to confirm 289
the validity of any information submitted pursuant to this 290
section. The commission may revoke or deny an employee 291
organization's registratio n or certification if it finds that 292
the employee organization: 293
(a) Failed to cooperate with the investigation conducted 294
pursuant to this subsection; or 295
(b) Intentionally misrepresented the information it 296
submitted pursuant to subsection (3). 297
298
A decision issued by the commission pursuant to this subsection 299
is a final agency action that is reviewable pursuant to s. 300
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447.504. 301
(9) Subsections (3) -(8) do not apply to an employee 302
organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent to 303
represent law enforcement officers, correctional officers, or 304
correctional probation officers as those terms are defined in s. 305
943.10(1), (2), or (3), respectively, or firefighters as defined 306
in s. 633.102. 307
(10)(3) A registration fee shall accompany each 308
application filed with the commission. The amount charged for an 309
application for registration or renewal of registration shall 310
not exceed $15. All such money collected by the commission shall 311
be deposited in the General Revenue Fund. 312
(11)(4) Every employee organizatio n shall keep accurate 313
accounts of its income and expenses, which accounts shall be 314
open for inspection at all reasonable times by any member of the 315
organization or by the commission. In addition, each employee 316
organization that has been certified as a barg aining agent must 317
provide to its members an annual audited financial report that 318
includes a detailed breakdown of revenues and expenditures, and 319
an accounting of membership dues and assessments. The employee 320
organization must notify its members annually of all costs of 321
membership. 322
Section 4. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of section 323
447.509, Florida Statutes, is amended, and paragraphs (d) and 324
(e) are added to that subsection, to read: 325
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447.509 Other unlawful acts. — 326
(1) Employee organizations, their members, agents, or 327
representatives, or any persons acting on their behalf are 328
hereby prohibited from: 329
(b)1. Distributing literature during working hours in 330
areas where the actual work of law enforcement officers, 331
firefighters, correctional officers, or correctional probation 332
officers public employees is performed, such as offices, 333
warehouses, schools, police stations, fire stations, and any 334
similar public installations. This section shall not be 335
construed to prohibit the distribution of literature durin g the 336
employee's lunch hour or in such areas not specifically devoted 337
to the performance of the employee's official duties. 338
2. Distributing literature in areas where the actual work 339
of public employees other than law enforcement officers, 340
firefighters, correctional officers, or correctional probation 341
officers is performed, such as offices, warehouses, schools, and 342
any similar public installations. 343
(d) Offering anything of value to a public officer as 344
defined in s. 112.313(1) which the public officer is prohibited 345
from accepting under s. 112.313(2). 346
(e) Offering any compensation, payment, or thing of value 347
to a public officer as defined in s. 112.313(1) which the public 348
officer is prohibited from accepting under s. 112.313(4). 349
Section 5. Effective O ctober 1, 2023, paragraph (c) of 350
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subsection (4) of section 1012.2315, Florida Statutes, is 351
amended to read: 352
1012.2315 Assignment of teachers. — 353
(4) COLLECTIVE BARGAINING. — 354
(c)1. In addition to the provisions under s. 447.305(2), 355
an employee organizati on that has been certified as the 356
bargaining agent for a unit of instructional personnel as 357
defined in s. 1012.01(2) must include for each such certified 358
bargaining unit the following information in its application for 359
renewal of registration: 360
a. The number of employees in the bargaining unit who are 361
eligible for representation by the employee organization. 362
b. The number of employees who are represented by the 363
employee organization, specifying the number of members who pay 364
dues and the number of members who do not pay dues. 365
2. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 447 relating 366
to collective bargaining, an employee organization whose dues 367
paying membership is less than 50 percent of the employees 368
eligible for representation in the unit, as identified in 369
subparagraph 1., must petition the Public Employees Relations 370
Commission pursuant to s. 447.307(2) and (3) for recertification 371
as the exclusive representative of all employees in the unit 372
within 1 month after the date on which the organization applies 373
for renewal of registr ation pursuant to s. 447.305(2). The 374
certification of an employee organization that does not comply 375
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with this paragraph is revoked. 376
Section 6. Effective July 1, 2023, for the purpose of 377
incorporating the amendment made by this act to section 447.303, 378
Florida Statutes, in a reference thereto, subsection (3) of 379
section 110.114, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read: 380
110.114 Employee wage deductions. — 381
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and 382
(2), the deduction of an employee's members hip dues deductions 383
as defined in s. 447.203(15) for an employee organization as 384
defined in s. 447.203(11) shall be authorized or permitted only 385
for an organization that has been certified as the exclusive 386
bargaining agent pursuant to chapter 447 for a uni t of state 387
employees in which the employee is included. Such deductions 388
shall be subject to the provisions of s. 447.303. 389
Section 7. Effective July 1, 2023, for the purpose of 390
incorporating the amendment made by this act to section 447.303, 391
Florida Statutes, in a reference thereto, paragraph (a) of 392
subsection (6) of section 447.507, Florida Statutes, is 393
reenacted to read: 394
447.507 Violation of strike prohibition; penalties. — 395
(6)(a) If the commission determines that an employee 396
organization has violat ed s. 447.505, it may: 397
1. Issue cease and desist orders as necessary to ensure 398
compliance with its order. 399
2. Suspend or revoke the certification of the employee 400
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organization as the bargaining agent of such employee unit. 401
3. Revoke the right of dues d eduction and collection 402
previously granted to said employee organization pursuant to s. 403
447.303. 404
4. Fine the organization up to $20,000 for each calendar 405
day of such violation or determine the approximate cost to the 406
public due to each calendar day of th e strike and fine the 407
organization an amount equal to such cost, notwithstanding the 408
fact that the fine may exceed $20,000 for each such calendar 409
day. The fines so collected shall immediately accrue to the 410
public employer and shall be used by him or her to replace those 411
services denied the public as a result of the strike. In 412
determining the amount of damages, if any, to be awarded to the 413
public employer, the commission shall take into consideration 414
any action or inaction by the public employer or its agent s that 415
provoked, or tended to provoke, the strike by the public 416
employees. 417
Section 8. Except as otherwise expressly provided in this 418
act, this act shall take effect upon becoming a law. 419