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 employees membership upon receipt of his or 12 her written request for revocation; prohibiting an 13 employee organization from limiting an employees 14 right to revoke membership to certain dates; 15 prohibiting a revocation form from requiring a reason 16 for the public employees 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 organizations 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 organizations 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: 70 447.301Public 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 employees written revocation of membership, the employee 107 organization must revoke a public employees membership. The 108 employee organization may not limit an employees 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 employees 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: 126 447.303Dues; 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 employees request upon 30 days written 144 notice to the employer and employee organization. Said 145 deductions shall commence upon the bargaining agents 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: 158 447.305Registration 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 organizations 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 organizations 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 employers 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 organizations 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 organizations 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: 317 447.509Other 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 1012.2315Assignment 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: 358 110.114Employee wage deductions. 359 (3)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and 360 (2), the deduction of an employees 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: 372 447.507Violation 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.