The Florida Senate
BILL ANALYSIS AND FISCAL IMPACT STATEMENT
(This document is based on the provisions contained in the legislation as of the latest date listed below.)
Prepared By: The Professional Staff of the Committee on Governmental Oversight and Accountability
BILL: SB 1746
INTRODUCER: Senator Ingoglia
SUBJECT: Public Employees
DATE: January 19, 2024
ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR REFERENCE ACTION
1. McVaney McVaney GO Favorable
2. RC
I. Summary:
SB 1746 modifies the requirements for employee organizations and bargaining units to maintain
registration and certification requirements. Specifically, the bill:
Clarifies the Public Employee Relations Commission’s (PERC) authority to waive
requirements regarding the prohibition on dues and assessment deductions applies only to
mass transit employees who have signed membership authorization forms and submitted the
forms to the public employer as part of the employees’ authorizations for the public employer
to deduct amounts from the employees’ salaries.
Requires a public employee to submit the signed membership authorization form to the
bargaining agent if the employee wants to join the bargaining unit. Under current law, these
forms must be maintained by the employee organization and are subject to inspect by the
PERC.
Exempts from the membership authorization form requirements those bargaining units (not
the employee organization generally) the majority of whose employees eligible for
representation are employed as law enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional
probation officers, firefighters, 911 public safety telecommunicators, emergency medical
technicians or paramedics.
Clarifies that an employee organization has the right to have its dues and assessments
deducted from employees’ salaries only if the affected bargaining unit the majority of whose
employees eligible for representation are employed in particular occupations. The
occupations that are eligible to have union dues and assessments deducted from public
salaries are expanded to include 911 public safety telecommunicators, emergency medical
technicians and paramedics.
Modifies the information an employee organization must submit to the PERC during the
renewal of registration process to include the frequency of collection of membership dues
and data on expenditures. The annual financial statement will no longer be required to be
“audited” by a certified public accountant. Instead, the statement must be “prepared” by a
certified public accountant.
REVISED: BILL: SB 1746 Page 2
Requires an employee organization that has not had 60 percent of its unit employees pay
dues during its last registration period and submit membership authorization forms to petition
the PERC for recertification as the bargaining agent within 30 days (rather than 1 month)
after the date the employee organization applied for renewal of registration. If the employee
organization fails to petition timely, the certification as the bargaining agent is revoked.
Modifies the circumstances under which the PERC may revoke an employee organization’
registration or certification as a bargaining agent to include:
o The employee organization’s refusal to permit the PERC to inspect membership
authorization forms or revocations.
o The employee organization intentionally misrepresenting any information submitted for
its registration renewal rather than just the information submitted to determine whether a
bargaining unit has 60 percent of its eligible employees paying dues to the employee
organization.
Modifies the exemption regarding the submission of membership information and the
associated consequences if a bargaining unit does not meet the 60 percent threshold. The
exemption applicable to a bargaining unit the majority of whose employees eligible for
representation are employed as law enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional
probation officers, firefighters, 911 public safety telecommunicators, emergency medical
technicians or paramedics. This clarifies that the exemption is applicable to the bargaining
unit rather than the employee organization as a whole. Moreover, the occupations exempted
are expanded to include 911 public safety telecommunicators, emergency medical
technicians, and paramedics.
Modifies the requirements placed on each employee organization to make certain
information available to its members. The annual financial report will no longer be required
to be “audited” by a certified public accountant. Instead, the report must be “prepared” by a
certified public accountant. In addition, the PERC is granted authority to prescribe the
categories of revenues and expenditures to be included in the annual financial report.
The fiscal impact on the PERC is indeterminate. The bill is not expected to otherwise impact
state or local government revenues and expenditures.
The bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
II. Present Situation:
Right-to-Work
The State Constitution provides that the “right of persons to work shall not be denied or abridged
on account of membership or non-membership in any labor union or labor organization.”
1
Based
on this constitutional right, Florida is regarded as a “right-to-work” state.
1
FLA. CONST. art. 1, s. 6. BILL: SB 1746 Page 3
Collective Bargaining
The State Constitution also guarantees that “the right of employees, by and through a labor
organization, to bargain collectively shall not be denied or abridged.”
2
To implement this
constitutional provision, the Legislature enacted ch. 447, F.S., which provides that the purpose of
collective bargaining is to promote cooperative relationships between the government and its
employees and to protect the public by assuring the orderly and uninterrupted operations and
functions of government.
3
Public employees have the right to form, join, participate in, and be
represented by an employee organization of their own choosing, or to refrain from forming,
joining, participating in, or being represented by an employee organization.
4
Regardless of union
membership, each employee is subject to the negotiated collective bargaining agreement that is
applicable to the employee’s position. Through collective bargaining, public employees
5
collectively negotiate with their public employer
6
in the determination of the terms and
conditions of their employment.
7
The Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) is
responsible for assisting in resolving disputes between public employees and public employers.
8
Registration of Employee Organization
An employee organization
9
that seeks to become a certified bargaining agent for public
employees must register with the PERC prior to (a) requesting recognition by a public employer
for purposes of collective bargaining and (b) submitting a petition to the PERC to request
certification as an exclusive bargaining agent.
10
The application for registration must include:
2
Id.
3
Section 447.201, F.S.
4
Section 447.301(1) and (2), F.S.
5
Section 447.203(3), F.S., defines the term “public employee” to mean any person employed by a public employer except:
(a) Persons appointed by the Governor or elected by the people, agency heads, and members of boards and
commissions.
(b) Persons holding positions by appointment or employment in the organized militia.
(c) Individuals acting as negotiating representatives for employer authorities.
(d) Persons who are designated by the commission as managerial or confidential employees pursuant to criteria
contained herein.
(e) Persons holding positions of employment with the Florida Legislature.
(f) Persons who have been convicted of a crime and are inmates confined to institutions within the state.
(g) Persons appointed to inspection positions in federal/state fruit and vegetable inspection service whose conditions of
appointment are affected by the following:
1. Federal license requirement.
2. Federal autonomy regarding investigation and disciplining of appointees.
3. Frequent transfers due to harvesting conditions.
(h) Persons employed by the Public Employees Relations Commission.
(i) Persons enrolled as undergraduate students in a state university who perform part-time work for the state university.
6
The term “public employer” means the state or any county, municipality, or special district or any subdivision or agency
thereof that the commission determines has sufficient legal distinctiveness properly to carry out the functions of a public
employer. Section 447.203(2), F.S.
7
Section 447.301(2), F.S.
8
Section 447.201(3), F.S.
9
Section 447.203(11), F.S., defines employee organization as any “labor organization, union, association, fraternal order,
occupational or professional society, or group, however organized or constituted, which represents, or seeks to represent, any
public employee or group of public employees concerning any matters relating to their employment relationship with a public
employer.”
10
Section 447.305(1), F.S. BILL: SB 1746 Page 4
The name and address of the organization and of any parent organization or organization
with which it is affiliated;
The names and addresses of the principal officers and all representatives of the organization;
The amount of the initiation fee and of the monthly dues which members must pay;
The current annual audited financial statement of the organization;
The name of its business agent, if any; the name of its local agent for service of process, if
different from the business agent; and the addresses where such person or persons can be
reached;
A pledge, in a form prescribed by the commission, that the employee organization will
conform to the laws of the state and that it will accept members without regard to age, race,
sex, religion, or national origin;
A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the employee organization; and
A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the state and national groups with which the
employee organization is affiliated or associated. In lieu of this provision, and upon adoption
of a rule by the commission, a state or national affiliate or parent organization of any
registering labor organization may annually submit a copy of its current constitution and
bylaws.
11
A registration granted to an employee organization is valid for one year from the date of
issuance. A registration must be renewed annually by filing an application for renewal under
oath with the PERC. An application for renewal must reflect any changes in the information
provided to the PERC in conjunction with the employee organization’s preceding application for
registration or previous renewal. Each application for renewal of registration must include a
current annual financial report with the following information:
12
Assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the fiscal year;
Receipts of any kind and the sources thereof;
Salary, allowances, and other direct or indirect disbursements to each officer and to each
employee who received during the fiscal year more than $10,000 in the aggregate from the
employee organization and any affiliated employee organization;
Direct and indirect loans made to any officer, employee, member which aggregated more
than $250 during the fiscal year; and
Direct and indirect loans to any business enterprise.
A registration fee of $15 must be submitted for each registration and renewal.
13
In addition to the information above, certain employee organizations
14
must submit the following
information for any renewal of registration on or after October 1, 2023:
The number of employees in the bargaining unit who are eligible for representation by the
employee organization.
11
Section 447.305(1)(a-h), F.S.
12
Section 447.305(2), F.S.
13
Section 447.305(10), F.S.
14
Employee organizations that have been certified as the bargaining agent to represent law enforcement officers,
correctional officers, correctional probation officers, or firefighters are exempt from providing this information. Section
447.305(9), F.S. BILL: SB 1746 Page 5
The number of employees in the bargaining unit who have submitted signed membership
authorization forms without a subsequent revocation of such membership.
The number of employees in the bargaining unit who paid dues to the employee organization.
The number of employees in the bargaining unit who did not pay dues to the employee
organization.
Documentation provided by an independent certified public accountant retained by the
employee organization which verifies the information provided.
15
Certification of Employee Organization as Bargaining Agent
After registering with the PERC, an employee organization may begin the certification process.
Any employee organization that is selected by a majority of public employees in a designated
unit as their representative for collective bargaining purposes can request recognition by the
public employer.
The employer, if satisfied as to the majority status of the employee organization and the
appropriateness of the unit, must recognize the employee organization as the collective
bargaining representative of employees in the designated unit. Following recognition by the
employer, the employee organization must immediately petition the commission for
certification.
16
The PERC will review only the appropriateness of the unit proposed by the
employee organization. Appropriateness is defined as the history of employee relations within
the organization of the public employer concerning organization and negotiation and the interest
of the employees and the employer.
17
If the unit is appropriate, the PERC will immediately
certify the employee organization as the exclusive representative of all employees in the unit. If
the unit is inappropriate, the PERC may dismiss the petition.
If the public employer refuses to recognize the employee organization, the employee
organization may file a petition with the PERC for certification as the bargaining agent. The
petition has to be accompanied by dated statements signed by at least 30 percent of the
employees in the proposed unit. The PERC will investigate the petition to determine its
sufficiency, and provide for an appropriate hearing upon notice, and may order an election by
secret ballot. Any registered employee organization that desires to be placed on the ballot in any
election may be permitted by the commission to intervene. If an employee organization is
selected by the majority of the employees who vote in the election, the commission must certify
the employee organization as the exclusive collective representative for all employees in the
unit.
18
Authority of the Certified Bargaining Agent
The certified bargaining agent and the chief executive of the public employer must bargain
collectively and in good faith in the determination of wages, hours, and terms and conditions of
employment of the employees.
19
Any collective bargaining agreement reached between the
parties must be put in writing and signed by the chief executive officer and the bargaining
15
Section 447.305(3), F.S.
16
Section 447.307(1)(a), F.S.
17
Section 447.307(4)(f), F.S.
18
Section 447.307(3)(a-d), F.S.
19
Section 447.309(1), F.S. BILL: SB 1746 Page 6
agent.
20
Such agreement is not binding on the employer until the agreement has been ratified by
the employer and the employees in the bargaining unit.
21
Current law prohibits a collective
bargaining agreement from providing for a term of existence of more than three years and
requires the agreement to contain all of the terms and conditions of employment of the
employees during such term.
22
The bargaining agent also has the authority to process grievances
to settle disputes between the employer and the employees in the bargaining unit.
23
An employee organization which has been certified as the bargaining agent has the right to have
its dues and assessments deducted and collected by the employer from the salaries of those
employees who authorize the deduction of said dues and assessments.
24
For state agencies, the Department of Financial Services (DFS) must concur with the agencies
before deductions are allowed. However, the deductions from salary for the membership dues of
a certified bargaining agent does not require the concurrence of the DFS;
25
provided the
deductions may be permitted only for an organization that has been certified as the exclusive
bargaining agent for a unit in which the employee is included.
26
Likewise, cities, counties and special districts are permitted in their sole discretion to make wage
deductions as authorized and directed by the employee.
27
Revocation of Certification
An employee or group of employees who no longer desires to be represented by the certified
bargaining agent may file with the PERC a petition to revoke certification. The petition must be
accompanied by dated statements signed by at least 30 percent of the employees in the unit,
indicating that such employees no longer desire to be represented by the certified bargaining
agent. If the PERC finds the petition to be sufficient, it must immediately order an election by
secret ballot.
28
If a majority of voting employees vote against the continuation of representation by the certified
bargaining agent, the organization’s certification is revoked.
29
Otherwise, the employee
organization is retained as the exclusive bargaining agent for the unit.
30
An employee organization that has applied for a renewal of its registration must petition for
recertification as a bargaining unit if it has less than 60 percent of its unit members paying dues
during the prior registration period. If the employee organization fails to petition the PERC for
20
Id.
21
Id.
22
Section 447.309(5), F.S.
23
Section 447.401, F.S.
24
Section 447.303, F.S.
25
Section 110.114(1), F.S.
26
Section 110.114(3), F.S.
27
Section 112.171, F.S.
28
Section 447.308(1), F.S.
29
Section 447.308(2), F.S.
30
Section 447.308(3), F.S. BILL: SB 1746 Page 7
recertification as the exclusive representative of the bargaining unit within one month of its
application of renewal of registration, the certification is revoked.
31
The PERC may initiate an investigation to confirm the validity of the information submitted in
the registration or renewal of registration. The PERC may revoke or deny an employee
organizations registration or certification if the PERC finds that the employee organization failed
to cooperate with the investigation intentionally misrepresented the information submitted on the
registration or renewal.
32
Federal Transit Act
As a precondition to a grant of federal assistance by the United States Department of
Transportation’s Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the Federal Transit Act requires fair and
equitable protective arrangements be made to protect the labor rights of transit employees
affected by such assistance. Specifically, the statute requires the following matters be included in
such protective arrangements:
The preservation of rights, privileges, and benefits under existing collective bargaining
agreements;
The continuation of collective bargaining rights;
The protection of employees against a worsening of their positions with respect to their
employment;
Assurances of employment to employees of acquired mass transportation systems and
priority of reemployment for employees terminated or laid off; and
Paid training or retraining programs.
The U.S. Department of Labor must certify that protective arrangements are in place and meet
the above requirements before the FTA can release grant funds. Accordingly, states and local
governments that violate the provisions of this law risk losing access to federal funding for
public transportation projects. In 2022, Florida received approximately $529 million to improve
public transportation options throughout the state.
The PERC has discretion to waive certain requirements upon a petition by a public employer that
the employer’s protective arrangement covering mass transit employees does not meet federal
requirements and would jeopardize the public employer’s continued eligibility to receive federal
funding. The statutory requirements that the PERC may waive include any of the following for
an employee organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent to represent mass transit
employees:
The prohibition on dues and assessment deductions.
The requirement to petition the commission for recertification if the bargaining unit has
fewer than 60 percent of its unit members paying dues during the prior registration period.
The revocation of certification in certain circumstances.
33
31
Section 447.305(6), F.S.
32
Section 447.305(8), F.S.
33
Section 447.207(12), F.S. BILL: SB 1746 Page 8
Membership in an Employee Organization
Employees eligible for union representation must sign a membership authorization form in order
to be a member of an employee organization beginning July 1, 2023. The form must be
prescribed by the PERC and contain certain information and statements. A member of an
employee organization must be allowed to revoke membership at any time upon the employee’s
organization’s receipt of the written revocation. The PERC is granted rulemaking authority to
implement the requirements of the membership authorization form and the revocation of
membership.
34
The requirement for a signed membership form, and the provisions relating to the revocation of
membership do not apply to members of an employee organization certified as a bargaining
agent to represent law enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers,
and firefighters.
35
III. Effect of Proposed Changes:
Section 1 amends s. 447.207, F.S., to clarify that the PERC’s authority to waive requirements
regarding the prohibition on dues and assessment deductions applies only to mass transit
employees who have signed membership authorization forms and submitted the forms to the
public employer as part of the employees’ authorizations for the public employer to deduct
amounts from the employees’ salaries.
Section 2 amends s. 447.301, F.S., to require a public employee submit the signed membership
authorization form to the bargaining agent. This requirement assists the employee organization in
its collection and maintenance of the membership authorization forms which are required to be
retained by the employee organization for inspection by the PERC.
Section 2 also exempts those bargaining units (not the employee organization generally) the
majority of whose employees eligible for representation are employed as law enforcement
officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers, firefighters, 911 public safety
telecommunicators, emergency medical technicians or paramedics. This exemption means that
members of these bargaining units will not be required to sign and submit membership
authorization forms to the bargaining unit. Thus, the employee organization will not be required
to collect and retain membership forms for members of these bargaining units.
Section 3 amends s. 447.303, F.S., to clarify that an employee organization has the right to have
its dues and assessments deducted from employees’ salaries only if the affected bargaining unit
the majority of whose employees eligible for representation are employed in particular
occupations. The occupations eligible to have union dues and assessments deducted from public
salaries are expanded to include 911 public safety telecommunicators, emergency medical
technicians and paramedics.
Section 4 amends s. 447.305, F.S., to modify the information an employee organization must
submit to the PERC during the renewal of registration process. In addition to the current
34
Section 447.301(1), F.S.
35
Section 447.301(1)(b)6., F.S. BILL: SB 1746 Page 9
information regarding the amount of initiation fees and membership dues, the collection
frequency of the membership dues and uniforms must be included. In addition to assets,
liabilities and revenues identified on the annual financial statement of the employee organization,
the disbursements made during the year must be identified. The annual financial statement will
no longer be required to be “audited” by a certified public accountant. Instead, the statement
must be “prepared” by a certified public accountant.
Section 4 requires an employee organization that has not had 60 percent of its unit employees
pay dues during its last registration period and submit membership authorization forms to
petition the PERC for recertification as the bargaining agent within 30 days (rather than one
month) after the date the employee organization applied for renewal of registration. If the
employee organization fails to petition timely, the certification as the bargaining agent is
revoked.
Section 4 modifies the circumstances under which the PERC may revoke an employee
organization’ registration or certification as a bargaining agent to include:
The employee organization’s refusal to permit the PERC to inspect membership
authorization forms or revocations.
The employee organization intentionally misrepresenting any information submitted for its
registration renewal rather than just the information submitted to determine whether a
bargaining unit has 60 percent of its eligible employees paying dues to the employee
organization.
Section 4 also modifies the exemption regarding the submission of membership information and
the associated consequences if a bargaining unit does not meet the 60 percent threshold. The
exemption applicable to a bargaining unit the majority of whose employees eligible for
representation are employed as law enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional
probation officers, firefighters, 911 public safety telecommunicators, emergency medical
technicians or paramedics. This clarifies that the exemption is applicable to the bargaining unit
rather than the employee organization as a whole. Moreover, the occupations exempted are
expanded to include 911 public safety telecommunicators, emergency medical technicians, and
paramedics.
Section 4 modifies the requirements placed on each employee organization to make certain
information available to its members. The annual financial report will no longer be required to be
“audited” by a certified public accountant. Instead, the report must be “prepared” by a certified
public accountant. In addition, the PERC is granted authority to prescribe the categories of
revenues and expenditures to be included in the annual financial report.
Section 5 provides that the bill takes effect July 1, 2024.
IV. Constitutional Issues:
A. Municipality/County Mandates Restrictions:
Not applicable. The mandate restrictions do not apply because the bill does not require
counties and municipalities to spend funds, reduce counties’ or municipalities’ ability to BILL: SB 1746 Page 10
raise revenue, or reduce the percentage of state tax shared with counties and
municipalities.
B. Public Records/Open Meetings Issues:
None.
C. Trust Funds Restrictions:
None.
D. State Tax or Fee Increases:
None.
E. Other Constitutional Issues:
None identified.
V. Fiscal Impact Statement:
A. Tax/Fee Issues:
None.
B. Private Sector Impact:
An employee organization whose membership fails to submit membership authorization
forms to the employee organization will incur additional costs to the extent the employee
organization chooses to be recertified as the bargaining agent for the employee unit.
Employee organizations may enjoy reduced costs associated with the new requirement
that an independent certified public accountant prepare (rather than audit) certain data
submitted to the PERC.
C. Government Sector Impact:
The fiscal impact on the PERC is indeterminate. The bill is not expected to impact other
state and local government revenues and expenditures.
VI. Technical Deficiencies:
None.
VII. Related Issues:
None. BILL: SB 1746 Page 11
VIII. Statutes Affected:
This bill substantially amends the sections 447.207, 447.301, 447.303, 447.305 of the Florida
Statutes.
IX. Additional Information:
A. Committee Substitute – Statement of Changes:
(Summarizing differences between the Committee Substitute and the prior version of the bill.)
None.
B. Amendments:
None.
This Senate Bill Analysis does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill’s introducer or the Florida Senate.