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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 public employee collective 2
bargaining; amending s. 447.203, F.S.; revising and 3
providing definitions; amending s. 447.207, F.S.; 4
providing additional prohibitions that the Public 5
Employees Relations Commission may waive for certain 6
employee organizations; amending s. 447.307, F.S.; 7
revising the requirements for the certification, 8
recertification, or decertification of an employee 9
organization; repealing s. 447.308, F.S., relating to 10
revocation of certification of employee organization; 11
amending s. 447.509, F.S.; providing prohibitions on 12
public employers, their agents or representatives, or 13
any person acting on their behalf; authorizing certai n 14
actions by a public employee upon an agreement between 15
the public employer and bargaining agent; providing 16
exceptions for certain bargaining units; amending ss. 17
110.114, 110.205, 112.3187, 121.031, 447.02, 447.305, 18
and 1011.60, F.S.; conforming cross -references; 19
providing an effective date. 20
21
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 22
23
Section 1. Section 447.203, Florida Statutes, is amended 24
to read: 25
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447.203 Definitions. —As used in this part: 26
(1)(12) "Bargaining agent" means the employee organization 27
that which has been certified by the commission as representing 28
the employees in the bargaining unit, as provided in s. 447.307, 29
or its representative. 30
(2)(8) "Bargaining unit" means either that unit determined 31
by the commission, th at unit determined through local 32
regulations promulgated pursuant to s. 447.603, or that unit 33
determined by the public employer and the public employee 34
organization and approved by the commission to be appropriate 35
for the purposes of collective bargaining. However, no 36
bargaining unit shall be defined as appropriate which includes 37
employees of two employers that are not departments or divisions 38
of the state, a county, a municipality, or other political 39
entity. 40
(3)(9) "Chief executive officer" for the state shall mean 41
the Governor and for other public employers shall mean the 42
person, whether elected or appointed, who is responsible to the 43
legislative body of the public employer for the administration 44
of the governmental affairs of the public employer. 45
(4)(16) "Civil service" means any career, civil, or merit 46
system used by any public employer. 47
(5)(14) "Collective bargaining" means the performance of 48
the mutual obligations of the public employer and the bargaining 49
agent of the employee organization to meet at reasonable times, 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
to negotiate in good faith, and to execute a written contract 51
with respect to agreements reached concerning the terms and 52
conditions of employment, except that neither party shall be 53
compelled to agree to a proposal or be required to make a 54
concession unless otherwise provided in this part. 55
(6)(1) "Commission" means the Public Employees Relations 56
Commission created by s. 447.205. 57
(7)(5) "Confidential employees" are persons who act in a 58
confidential capacity to assist or aid manager ial employees as 59
defined in subsection (12) (4). 60
(8)(11) "Employee organization" or "organization" means 61
any labor organization, union, association, fraternal order, 62
occupational or professional society, or group, however 63
organized or constituted, which represents, or seeks to 64
represent, any public employee or group of public employees 65
concerning any matters relating to their employment relationship 66
with a public employer. 67
(9) "Employee organization activities" means activities 68
undertaken at the directi on of, on behalf of, or to advance the 69
purposes of an employee organization or any parent organization 70
or affiliate of an employee organization by: 71
(a) Supporting or opposing a candidate for federal, state, 72
or local public office. 73
(b) Influencing the passage or defeat of any federal or 74
state legislation or regulation, local ordinance or resolution, 75
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or ballot measure. 76
(c) Promoting or soliciting membership or participation 77
in, or financial support of, an employee organization or a ny 78
parent organization or affiliate of an employee organization. 79
(d) Seeking certification as a bargaining agent. 80
(e) Participating in the administration, business, or 81
internal governance of an employee organization or any parent 82
organization or affili ate of an employee organization. 83
(f) Preparing, conducting, or attending employee 84
organization events, conferences, conventions, meetings, or 85
training, unless such training is directly related to the 86
performance of a public employee's job duties. 87
(g) Distributing communications of an employee 88
organization or any parent organization or affiliate of the 89
employee organization. 90
(h) Representing or speaking on behalf of an employee 91
organization or any parent organization or affiliate of the 92
employee organization in any setting, venue, or procedure in 93
which the public employer is not a participant. 94
(i) Preparing, filing, or pursuing unfair labor practice 95
charges or grievances. 96
(j) Representing public employees in investigatory 97
interviews; disciplinary pr oceedings or appeals, including 98
termination; or other administrative or legal proceedings. 99
(k) Engaging in collective bargaining and any related 100
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mediation, factfinding, or arbitration. 101
(l) Administering a collective bargaining agreement. 102
(m) Participating in labor-management committees. 103
(10)(17) "Good faith bargaining" means, but is not shall 104
mean, but not be limited to, the willingness of both parties to 105
meet at reasonable times and places, as mutually agreed upon, in 106
order to discuss issues which are proper subjects of bargaining, 107
with the intent of reaching a common accord. The term includes 108
It shall include an obligation for both parties to participate 109
actively in the negotiations with an open mind and a sincere 110
desire, as well as making a sincer e effort, to resolve 111
differences and come to an agreement. In determining whether a 112
party failed to bargain in good faith, the commission shall 113
consider the total conduct of the parties during negotiations as 114
well as the specific incidents of alleged bad f aith. Incidents 115
indicative of bad faith shall include, but not be limited to, 116
the following occurrences: 117
(a) Failure to meet at reasonable times and places with 118
representatives of the other party for the purpose of 119
negotiations. 120
(b) Placing unreasonabl e restrictions on the other party 121
as a prerequisite to meeting. 122
(c) Failure to discuss bargainable issues. 123
(d) Refusing, upon reasonable written request, to provide 124
public information, excluding work products as defined in s. 125
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447.605. 126
(e) Refusing to negotiate because of an unwanted person on 127
the opposing negotiating team. 128
(f) Negotiating directly with employees rather than with 129
their certified bargaining agent. 130
(g) Refusing to reduce a total agreement to writing. 131
(11)(10) "Legislative body" means the State Legislature, 132
the board of county commissioners, the district school board, 133
the governing body of a municipality, or the governing body of 134
an instrumentality or unit of government having authority to 135
appropriate funds an d establish policy governing the terms and 136
conditions of employment and which, as the case may be, is the 137
appropriate legislative body for the bargaining unit. For 138
purposes of s. 447.403, the Board of Governors of the State 139
University System, or the board' s designee, shall be deemed to 140
be the legislative body with respect to all employees of each 141
constituent state university. For purposes of s. 447.403 the 142
board of trustees of a community college shall be deemed to be 143
the legislative body with respect to al l employees of the 144
community college. 145
(12)(4) "Managerial employees" means are those employees 146
who: 147
(a) Perform jobs that are not of a routine, clerical, or 148
ministerial nature and require the exercise of independent 149
judgment in the performance of such jobs and to whom one or more 150
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of the following applies: 151
1. They formulate or assist in formulating policies which 152
are applicable to bargaining unit employees. 153
2. They may reasonably be required on behalf of the 154
employer to assist in the preparation for the conduct of 155
collective bargaining negotiations. 156
3. They have a role in the administration of agreements 157
resulting from collective bargaining negotiations. 158
4. They have a significant role in personnel 159
administration. 160
5. They have a significant role in employee relations. 161
6. They are included in the definition of administrative 162
personnel contained in s. 1012.01(3). 163
7. They have a significant role in the preparation or 164
administration of budgets for any public agency or institution 165
or subdivision thereof. 166
(b) Serve as police chiefs, fire chiefs, or directors of 167
public safety of any police, fire, or public safety department. 168
Other police officers, as defined in s. 943.10(1), and 169
firefighters, as defined in s. 633.102, may be determined by the 170
commission to be managerial employees of such departments. In 171
making such determinations, the commission shall consider, in 172
addition to the criteria established in paragraph (a), the 173
paramilitary organizational structure of the department 174
involved. 175
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176
However, in determining whether an individual is a managerial 177
employee pursuant to paragraph (a) or paragraph (b), above, the 178
commission may consider historic relationships of the employee 179
to the public employer and to coemployees. 180
(13)(15) "Membership dues deduct ion" means the practice of 181
a public employer of deducting dues and uniform assessments from 182
the salary or wages of a public employee. Such term also means 183
the practice of a public employer of transmitting the sums so 184
deducted to such employee organization. 185
(14)(13) "Professional employee" means: 186
(a) Any employee engaged in work in any two or more of the 187
following categories: 188
1. Work predominantly intellectual and varied in character 189
as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical 190
work.; 191
2. Work involving the consistent exercise of discretion 192
and judgment in its performance .; 193
3. Work of such a character that the output produced or 194
the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a 195
given period of time .; and 196
4. Work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science 197
or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of 198
specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution 199
of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a 200
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general academic education, a n apprenticeship, or training in 201
the performance of routine mental or physical processes. 202
(b) Any employee who: 203
1. Has completed the course of specialized intellectual 204
instruction and study described in subparagraph (a)4. 4. of 205
paragraph (a); and 206
2. Is performing related work under supervision of a 207
professional person to qualify to become a professional employee 208
as defined in paragraph (a). 209
(15)(3) "Public employee" means any person employed by a 210
public employer except: 211
(a) Those persons appointed by the Governor or elected by 212
the people, agency heads, and members of boards and commissions. 213
(b) Those persons holding positions by appointment or 214
employment in the organized militia. 215
(c) Those individuals acting as negotiating 216
representatives for e mployer authorities. 217
(d) Those persons who are designated by the commission as 218
managerial or confidential employees pursuant to criteria 219
contained herein. 220
(e) Those persons holding positions of employment with the 221
Florida Legislature. 222
(f) Those persons who have been convicted of a crime and 223
are inmates confined to institutions within the state. 224
(g) Those persons appointed to inspection positions in 225
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federal/state fruit and vegetable inspection service whose 226
conditions of appointment are affected by t he following: 227
1. Federal license requirement. 228
2. Federal autonomy regarding investigation and 229
disciplining of appointees. 230
3. Frequent transfers due to harvesting conditions. 231
(h) Those persons employed by the Public Employees 232
Relations Commission. 233
(i) Those persons enrolled as undergraduate students in a 234
state university who perform part -time work for the state 235
university. 236
(16)(2) "Public employer" or "employer" means the state or 237
any county, municipality, or special district or any subdivision 238
or agency thereof which the commission determines has sufficient 239
legal distinctiveness properly to carry out the functions of a 240
public employer. With respect to all public employees determined 241
by the commission as properly belonging to a statewide 242
bargaining unit composed of State Career Service System 243
employees or Selected Professional Service employees, the 244
Governor is deemed to be the public employer; and the Board of 245
Governors of the State University System, or the board's 246
designee, is deemed to be the p ublic employer with respect to 247
all public employees of each constituent state university. The 248
board of trustees of a community college is deemed to be the 249
public employer with respect to all employees of the community 250
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college. The district school board is deemed to be the public 251
employer with respect to all employees of the school district. 252
The Board of Trustees of the Florida School for the Deaf and the 253
Blind is deemed to be the public employer with respect to the 254
academic and academic administrative perso nnel of the Florida 255
School for the Deaf and the Blind. The Board of Trustees of the 256
Florida School for Competitive Academics is deemed to be the 257
public employer with respect to the academic and academic 258
administrative personnel of the Florida School for Co mpetitive 259
Academics. The Governor is deemed to be the public employer with 260
respect to all employees in the Correctional Education Program 261
of the Department of Corrections established pursuant to s. 262
944.801. 263
(17) "Representational employee organization ac tivities" 264
means those activities specified in paragraphs (9)(i) -(m). 265
(18)(6) "Strike" means the concerted failure of employees 266
to report for duty; the concerted absence of employees from 267
their positions; the concerted stoppage of work by employees; 268
the concerted submission of resignations by employees; the 269
concerted abstinence in whole or in part by any group of 270
employees from the full and faithful performance of the duties 271
of employment with a public employer for the purpose of 272
inducing, influencing, condoning, or coercing a change in the 273
terms and conditions of employment or the rights, privileges, or 274
obligations of public employment, or participating in a 275
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deliberate and concerted course of conduct which adversely 276
affects the services of the public employer; the concerted 277
failure of employees to report for work after the expirati on of 278
a collective bargaining agreement; and picketing in furtherance 279
of a work stoppage. The term includes "strike" shall also mean 280
any overt preparation, including, but not limited to, the 281
establishment of strike funds with regard to the above -listed 282
activities. 283
(19)(7) "Strike funds" are any appropriations by an 284
employee organization which are established to directly or 285
indirectly aid any employee or employee organization to 286
participate in a strike in the state. 287
(20)(18) "Student representative" mean s the representative 288
selected by each community college or university student 289
government association. Each representative may be present at 290
all negotiating sessions that take place between the appropriate 291
public employer and an exclusive bargaining agent. The 292
representative must be enrolled as a student with at least 8 293
credit hours in the respective community college or university 294
during his or her term as student representative. 295
Section 2. Paragraph (d) is added to subsection (12) of 296
section 447.207, Florida Statutes, to read: 297
447.207 Commission; powers and duties. — 298
(12) Upon a petition by a public employer after it has 299
been notified by the Department of Labor that the public 300
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employer's protective arrangement covering mass transit 301
employees does not meet the requirements of 49 U.S.C. s. 5333(b) 302
and would jeopardize the employer's continued eligibility to 303
receive Federal Transit Administration funding, the commission 304
may waive, to the extent necessary for the public employer to 305
comply with the require ments of 49 U.S.C. s. 5333(b), any of the 306
following for an employee organization that has been certified 307
as a bargaining agent to represent mass transit employees: 308
(d) The prohibitions in s. 447.509(3) and the exceptions 309
in s. 447.509(4). 310
Section 3. Section 447.307, Florida Statutes, is amended 311
to read: 312
447.307 Certification , recertification, and 313
decertification of employee organizations organization.— 314
(1) An employee organization seeking certification as a 315
bargaining agent, an employee organizati on seeking 316
recertification as a bargaining agent under s. 447.305, or a 317
public employee or group of public employees seeking to 318
decertify a bargaining agent must 319
(1)(a) Any employee organization which is designated or 320
selected by a majority of public emp loyees in an appropriate 321
unit as their representative for purposes of collective 322
bargaining shall request recognition by the public employer. The 323
public employer shall, if satisfied as to the majority status of 324
the employee organization and the appropriate ness of the 325
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proposed unit, recognize the employee organization as the 326
collective bargaining representative of employees in the 327
designated unit. Upon recognition by a public employer, the 328
employee organization shall immediately petition the commission 329
for certification. The commission shall review only the 330
appropriateness of the unit proposed by the employee 331
organization. If the unit is appropriate according to the 332
criteria used in this part, the commission shall immediately 333
certify the employee organization as the exclusive 334
representative of all employees in the unit. If the unit is 335
inappropriate according to the criteria used in this part, the 336
commission may dismiss the petition. 337
(b) Whenever a public employer recognizes an employee 338
organization on the ba sis of majority status and on the basis of 339
appropriateness in accordance with subparagraph (4)(f)5. of this 340
section, the commission shall, in the absence of inclusion of a 341
prohibited category of employees or violation of s. 447.501, 342
certify the proposed un it. 343
(2) If the public employer refuses to recognize the 344
employee organization, the employee organization may file a 345
petition with the commission accompanied by proof that for 346
certification as the bargaining agent for a proposed bargaining 347
unit. The petition shall be accompanied by dated statements 348
signed by at least 30 percent of the public employees in the 349
proposed or existing bargaining unit show interest in the 350
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proposed action. A unit, indicating that such employees desire 351
to be represented for purpose s of collective bargaining by the 352
petitioning employee organization. Once a petition for 353
certification has been filed by an employee organization, any 354
registered employee organization desiring placement on the 355
ballot in any certification or recertification election to be 356
conducted pursuant to this section may be permitted by the 357
commission to intervene in the proceeding upon filing a motion 358
accompanied by proof that dated statements signed by at least 10 359
percent of the public employees in the proposed or existing 360
bargaining unit show interest in the proposed action. The 361
required proof of interest is unit, indicating that such 362
employees desire to be represented for the purposes of 363
collective bargaining by the moving employee organization. The 364
petitions and dated statements signed by the employees are 365
confidential and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1), 366
except that any employee, employer, or employee organization 367
having sufficient reason to believe any of the employee 368
signatures were obtained by collu sion, coercion, intimidation, 369
or misrepresentation or are otherwise invalid shall be given a 370
reasonable opportunity to verify and challenge the signatures 371
appearing on the petition. 372
(2) A petition for certification or decertification may 373
not be filed regarding any proposed or existing bargaining unit 374
within 12 months after the commission's order verifying the 375
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results of a certification election covering any of the public 376
employees of the proposed or existing bargaining unit. 377
(3)(a) The commission or one of its designated agents 378
shall investigate the petition to determine its sufficiency ; if 379
it has reasonable cause to believe that the petition is 380
sufficient, the commission shall provide for an appropriate 381
hearing upon due notice. Such a hearing may be con ducted by an 382
agent of the commission . If the commission finds the petition is 383
to be insufficient, the commission must it may dismiss the 384
petition. If the commission finds upon the record of the hearing 385
that the petition is sufficient, the commission must it shall 386
immediately: 387
(a)1. Define the proposed or existing bargaining unit and 388
determine which public employees are shall be qualified and 389
entitled to vote at any election held by the commission. The 390
commission may hold a hearing for such purpose upon th e 391
provision of due notice. 392
(b)2. Identify the public employer or employers for 393
purposes of collective bargaining with the bargaining agent . 394
(c)3. Order an election by secret ballot, the cost of said 395
election and any required runoff election to be borne equally by 396
the parties, except as the commission may provide by rule. The 397
commission's order assessing costs of an election may be 398
enforced pursuant to the provisions of this part. 399
(4)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), all elections 400
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must be determined by a majority vote of the public employees in 401
the bargaining unit for all petitions for certification, 402
recertification, or decertification filed on or after July 1, 403
2025, as follows: 404
1. In certification and recertification elections, if 405
(b) when an employee organization is selected by a majority 406
vote of the public employees in the bargaining unit voting in an 407
election, the commission must shall certify the employee 408
organization as the exclusive collective bargaining agent for 409
the public representative of all employees in the bargaining 410
unit. If there are three or more Certification is effective upon 411
the issuance of the final order by the commission or, if the 412
final order is appealed, at the time the appeal is exhausted or 413
any stay is vacated by the c ommission or the court. 414
(c) In any election in which none of the choices on the 415
ballot and no choice receives a majority of the votes receives 416
the vote of a majority of the employees voting , a runoff 417
election must shall be held between the two choices that 418
received the most votes according to rules promulgated by the 419
commission. 420
2. In decertification elections, if the bargaining agent 421
fails to receive the votes of a majority of the public employees 422
in the bargaining unit, the commission must revoke th e 423
bargaining agent's certification for that bargaining unit. If a 424
majority of the public employees in the bargaining unit vote 425
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against decertification, the bargaining agent retains its 426
certification for that bargaining unit. 427
3. An employee organization t he certification of which is 428
revoked under this paragraph may not file a petition for 429
certification covering any of the public employees in the 430
bargaining unit defined in the revoked certification for at 431
least 12 months after the date the employee organiza tion's 432
certification is revoked. 433
(b) With respect to bargaining units in which the majority 434
of the public employees are law enforcement officers, 435
correctional officers, or correctional probation officers as 436
those terms are defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), a nd (3), 437
respectively; firefighters as defined in s. 633.102(9); 911 438
public safety telecommunicators as defined in s. 401.465(1); or 439
emergency medical technicians or paramedics as defined in s. 440
401.23, all elections must be determined by a majority vote of 441
the public employees voting in an election as follows: 442
1. In certification and recertification elections, if an 443
employee organization is selected by a majority vote of the 444
public employees, the commission must certify the employee 445
organization as the bar gaining agent for the public employees in 446
the bargaining unit. If none of the choices on the ballot 447
receive a majority vote of the public employees, a runoff 448
election must be held according to rules promulgated by the 449
commission. 450
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2. In decertification el ections, if a majority of the 451
public employees vote in favor of decertification, the 452
commission must revoke the bargaining agent's certification for 453
that bargaining unit. If a majority of the public employees vote 454
against decertification, the bargaining ag ent retains its 455
certification for that bargaining unit. 456
(c) Certification, recertification, or revocation pursuant 457
to this section is effective upon the issuance of the final 458
order by the commission or, if the final order is appealed, at 459
the time the appeal is exhausted or any stay is vacated by the 460
commission or the court. 461
(d) No petition may be filed seeking an election in any 462
proposed or existing appropriate bargaining unit to determine 463
the exclusive bargaining agent within 12 months after the date 464
of a commission order verifying a representation election or, if 465
an employee organization prevails, within 12 months after the 466
date of an effective certification covering any of the employees 467
in the proposed or existing bargaining unit. Furthermore, if a 468
valid collective bargaining agreement covering any of the 469
employees in a proposed unit is in effect, a petition for 470
certification may be filed with the commission only during the 471
period extending from 150 days to 90 days immediately preceding 472
the expiration date of that agreement, or at any time subsequent 473
to its expiration date but prior to the effective date of any 474
new agreement. The effective date of a collective bargaining 475
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agreement means the date of ratification by both parties, if the 476
agreement becomes effective immediately or retroactively; or its 477
actual effective date, if the agreement becomes effective after 478
its ratification date. 479
(5)(4) In defining a proposed bargaining unit, the 480
commission shall take into consideration: 481
(a) The principles of efficient administration of 482
government. 483
(b) The number of employee organizations with which the 484
employer might have to negotiate. 485
(c) The compatibility of the unit with the joint 486
responsibilities of the public employer and public employees to 487
represent the public. 488
(d) The power of the officials of government at the level 489
of the unit to agree, or make effective recommendations to 490
another administrative authority or to a legislative body, with 491
respect to matters of employment upon which the employee des ires 492
to negotiate. 493
(e) The organizational structure of the public employer. 494
(f) Community of interest among the employees to be 495
included in the unit, considering: 496
1. The manner in which wages and other terms of employment 497
are determined. 498
2. The method by which jobs and salary classifications are 499
determined. 500
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3. The interdependence of jobs and interchange of 501
employees. 502
4. The desires of the employees. 503
5. The history of employee relations within the 504
organization of the public employer concerning organization and 505
negotiation and the interest of the employees and the employer 506
in the continuation of a traditional, workable, and accepted 507
negotiation relationship. 508
(g) The statutory authority of the public employer to 509
administer a classification and p ay plan. 510
(h) Such other factors and policies as the commission may 511
deem appropriate. 512
513
However, a bargaining no unit may not shall be established or 514
approved for purposes of collective bargaining which includes 515
both professional and nonprofessional employ ees unless a 516
majority of each group votes for inclusion in such bargaining 517
unit. 518
Section 4. Section 447.308, Florida Statutes, is repealed. 519
Section 5. Section 447.509, Florida Statutes, is amended 520
to read: 521
447.509 Other Unlawful acts; exceptions; jurisdiction.— 522
(1) Employee organizations, their members, agents, or 523
representatives, or any persons acting on their behalf are 524
hereby prohibited from: 525
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(a) Soliciting public employees during working hours of 526
any employee who is involved in the solicit ation. 527
(b) Distributing literature during working hours in areas 528
where the actual work of public employees is performed, such as 529
offices, warehouses, schools, police stations, fire stations, 530
and any similar public installations. This section may shall not 531
be construed to prohibit the distribution of literature during 532
the employee's lunch hour or in such areas not specifically 533
devoted to the performance of the employee's official duties. 534
(c) Instigating or advocating support, in any positive 535
manner, for an employee organization's activities from high 536
school or grade school students during classroom time. 537
(d) Offering anything of value to a public officer as 538
defined in s. 112.313(1) which the public officer is prohibited 539
from accepting under s. 112.313(2 ). 540
(e) Offering any compensation, payment, or thing of value 541
to a public officer as defined in s. 112.313(1) which the public 542
officer is prohibited from accepting under s. 112.313(4). 543
(2) An No employee organization may not shall directly or 544
indirectly pay any fines or penalties assessed against 545
individuals pursuant to the provisions of this part. 546
(3) Public employers, their agents or representatives, or 547
any persons acting on their behalf, are prohibited from: 548
(a) Denying an employee organization or entity governed by 549
the Florida Not For Profit Corporation Act access to or use of 550
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the public employer's meetings, events, facilities, 551
communications systems, mailboxes, computer systems, equipment, 552
supplies, or other resources if the public employer allow s 553
another employee organization or any parent organization or 554
affiliate of the employee organization such access or use. 555
(b) Providing any form of compensation or paid leave to a 556
public employee, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of 557
engaging in employee organization activities. 558
(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), a public employee may 559
do all of the following upon an agreement during collective 560
bargaining between his or her public employer and the bargaining 561
agent: 562
(a) Be granted time off without pay or benefits to engage 563
in employee organization activities. An employee organization 564
may compensate a public employee for engaging in employee 565
organization activities. 566
(b) Use compensated personal leave, whether the leave is 567
the public employee's or is voluntarily donated by other 568
employees in the bargaining unit, to engage in employee 569
organization activities if: 570
1. The leave is accrued at the same rate by similarly 571
situated public employees in the bargaining unit without regard 572
to membership in or participation with an employee organization. 573
2. The public employee may freely choose how to use such 574
leave. 575
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(c) Engage in representational employee organization 576
activities on behalf of a bargaining agent while in a duty 577
status without loss of pay or b enefits if: 578
1. The bargaining agent reports to the public employer at 579
least biannually the amount of time, in increments rounded to 580
the nearest quarter of an hour, each public employee in the 581
bargaining unit engaged in representational employee 582
organization activities each day. 583
2. The public employer calculates the pro rata value of 584
compensation, including wages and fringe benefits, paid to or 585
accrued by a public employee for time spent engaged in 586
representational employee organization activities and pr ovides 587
an invoice for the amounts calculated to the bargaining agent at 588
least biannually. 589
3. The bargaining agent remits full payment to the public 590
employer within 30 days after receipt of an invoice. 591
(5) Subsections (3) and (4) do not apply to bargain ing 592
units in which the majority of the public employees are law 593
enforcement officers, correctional officers, or correctional 594
probation officers as those terms are defined in s. 943.10(1), 595
(2), and (3), respectively; firefighters as defined in s. 596
633.102(9); 911 public safety telecommunicators as defined in s. 597
401.465(1); or emergency medical technicians or paramedics as 598
defined in s. 401.23. 599
(6)(3) The circuit courts of this state shall have 600
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jurisdiction to enforce the provisions of this section by 601
injunction and contempt proceedings, if necessary. A public 602
employee who is convicted of a violation of any provision of 603
this section may be discharged or otherwise disciplined by his 604
or her public employer, notwithstanding any other further 605
provisions of law, and notwithstanding the provisions of any 606
collective bargaining agreement. 607
Section 6. Subsection (3) of section 110.114, Florida 608
Statutes, is amended to read: 609
110.114 Employee wage deductions. — 610
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and 611
(2), the deduction of an employee's membership dues deductions 612
as defined in s. 447.203 s. 447.203(15) for an employee 613
organization as defined in s. 447.203 s. 447.203(11) shall be 614
authorized or permitted only for an organization that has been 615
certified as the exclusive bargaining agent pursuant to chapter 616
447 for a unit of state employees in which the employee is 617
included. Such deductions shall be subject to the provisions of 618
s. 447.303. 619
Section 7. Paragraph (w) of subsection (2) of section 620
110.205, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 621
110.205 Career service; exemptions. — 622
(2) EXEMPT POSITIONS. —The exempt positions that are not 623
covered by this part include the following: 624
(w) Managerial employees and, as defined in s. 447. 203(4), 625
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confidential employees, as those terms are defined in s. 447.203 626
s. 447.203(5), and supervisory employees who spend the majority 627
of their time communicating with, motivating, training, and 628
evaluating employees, and planning and directing employees' 629
work, and who have the authority to hire, transfer, suspend, lay 630
off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline 631
subordinate employees or effectively recommend such action, 632
including all employees serving as supervisors, administrators, 633
and directors. Excluded are employees also designated as special 634
risk or special risk administrative support and attorneys who 635
serve as administrative law judges pursuant to s. 120.65 or for 636
hearings conducted pursuant to s. 120.57(1)(a). Additionally, 637
registered nurses licensed under chapter 464, dentists licensed 638
under chapter 466, psychologists licensed under chapter 490 or 639
chapter 491, nutritionists or dietitians licensed under part X 640
of chapter 468, pharmacists licensed under chapter 465, 641
psychological specialists licensed under chapter 491, physical 642
therapists licensed under chapter 486, and speech therapists 643
licensed under part I of chapter 468 are excluded, unless 644
otherwise collectively bargained. 645
Section 8. Subsection (6) of section 112.3187, Flori da 646
Statutes, is amended to read: 647
112.3187 Adverse action against employee for disclosing 648
information of specified nature prohibited; employee remedy and 649
relief.— 650
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(6) TO WHOM INFORMATION DISCLOSED. —The information 651
disclosed under this section must be di sclosed to any agency or 652
federal government entity having the authority to investigate, 653
police, manage, or otherwise remedy the violation or act, 654
including, but not limited to, the Office of the Chief Inspector 655
General, an agency inspector general or the e mployee designated 656
as agency inspector general under s. 112.3189(1) or inspectors 657
general under s. 20.055, the Florida Commission on Human 658
Relations, and the whistle -blower's hotline created under s. 659
112.3189. However, for disclosures concerning a local 660
governmental entity, including any regional, county, or 661
municipal entity, special district, community college district, 662
or school district or any political subdivision of any of the 663
foregoing, the information must be disclosed to a chief 664
executive officer as defined in s. 447.203 s. 447.203(9) or 665
other appropriate local official. 666
Section 9. Subsection (5) of section 121.031, Florida 667
Statutes, is amended to read: 668
121.031 Administration of system; appropriation; oaths; 669
actuarial studies; public records. — 670
(5) The names and addresses of retirees are confidential 671
and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) to the extent 672
that no state or local governmental agency may provide the names 673
or addresses of such persons in aggregate, compiled, or list 674
form to any person except to a public agency engaged in official 675
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business. However, a state or local government agency may 676
provide the names and addresses of retirees from that agency to 677
a bargaining agent as defined in s. 447.203 s. 447.203(12) or to 678
a retiree organization for official business use. Lists of names 679
or addresses of retirees may be exchanged by public agencies, 680
but such lists shall not be provided to, or open for inspection 681
by, the public. Any person may view or copy any individual's 682
retirement records at the Department of Management Services, one 683
record at a time, or may obtain information by a separate 684
written request for a named individual for which information is 685
desired. 686
Section 10. Subsection (1) of section 447.02, Florida 687
Statutes, is amended to read: 688
447.02 Definitions. —The following terms, when used in this 689
chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this 690
section: 691
(1) The term "labor organization" means any organization 692
of employees or local or subdivision thereof, having within its 693
membership residents of the state, whether incorporated or not, 694
organized for the purpose of dealing with employers concerning 695
hours of employment, rate of pay, working conditions, or 696
grievances of any kind relating to employment and recognized as 697
a unit of bargaining by one or more employers doing business in 698
this state, except that an "employee organization," as defined 699
in s. 447.203 s. 447.203(11), shall be included in this 700
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definition at such time as it seeks to register pursuant to s. 701
447.305. 702
Section 11. Subsection (6) of section 447.305, Florida 703
Statutes, is amended to read: 704
447.305 Registration of employee organization. — 705
(6) Notwithstanding the provisions of this chapter 706
relating to collective bargaining, an employee organization 707
certified as a bargaining agent to represent a bargaining unit 708
for which less than 60 percent of the unit employees have 709
submitted membership au thorization forms without subsequent 710
revocation and paid dues to the organization during its last 711
registration period must petition the commission pursuant to s. 712
447.307 s. 447.307(2) and (3) for recertification as the 713
exclusive representative of all emplo yees in the bargaining unit 714
within 30 days after the date on which the employee organization 715
applies for renewal of registration pursuant to subsection (2). 716
The certification of an employee organization that does not 717
comply with this section is revoked. 718
Section 12. Subsection (2) of section 1011.60, Florida 719
Statutes, is amended to read: 720
1011.60 Minimum requirements of the Florida Education 721
Finance Program.—Each district which participates in the state 722
appropriations for the Florida Education Finance P rogram shall 723
provide evidence of its effort to maintain an adequate school 724
program throughout the district and shall meet at least the 725
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following requirements: 726
(2) MINIMUM TERM.—Operate all schools for a term of 180 727
actual teaching days or the equivalent on an hourly basis as 728
specified by rules of the State Board of Education each school 729
year. The State Board of Education may prescribe procedures for 730
altering, and, upon written application, may alter, this 731
requirement during a national, state, or local eme rgency as it 732
may apply to an individual school or schools in any district or 733
districts if, in the opinion of the board, it is not feasible to 734
make up lost days or hours, and the apportionment may, at the 735
discretion of the Commissioner of Education and if t he board 736
determines that the reduction of school days or hours is caused 737
by the existence of a bona fide emergency, be reduced for such 738
district or districts in proportion to the decrease in the 739
length of term in any such school or schools. A strike, as 740
defined in s. 447.203 s. 447.203(6), by employees of the school 741
district may not be considered an emergency. 742
Section 13. This act shall take effect July 1, 2025. 743