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STATE OF OKLAHOMA
1st Session of the 58th Legislature (2021)
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR ENGROSSED
HOUSE BILL 2747 By: Ford of the House
and
Haste of the Senate
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
An Act relating to cities and towns; amending 11 O.S.
2011, Section 51-103, which relates to collective
bargaining; eliminating petition, hearing and
election processes; directing a municipal employer to
recognize a bargaining agent as the exclusive
bargaining agent for the firefighters or police
officers; determining bargaining agent by certain
procedure; establishing election procedures;
prohibiting election within certain time period; and
providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA:
SECTION 1. AMENDATORY 11 O.S. 2011, Section 51 -103, is
amended to read as follows:
Section 51-103. A. Firefighters and pol ice officers in any
municipality shall have the separate right to bargain collecti vely
with their municipality and to be repre sented by a bargaining agent
in such collective bargaining with respect to wages, salaries,
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hours, rates of pay, grievances, worki ng conditions and all other
terms and conditions of employment.
B. Whenever, conformable to regulations that may be prescribe d
by the Public Employees Relations Board, herein created, a petition
is filed by:
1. A labor organization alleging that thirty p ercent (30%) of
the firefighters or police officers in a municipality:
a. wish to be represented for collective bargaining by an
exclusive employee representative, or
b. assert that the designated exclusive employee
representative is no longer the represen tative of the
majority of employees in the unit; or
2. The employer alleging that one or more labor organizations
has presented to it a claim to be recognized as the exclusive
employee representative in an appropriate unit;
the Board shall investigate the facts alleged therein and if it has
reasonable cause to believe that a question o f representation
exists, it shall provide fo r an appropriate hearing upon due notice.
If the Board finds upon the record of such hearing that such a
question of representatio n exists, it shall direct an election by
secret ballot and shall certify the resul ts thereof. The Board may
also certify a labor organization as an exclusive employee
representative if it determines that a free and untrammelled
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election cannot be conducte d because of the employer ’s unfair labor
practices.
C. Only those labor organizat ions which have been designated by
more than ten percent (10%) of the employees in the unit found to be
appropriate shall be placed on the ballot. Nothing in this section
shall be construed to prohibit the waiving of hearing by stipulation
for the purpose of a consent election, in conformity with t he rules
and regulations of the Board.
D. In order to assure to firefighters and police officers of
any municipality the fullest freedom in exercising the rights
guaranteed by this article, the Board shall decid e in each case
before it in which the issue is raised the unit appropriate for the
purposes of collective bargaining, and shall consider such factors
as community of interest , wages, hours and other working conditions
of the employees involved, the history of collective bargaining, and
the desires of the employees.
E. An election shall not be directed in any bargaining unit or
in any subdivision thereof within which, in the p receding twelve-
month period, a valid election has been held. The Board shall
determine who is eligible to vote in the electi on and shall
establish rules governing the election. In any election where none
of the choices on the ballot receives a majority, but a majority of
all votes cast are for representation by some labor organizatio n, a
run-off election shall be conducted. A labor organization which
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receives the majority of the votes cast in an election shall be
certified by the Board as the exclusive employee representative A
municipal employer shall recognize a bargaining agent selected by a
majority of the firefighters of the fire department or police
officers of the police department of that municipality as the
exclusive bargaining agent for the firefig hters or police officers
of that municipality until a majority of the firefigh ters or police
officers withdraw the recogni tion. Bargaining agents recognized by
municipalities and having bargained with municipalities, prior to
the effective date of this act, shall continue to be so recognized
without a new selection by the majority of the firefighters or
policer officers.
1. The bargaining agent representing the department as the
exclusive bargaining agent shall be determined by a majority vote of
the police or firefighters of the department.
2. A question of whether a bargaining agent is the exclusive
bargaining agent of th e respective police or firefighters of a
department shall be resolved by a fair election paid for by the
bargaining agent or employees and conducted according to procedures
agreed on by the parties. Such questio n arises where no bargaining
agent is currently recognized as bargaining agent or where a
bargaining agent is recognized and another bargaining agent presents
proof they represent at least forty (40) percent of the respective
police or firefighters of a department.
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Any vote or ballot authorized by the agreed procedures shall be
accompanied by a copy of the voter's driver license or other state -
authorized identification card, and any vote or ballot submitted in
person shall only be received by providing the same. The bargaining
agent seeking to represent the members of the department and the
municipality shall each be entitled to select one person to obser ve
the county and tabulating of ballots cast in the election.
3. If the parties are unable t o agree on election procedures
under paragraph 2 of thi s subsection, either party may request the
American Arbitration Association to conduct the election and certify
the results. Certification of the results of an election under this
paragraph shall reso lve the question regarding representation. Any
expenses of the election imposed by the American Arbitration
Association shall be borne in equal shares by both parties , except
that, if any fraudulent activity occurs in the election procedures
or in tabulating the votes, the offending party shall solely bear
the expense.
4. No election shall be conducted in an y bargaining unit which,
in the preceding twelve-month period, a valid election has been
held.
SECTION 2. This act shall become effective Novem ber 1, 2021.
58-1-2032 MR 3/31/2021 12:05:31 PM