BILL NUMBER: SB 1296 CHAPTERED 09/30/08 CHAPTER 712 FILED WITH SECRETARY OF STATE SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 APPROVED BY GOVERNOR SEPTEMBER 30, 2008 PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 5, 2008 PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 4, 2008 AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 17, 2008 AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 23, 2008 AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 26, 2008 INTRODUCED BY Senator Corbett (Coauthor: Assembly Member Jones) FEBRUARY 19, 2008 An act to amend Section 3509 of the Government Code, relating to the Public Employment Relations Board. LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST SB 1296, Corbett. Public Employment Relations Board. The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act delegates jurisdiction to the Public Employment Relations Board to resolve disputes and enforce the statutory duties and rights of local public agency employers and employees. The bill would provide that superior courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over actions involving interest arbitration when the action involves an employee organization that represents firefighters, as specified. THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS: SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the following: (a) In 2001, the Public Employment Relations Board (PERB) assumed jurisdiction over the resolution of unfair labor practice charges and representation disputes under the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA) that may be filed by public employers or employees, excluding law enforcement officers and the City and County of Los Angeles. (b) When transferring jurisdiction, the Legislature expressly recognized that such a transfer was not to supersede existing local ordinances or rules that provide for other methods of administering employer-employee relations. (c) In recent years, the dispute resolution process under PERB has been used as a tool by some employers to impede or eliminate altogether the otherwise appropriate review of issues in an alternative forum adopted by voters. (d) The valuable administrative remedies afforded by PERB are meant to amplify and not abrogate a party's right to settle bargaining or representation disputes. The MMBA itself is intended to strengthen the administration of employer-employee relations. (e) While the Legislature provided for a remedy under PERB, the courts retain the role in determining the limits of PERB's jurisdiction. (f) Although existing law permits PERB to rule on unfair labor practices, nowhere does existing law suggest that those rulings are to supersede voter-approved or other statutory remedies and, where PERB's jurisdiction over unfair labor practice charges may overlap with the statutory authority granted to other entities, the overlap should not remove the jurisdiction of other forums. (g) In contrast to firefighter organizations, law enforcement organizations have been exempted from PERB's jurisdiction. Unlike law enforcement organizations, firefighter organizations have recently been prevented from employing other voter-adopted dispute resolution processes, which in effect changes the clear statutory language detailing PERB's jurisdiction. This disparity has resulted in the preservation of procedural rights for law enforcement officers and the derailment of and eventual elimination of procedural rights for firefighters. (h) The Legislature never intended, by exempting law enforcement organizations from the provisions of Senate Bill 739, enacted as Chapter 901 of the Statutes of 2000, to, by implication, eliminate for firefighters the locally enacted procedural protections enjoyed by both law enforcement and firefighters under those provisions. SEC. 2. Section 3509 of the Government Code is amended to read: 3509. (a) The powers and duties of the board described in Section 3541.3 shall also apply, as appropriate, to this chapter and shall include the authority as set forth in subdivisions (b) and (c). Included among the appropriate powers of the board are the power to order elections, to conduct any election the board orders, and to adopt rules to apply in areas where a public agency has no rule. (b) A complaint alleging any violation of this chapter or of any rules and regulations adopted by a public agency pursuant to Section 3507 or 3507.5 shall be processed as an unfair practice charge by the board. The initial determination as to whether the charge of unfair practice is justified and, if so, the appropriate remedy necessary to effectuate the purposes of this chapter, shall be a matter within the exclusive jurisdiction of the board. The board shall apply and interpret unfair labor practices consistent with existing judicial interpretations of this chapter. (c) The board shall enforce and apply rules adopted by a public agency concerning unit determinations, representation, recognition, and elections. (d) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, the employee relations commissions established by, and in effect for, the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles pursuant to Section 3507 shall have the power and responsibility to take actions on recognition, unit determinations, elections, and all unfair practices, and to issue determinations and orders as the employee relations commissions deem necessary, consistent with and pursuant to the policies of this chapter. (e) Notwithstanding subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive, consistent with, and pursuant to, the provisions of Sections 3500 and 3505.4, superior courts shall have exclusive jurisdiction over actions involving interest arbitration, as governed by Title 9 (commencing with Section 1280) of Part 3 of the Code of Civil Procedure, when the action involves an employee organization that represents firefighters, as defined in Section 3251. (f) This section shall not apply to employees designated as management employees under Section 3507.5. (g) The board shall not find it an unfair practice for an employee organization to violate a rule or regulation adopted by a public agency if that rule or regulation is itself in violation of this chapter. This subdivision shall not be construed to restrict or expand the board's jurisdiction or authority as set forth in subdivisions (a) to (c), inclusive.