BILL NUMBER: AB 646	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Atkins

                        FEBRUARY 16, 2011

   An act to amend Sections 3505 and 3505.2 of, to add Section 3505.5
to, and to repeal and add Section 3505.4 of, the Government Code,
relating to local public employee organizations.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 646, as introduced, Atkins. Local public employee
organizations: impasse procedures.
   The Meyers-Milias-Brown Act contains various provisions that
govern collective bargaining of local represented employees, and
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 act requires the
governing body of a public agency to meet and confer in good faith
regarding wages, hours, and other terms and conditions of employment
with representatives of recognized employee organizations. Under the
act, if the representatives of the public agency and the employee
organization fail to reach an agreement, they may mutually agree on
the appointment of a mediator and equally share the cost. If the
parties reach an impasse, the act provides that a public agency may
unilaterally implement its last, best, and final offer.
   This bill would delete the authorization for the public agency to
implement its last, best, and final offer in the event of an impasse.
The bill would instead provide that if the parties fail to reach an
agreement, either party may request that the board appoint a
mediator, and would require the board, if it determines that an
impasse exists, to appoint a mediator at the board's expense.
   The bill would authorize either party to request that the matter
be submitted to a factfinding panel if the mediator is unable to
effect settlement of the controversy within 15 days and declares that
factfinding is appropriate. The bill would require that the
factfinding panel consist of one member selected by each party as
well as a chairperson selected by the board or by agreement of the
parties. The factfinding panel would be authorized to make
investigations and hold hearings, and to issue subpoenas requiring
the attendance and testimony of witnesses and the production of
evidence. The bill would require all political subdivisions of the
state to comply with the panel's requests for information.
   This bill would require, if the dispute is not settled within 30
days, the factfinding panel to make findings of fact and recommend
terms of settlement, for advisory purposes only. The bill would
require that these findings and recommendations be first issued to
the parties, but would require the public agency to make them
publicly available within 10 days after their receipt. The bill would
provide for the distribution of costs associated with the
factfinding panel, as specified.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  Section 3505 of the Government Code is amended to read:

   3505.  The governing body of a public agency, or such boards,
commissions, administrative officers or other representatives as may
be properly designated by law or by such governing body, shall meet
and confer in good faith regarding wages, hours, and other terms and
conditions of employment with representatives of such recognized
employee organizations, as defined in subdivision (b) of Section
3501, and shall consider fully such presentations as are made by the
employee organization on behalf of its members prior to arriving at a
determination of policy or course of action.
   "Meet and confer in good faith" means that a public agency, or
such representatives as it may designate, and representatives of
recognized employee organizations, shall have the mutual obligation
personally to meet and confer promptly upon request by either party
and continue for a reasonable period of time in order to exchange
freely information, opinions, and proposals, and to endeavor to reach
agreement on matters within the scope of representation prior to the
adoption by the public agency of its final budget for the ensuing
year.  The process should include adequate time for the
resolution of impasses where specific procedures for such resolution
are contained in local rule, regulation, or ordinance, or when such
procedures are utilized by mutual consent. 
  SEC. 2.  Section 3505.2 of the Government Code is amended to read:
   3505.2.   (a)    If after a reasonable period of
time, representatives of the public agency and the recognized
employee organization fail to reach agreement, the public agency and
the recognized employee organization or recognized employee
organizations  together  may  agree
  do one of the following: 
    (1)     The parties may agree  upon
the appointment of a mediator mutually agreeable to the parties
 . Costs   , in which case   , the
costs  of mediation shall be divided one-half to the public
agency and one-half to the recognized employee organization or
recognized employee organizations. 
   (2) Either party may request that the Public Employment Relations
Board appoint a mediator for the purpose of assisting them in
reconciling their differences and resolving the controversy on terms
that are mutually acceptable. If the board determines that an impasse
exists, it shall appoint a mediator within five working days after
its receipt of the request. The mediator shall meet with the parties
or their representatives, either jointly or separately, as soon as
practicable, and shall take any other steps he or she deems
appropriate in order to persuade the parties to resolve their
differences and reach a mutually acceptable agreement. The services
of the mediator, including any per diem fees, and actual and
necessary travel and subsistence expenses, shall be provided by the
board without cost to the parties. 
   (b) If the parties agree upon the appointment of a mediator
pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a), the board shall not
appoint its own mediator unless failure to do so would be
inconsistent with the policies of this chapter. 
  SEC. 3.  Section 3505.4 of the Government Code is repealed.

   3505.4.  If after meeting and conferring in good faith, an impasse
has been reached between the public agency and the recognized
employee organization, and impasse procedures, where applicable, have
been exhausted, a public agency that is not required to proceed to
interest arbitration may implement its last, best, and final offer,
but shall not implement a memorandum of understanding. The unilateral
implementation of a public agency's last, best, and final offer
shall not deprive a recognized employee organization of the right
each year to meet and confer on matters within the scope of
representation, whether or not those matters are included in the
unilateral implementation, prior to the adoption by the public agency
of its annual budget, or as otherwise required by law. 
  SEC. 4.  Section 3505.4 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   3505.4.  (a) If the mediator is unable to effect settlement of the
controversy within 15 days after his or her appointment pursuant to
Section 3505.2, and the mediator declares that factfinding is
appropriate to the resolution of the impasse, either party may, by
written notification to the other party, request that their
differences be submitted to a factfinding panel. Within five days
after receipt of the written request, each party shall select a
person to serve as its member of the factfinding panel. The Public
Employment Relations Board shall, within five days after the
selection of panel members by the parties, select a chairperson of
the factfinding panel. The chairperson designated by the board shall
not, without the consent of both parties, be the same person who
served as mediator pursuant to Section 3505.2.
   (b) Within five days after the board selects a chairperson of the
factfinding panel, the parties may mutually agree upon a person to
serve as chairperson in lieu of the person selected by the board.
   (c) The panel shall, within 10 days after its appointment, meet
with the parties or their representatives, either jointly or
separately, and may make inquiries and investigations, hold hearings,
and take any other steps it deems appropriate. For the purpose of
the hearings, investigations, and inquiries, the panel shall have the
power to issue subpoenas requiring the attendance and testimony of
witnesses and the production of evidence. Any state agency, as
defined in Section 11000, the California State University, or any
political subdivision of the state, including any board of education,
shall furnish the panel, upon its request, with all records, papers,
and information in their possession relating to any matter under
investigation by or in issue before the panel.
   (d) If the dispute is not settled within 30 days after the
appointment of the factfinding panel, or, upon agreement by both
parties within a longer period, the panel shall make findings of fact
and recommend terms of settlement. These findings and
recommendations shall be advisory only. In arriving at their findings
and recommendations, the fact finders shall consider, weigh, and be
guided by all the following criteria:
   (1) State and federal laws that are applicable to the employer.
   (2) Local rules, regulations, or ordinances.
   (3) Stipulations of the parties.
   (4) The interests and welfare of the public and the financial
ability of the public agency.
   (5) Comparison of the wages, hours, and conditions of employment
of the employees involved in the factfinding proceeding with the
wages, hours, and conditions of employment of other employees
performing similar services in comparable public agencies.
   (6) The consumer price index for goods and services, commonly
known as the cost of living.
   (7) The overall compensation presently received by the employees,
including direct wage compensation, vacations, holidays, and other
excused time, insurance and pensions, medical and hospitalization
benefits, the continuity and stability of employment, and all other
benefits received.
   (8) Any other facts, not confined to those specified in paragraphs
(1) to (7), inclusive, which are normally or traditionally taken
into consideration in making the findings and recommendations.
   (e) The fact finders shall submit, in writing, any findings of
fact and recommended terms of settlement to the parties before they
are made available to the public. The public agency shall make these
findings and recommendations publicly available within 10 days after
their receipt.
   (f) The costs for the services of the panel chairperson selected
by the board, including per diem fees, if any, and actual and
necessary travel and subsistence expenses, shall be borne by the
board.
   (g) The costs for the services of the panel chairperson agreed
upon by the parties shall be equally divided between the parties, and
shall include per diem fees, if any, and actual and necessary travel
and subsistence expenses. The per diem fees shall not exceed the per
diem fees stated on the chairperson's resume on file with the board.
The chairperson's bill showing the amount payable by the parties
shall accompany his or her final report to the parties and the board.
The chairperson may submit interim bills to the parties in the
course of the proceedings, and copies of the interim bills shall also
be sent to the board. The parties shall make payment directly to the
chairperson.
   (h) Any other mutually incurred costs shall be borne equally by
the public agency and the employee organization. Any separately
incurred costs for the panel member selected by each party shall be
borne by that party.
  SEC. 5.  Section 3505.5 is added to the Government Code, to read:
   3505.5.  Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit
the mediator appointed pursuant to Section 3505.2 from continuing
mediation efforts on the basis of the findings of fact and
recommended terms of settlement made pursuant to Section 3505.4.