BILL NUMBER: AB 856 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Wesson
FEBRUARY 22, 2001
An act to amend Sections 19461, 19481.5, and 19556 of, to add
Sections 19461.5, 19526, 19613.8, and 19641.2 to, and to add Article
2.5 (commencing with Section 19455) to Chapter 4 of Division 8 of,
the Business and Professions Code, relating to horse racing.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 856, as introduced, Wesson. Horse racing.
(1) Existing law authorizes wagering on the result of live and
simulcast horse races, subject to the regulation and oversight of the
California Horse Racing Board, and requires the licensure of various
persons and entities associated with this industry. Existing law
also imposes specified requirements on the operation of race tracks,
backstretch facilities, and stabling and vanning services, and
establishes pension funds and welfare funds for the benefit of
backstretch personnel and horsemen.
This bill would state findings and declarations of the Legislature
regarding the employment rights of racetrack backstretch employees,
and direct the California Horse Racing Board to oversee the conduct
of a union and multiemployer collective bargaining agent recognition
procedure subject to specified conditions and procedures, provide for
resultant labor agreements to be binding on the parties, and
establish reasonable rules to regulate the time, place, and manner of
representational meetings within the racetrack enclosure. This bill
would also authorize individual trainers to opt out of the
multiemployer bargaining process, subject to specified conditions,
and require each trainer to keep accurate payroll records for all of
his or her employees, subject to audit by the Labor Commissioner as
specified, containing specified information and signed declarations
made under penalty of perjury, which would be available for
inspection by, or furnished to, the employee, his or her authorized
representative, the board, the administrators of specified pension
and health and welfare funds, or the Division of Labor Standards
Enforcement of the Department of Industrial Relations. By requiring
these declarations to be made under penalty of perjury, this bill
would create a crime and thereby impose a state-mandated local
program.
(2) Existing law provides that every license granted under the
Horse Racing Law is subject to suspension or revocation in any case
where the board has reason to believe that any condition regarding
the license has not been complied with, or that any provision of law
or any rule or regulation of the board affecting it has been broken
or violated.
This bill would expand this suspension and revocation authority to
expressly include violations of the Labor Code and regulations
adopted thereunder. This bill would also provide that upon a finding
by the Labor Commissioner that a violation of any provision of the
Labor Code under his or her jurisdiction has been committed by a
person licensed under the Horse Racing Law, that upon expiration of
the applicable period for appeal he or she shall notify the board of
that finding.
(3) Existing law provides that no license to conduct a horse
racing meeting shall be issued unless the track has been inspected
and approved by the board as to specified racetrack safety standards
within 30 days prior to the date of application.
This bill would additionally provide that the board shall, within
120 days of the effective date of this act, adopt emergency
regulations, as specified, to establish employee housing standards at
licensed racetracks, which shall be replaced by final, permanent
regulations with 18 months thereafter, which racing associations
shall be in compliance with by January 1, 2004, and as of that date
would require the board, in conjunction with the Department of
Housing and Community Development or a local housing authority in
that jurisdiction, to annually inspect the living conditions of
backstretch employee housing and submit these findings to the board.
The bill would provide that no license to conduct a horse racing
meeting shall be issued to a racing association unless the board has
inspected the housing conditions that exist on that track's
backstretch and determined them to be in compliance with these
standards.
(4) Existing law requires each licensed racing association to
designate a certain number of racing days to be conducted as charity
days for the purpose of the distribution of the net proceeds
therefrom to beneficiaries, and requires that at least 20% of the
distributions therefrom to be made to charities associated with the
horse racing industry.
This bill would increase this distribution requirement to 50%.
This bill would also specify that an existing specified backstretch
employee welfare fund shall be a health and welfare trust fund
administered without prejudice for the benefit of every eligible
person, that the fund and benefits shall be administered in
accordance with specified standards established in federal law,
subject to oversight and regulation of the board, and that the
welfare fund board be expanded, by March 1, 2002, to include 2
additional groom and stable employee licenses, also would be replaced
by designees of a labor union with 60 days of that union having been
chosen as the exclusive collective bargaining agent of a statewide
majority of backstretch workers.
(5) Existing law provides that racing associations and fairs shall
pay, from the portion deducted for purses, an amount equal to 1% of
that portion for a pension plan for backstretch personnel to be
administered by the respective trainers' organizations.
This bill would provide that within 60 days of a union having been
chosen as the exclusive collective bargaining agent for a statewide
majority of backstretch workers, the respective organization of
horsemen or trainers shall submit a pension plan for backstretch
personnel to the board. This bill would require that the plan be
administered by a joint labor-management committee consistent with
specified provisions of federal law.
(6) This bill would provide that its provisions are severable as
specified.
(7) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this
act for a specified reason.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 19455) is added to
Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Business and Professions Code, to
read:
Article 2.5. Backstretch Worker Labor Relations
19455. (a) The Legislature finds and declares that Section 923 of
the Labor Code recognizes that it is necessary that the individual
worker have full freedom of association, self-organization, and
designation of representatives of his or her own choosing, to
negotiate the terms and conditions of his or her employment, and that
he or she shall be free from the interference, restraint, or
coercion of employers of labor, or their agents, in the designation
of such representatives or in self-organization or in other concerted
activities for the purpose of collective bargaining.
(b) The Legislature finds that the National Labor Relations Board
has formally declined to assert jurisdiction over horse racing
because of extensive state control over the industry, the dominant
pattern of sporadic short-term employment which poses problems for
the effective enforcement of the National Labor Relations Act, and a
unique and special relationship that has developed between the states
and the industry.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to establish an orderly
procedure for backstretch employees to exercise their statutory
rights to organize a labor union, in order to reduce the prospect of
any strikes, disruptions, or economic action that would interfere
with the operation of horse racing meetings in California.
(d) Except as provided in subdivision (e), the board shall oversee
the conduct of a union recognition procedure for backstretch
employees under the following conditions:
(1) Employees shall have the right to join, or refuse to join, a
labor organization for purposes of collective bargaining and mutual
aid and protection. Existing state-recognized organizations of
trainers or horsemen established pursuant to the Horse Racing Law
shall not use funds derived or distributed from parimutuel wagering
pursuant to state law to advocate or advance any position with
respect to unionization of employees. Individual trainers and
horsemen, and their agents, shall not coerce or threaten any employee
of any trainer or horseman in the context of an effort to obtain or
revoke an employee authorization card with respect to selection by
any backstretch employee of any labor union or collective bargaining
agent. No employee shall be discharged or discriminated against for
expressing any opinion concerning the selection of a labor union or
collective bargaining agent for employees under this article.
(2) The labor union and its representatives shall not coerce or
threaten any employee of any trainer or horseman in the context of an
effort to obtain or revoke authorization cards. The union and its
representatives shall not interfere with the work of any employee,
but shall have reasonable access to backstretch workers within the
enclosure during working and nonworking hours, as determined by the
board.
(3) Within 30 days of a request, the board shall provide the labor
union with a list of all backstretch workers including the type of
license they hold, their employer, the location at which they are
employed, and their address and telephone number. The board may
require of any licensee information in the licensee's possession
necessary to comply with this requirement.
(4) The labor union may request board recognition as the exclusive
bargaining agent for employees in any bargaining unit or of any
employer, subject to the provisions and procedures described in
paragraph (5). The Executive Director of the Board, or a
disinterested neutral party selected by the Executive Director, shall
have the authority to investigate and determine the validity of
employee authorization cards submitted pursuant to this section, and
shall conduct a review of cards submitted by a union in support of
its claim to represent the majority of employees of an individual
employer or the majority of employees within a bargaining unit
approved by the board pursuant to paragraph (5). In the case of
thoroughbred racing, a labor union may request recognition as the
exclusive bargaining agent for backstretch employees by racetrack or
by geographical zone, as defined in Section 19530.5; in the case of
harness and quarter horse racing, a labor union may request
recognition as the exclusive bargaining agent for backstretch
employees by racetrack; in the case of fairs, a labor union may
request recognition as the exclusive bargaining agent for backstretch
employees by geographical zone, by fair, or by groups of fairs.
"Appropriate bargaining unit" includes any community of interest of
backstretch workers, including, but not limited to, geographic,
occupational, and type of horse racing. "Backstretch employee" means
a groom or stable employee licensed by the board pursuant to
subdivision (c) of Section 1481 of Division 4 of Title 4 of the
California Code of Regulations.
(5) The board, by regulation, shall establish procedures for the
recognition of collective bargaining representatives for both
backstretch workers and the employers of those workers. In all
matters pertaining to the rights established pursuant to this
article, the board, upon the complaint of a party, shall have the
authority to fashion an appropriate remedy, including the issuance of
a make-whole remedy in the event of persistent failure of a party to
bargain in good faith. Nothing in this section shall prohibit the
board from requiring the parties to any dispute to submit the issue
to binding arbitration pursuant to paragraph (8). In addition, the
board may contract with state mediation and conciliation services for
all appropriate purposes, including operations related to the
conduct of recognition procedures and elections.
(A) With respect to backstretch workers, a labor organization
seeking recognition as the collective bargaining agent for these
workers shall collect signed cards indicating individual worker's
intent to be represented by that organization for collective
bargaining purposes and submit those cards to the board for review
and validation by the executive director. A labor union is free to
define the characteristics of a potential collective bargaining unit
subject to approval by the board pursuant to paragraph (4). Upon
submission, review, and validation of cards indicating that a
majority of employees within a defined unit wish to be represented by
that union, the board shall recognize that union as the exclusive
collective bargaining agent for those workers, and issue an order to
affected employers to begin good faith negotiations for approval of
employment agreements pursuant to the procedures described in
subparagraphs (B) and (C). Employee authorization cards collected
for purposes of this paragraph shall be deposited with the board and
shall remain valid for one year starting on the date that the
submitting labor organization is granted permission by the board to
begin organizing activities in a given location, facility, region, or
unit. After the expiration of this period, no further organizing
efforts may be conducted with respect to that location, facility,
region, or unit for a period of one year. Employee authorization
cards may be revoked by the employee at any time prior to final
certification of the union as his or her exclusive collective
bargaining agent with respect to his or her employer.
(B) Upon the recognition of a union as the exclusive collective
bargaining agent for a given unit of backstretch workers, the
Executive Director of the board shall identify the trainers and
horsemen employing those workers, provide this information to the
union, and may conduct an election among those employers for the
selection of a designated agent or agents to represent the interests
of participating employers in a multiemployer employment agreement
with the union. Each voting employer shall be allotted one vote per
employee within the collective bargaining unit, and the agent or
agents receiving the largest plurality of votes shall be designated
by the board as representing the participating employers. The agent
or agents negotiating on behalf of the participating employers are
expressly authorized to organize collective bargaining committees,
approved by the board, that reflect the differences and circumstances
of individual trainers, and are free to negotiate terms that provide
varying wages and conditions of employment based on the economic
circumstances of individual trainers. Any employer may opt out of
these multiemployer bargaining procedures subject to the provisions
of subparagraph (C).
(C) If an individual employer of backstretch workers declines to
be represented in the multiemployer collective bargaining procedure
described in subparagraph (B), and a majority of that particular
employer's workers within the identified unit had submitted valid
cards indicating their intent to be represented by the union, the
board shall certify the union as the collective bargaining agent of
those workers and shall issue an order to begin good faith
negotiations for employment agreements on an individual employer
basis. If less than a majority of the opting-out employer's workers
within the identified unit had submitted valid cards indicating their
intent to be represented by the union, that employer shall not be
subject to a bargaining order issued by the board, but may
voluntarily agree to negotiate collectively with the union if it so
desires, and an organizing union may continue to seek and submit
employee authorization cards on an individual employer basis for
purposes of recognition and mandatory negotiation under this
subparagraph until the expiration of the one year period identified
in subparagraph (A). The board may provide mediation and
conciliation services upon request of the parties at any time. If an
employer is required under this subparagraph to collectively bargain
with the union, and the parties do not reach an agreement within 90
days, the board shall require the parties to participate in mandatory
mediation and conciliation services for a period of 30 days. If no
agreement results from this mediation, either or both parties may
declare an impasse. Upon a party's declaration of an impasse, the
Executive Director of the Board shall appoint an arbitrator from a
panel of preselected professional arbitrators with expertise in labor
negotiations to determine the issues and issue a final and binding
order establishing the terms of a collective bargaining agreement.
The cost of this arbitration shall be shared equally by the union and
employer.
(6) No labor agreement under this article shall apply to any
trainer or horseman with respect to employment associated with fair
meetings prior to January 1, 2003. After this date, employees shall
be added by accretion into an existing contract where applicable.
This section shall not apply to employers whose trainers, backstretch
workers, or both, normally reside and work outside of California and
who are engaged in racing in this state for a limited period of time
not exceeding 90 racing days in any calendar year.
(7) At any time subsequent to the expiration of an agreement under
paragraph (5), when the agreement is not in effect, the board may
recognize a majority interest, obtained during this period in the
same manner as union recognition of employees, within a unit who no
longer desire to be represented by the union, and withdraw the
recognition granted pursuant to this section from that union. An
employer may inform his or her employees that a process for
decertification exists and direct them to the board for information.
However any card, signature, vote, or other indicator obtained for
this purpose by means of coercion or threat or with the assistance or
inducement of any employer shall be invalid.
(8) Disputes, other than disputes concerning the operation and
application of ongoing contracts, disputes subject to binding
interest arbitration pursuant to subparagraph (C) of paragraph (5),
and economic disputes arising in the context of multiemployer
bargaining pursuant to subparagraph (B) of paragraph (5), but
including disputes concerning the rights established in paragraphs
(1) and (2), upon complaint shall be adjudicated by the board, and
the board may require the parties to submit the issue to binding
arbitration subject to judicial review in the same manner as
decisions of the board. Disputes subject to this paragraph include
disputes involving any backstretch employee or group of employees,
and any trainer or group of trainers. Upon submission of a complaint
to binding arbitration, the board shall select an arbitrator who is
mutually accepted by the affected parties, with hearing to be held
within 72 hours of written notice to the parties. If the parties are
unable to reach agreement prior to the commencement of arbitration,
the board shall provide the parties with a list of qualified
arbitrators, from which the parties shall alternately strike an equal
number of names until one remains, who shall be the selected
arbitrator. The selected arbitrator shall have the authority to
order any remedy, including injunctive relief, damages, and attorney'
s fees. Either party may bring an action in state court to compel a
party to go to arbitration or to enforce the decision of the
arbitrator, and the board may take administrative action as necessary
to ensure this paragraph is complied with. The board may delegate
all or part of its authority under this paragraph to the executive
director. Costs of arbitration shall be shared equally by the
parties, and any party shall be entitled to recover any reasonable
fees or costs incurred in securing compliance with or enforcement of
an award or order of the arbitrator.
(e) Nothing in this section shall prevent a labor union and an
individual trainer, or any group of trainers, from entering into a
mutually acceptable agreement, which may substitute for the
requirements of subdivision (d), for union organizing of employees of
the horsemen or trainers. Nothing in this article shall be
interpreted to require representative parties in negotiation to
enter into any labor agreement, as long as each party is negotiating
in a good faith effort to reach an agreement.
19455.2. (a) The board shall provide for labor agreements under
this article to be binding upon every applicable licensee.
(b) No horseman or trainer who has a separate agreement with the
exclusive representative labor union shall be required to be a party
to a multiemployer collective bargaining agreement.
19455.4. The board may establish reasonable rules to regulate the
time, place, and manner for representatives of labor unions to meet
backstretch workers within the enclosure during working and
nonworking hours. With the approval of the board, these regulations
may be superceded by collective bargaining agreements between
horsemen's organizations or trainers' organizations and labor
organizations.
SEC. 2. Section 19461 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
19461. Every license granted under this chapter is subject to
suspension or revocation by the board in any case where the board has
reason to believe that any condition regarding it has not been
complied with , or that any law , including the Labor
Code and the regulations adopted thereunder, or any rule or
regulation of the board affecting it has been broken or violated.
All proceedings to revoke a license shall be conducted in
accordance with Chapter 5 of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the
Government Code.
SEC. 3. Section 19461.5 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
19461.5. Upon a finding by the Labor Commissioner that a
violation of any provision of the Labor Code, within the jurisdiction
of the Labor Commissioner, has been committed by a person licensed
pursuant to this chapter in the course of such licensed activity, the
Labor Commissioner shall, upon expiration of the applicable period
for appeal, notify the board of that finding.
SEC. 4. Section 19481.5 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
19481.5. (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of
law, no license shall be issued to conduct a horse racing meeting
upon a track unless the track has been inspected by the
board within 30 days prior to the date of application for a license
and the track has been approved by the board as conforming to the
racetrack safety standards set forth in subdivision (a) of Section
19481 , and the board determines that the proposed licensee
is in substantial compliance with all of the rules and regulations of
the board and the provisions of this chapter .
(b) The board shall, within 120 days of the effective date of this
subdivision, adopt emergency regulations in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section
11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code) to
establish standards governing the employee housing provided to
backstretch personnel at licensed racetracks. These regulations
shall be deemed to be an emergency and necessary for the immediate
preservation of the public peace, health and safety, or general
welfare, shall be commensurate with the housing standards established
in the Employee Housing Act (commencing with Section 17000 of
Division 13 of the Health and Safety Code), and shall consider the
following:
(1) The health and safety of the human and equine population and
the necessity for humans and horses to live in close proximity.
(2) The housing needs of state or county facilities with live
racing meeting of no more than 43 days in duration that do not
operate as year-round training facilities. The board shall
specifically consider the different needs of these facilities
compared to permanent facilities or other state and county facilities
that function on a year-round basis, including state and county fair
facilities that operate as a year-round training facilities where
horses are stabled and workers live.
(3) Compliance of facilities with racing meetings of 19 days or
less to this subdivision shall be contingent on funding in the
2002-03 Budget Act.
These emergency regulations shall be submitted to the Office of
Administrative Law for filing with the Secretary of State and
publication in the California Code of Regulations and shall be
replaced by final, permanent regulations within 18 months of their
adoption. Every racing association shall be in compliance with these
housing standards by January 1, 2004.
(c) Commencing January 1, 2004, the board, in conjunction with the
California Department of Housing and Community Development or a
local housing authority for the jurisdiction in which the race track
is located, shall annually inspect the living conditions of
backstretch employee housing to ensure compliance with the housing
standards established by the board, the findings or results of which
shall be submitted to the board. No license shall be issued to a
racing association to conduct a horse race meeting unless the board
has inspected the housing conditions that exist on the race track's
backstretch and determined the living conditions to be in compliance
with the standards established by the board in subdivision (b).
(d) The board may assess a reasonable fee upon racing associations
to defray the costs associated with the inspections provided for in
subdivision (c).
SEC. 5. Section 19526 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
19526. (a) Each trainer shall keep accurate payroll records,
showing the name, address, social security number, work
classification, straight time and overtime hours worked each day and
week, paid to each of his or her employees. Each payroll record
shall contain both of the following signed declarations by the
trainer, which shall be made under penalty of perjury:
(1) That the information contained in the payroll record is true
and correct.
(2) That the employer has complied with the requirements of Labor
Code and applicable wage orders of the Industrial Welfare Commission.
(b) The payroll records enumerated under subdivision (a) shall be
certified and shall be available for inspection at all reasonable
hours at the principal office of the trainer on the following basis:
(1) A certified copy of an employee's payroll record shall be made
available for inspection or furnished to the employee or his or her
authorized representative upon request.
(2) A certified copy of all payroll records enumerated in
subdivision (a) shall be made available for inspection or furnished
upon request to the board and the Division of Labor Standards
Enforcement of the Department of Industrial Relations.
(3) On or before January 31 of each year, each trainer shall
provide copies of federal W-2 and 1099 tax forms for his or her
backstretch employees for the previous calendar year to the
administrator of the pension fund for backstretch employees.
(c) The certified payroll records described in this section shall
be on forms provided by the Division of Labor Standards Enforcement
or shall contain the same information as the forms provided by the
division.
(d) A trainer shall file a certified copy of the records
enumerated in subdivision (a) to an employee or his or her authorized
representative within 10 days after receipt of a written request.
(e) The trainer shall inform the board of the location of the
records enumerated under subdivision (a), including the street
address, city and county, and shall, within five working days,
provide a notice of a change of location and address.
(f) In addition to any other penalty imposed by law, any trainer
who fails to provide access to the records enumerated in subdivision
(a) to the board, the employee or his or her authorized
representative, the administrator of the pension or welfare funds, or
to the Division of Labor Standards enforcement as required by law
shall be subject to suspension of his or her license.
(g) Except for trainers covered by an operative collective
bargaining agreement pursuant to Section 19613.7, the board shall
require, as a condition of issuing or renewing a trainer's license,
that the trainer annually submit a certified declaration that they
have maintained true and correct payroll records and have complied
with the requirements of the Labor Code and applicable wage orders of
the Industrial Welfare Commission.
(h) The Labor Commissioner shall establish and maintain a program
to audit the certified payroll records of trainers who are not
parties to a collective bargaining agreement entered pursuant to
Article 2.5 (commencing with Section 19455) and who operate in
California for 90 or more racing days in a calendar year, in a manner
to ensure that every subject licensee is audited at least once prior
to January 1, 2006, and as necessary thereafter to ensure that at
least 15 percent of subject trainers are audited each year as part of
an ongoing program. Evidence of substantial noncompliance with the
Labor Code and applicable wage orders of the Industrial Welfare
Commission shall be referred by the board to the Labor Commissioner.
SEC. 6. Section 19556 of the Business and Professions Code is
amended to read:
19556. (a) The distribution shall be made by the distributing
agent to beneficiaries qualified under this article. For the
purposes of this article, a beneficiary shall be all of the
following:
(1) A nonprofit corporation or organization entitled by law to
receive a distribution made by a distributing agent.
(2) Exempt or entitled to an exemption from taxes measured by
income imposed by this state and the United States.
(3) Engaged in charitable, benevolent, civic, religious,
educational, or veterans' work similar to that of agencies recognized
by an organized community chest in the State of California, except
that the funds so distributed may be used by the beneficiary for
capital expenditures.
(4) Approved by the board.
(b) At least 20 50 percent of the
distribution shall be made to charities associated with the horse
racing industry. No beneficiary otherwise qualified under this
section to receive charity day net proceeds shall be excluded on the
basis that the beneficiary provides charitable benefits to persons
connected with the care, training, and running of racehorses, except
that type of beneficiary shall make an accounting to the board within
one calendar year of the date of receipt of any distribution.
SEC. 7. Section 19613.8 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
19613.8. Within 60 days of a statewide majority of backstretch
workers having chosen to be represented by an exclusive collective
bargaining agent pursuant to Article 2.5 (commencing with Section
19455) or any other law, the respective organization of horsemen, or
in the case of the thoroughbred industry the organization of
trainers, shall submit a plan to the board for the administration of
the pension program by a joint labor-management committee, consistent
with the standards established by Section 302 of the Taft-Hartley
Act (29 U.S.C. Sec. 5186). Notwithstanding Section 19613, upon
approval by the board, a joint labor-management committee shall
administer the pension program.
SEC. 8. Section 19641.2 is added to the Business and Professions
Code, to read:
19641.2. (a) The nonprofit foundation authorized to receive funds
pursuant to Section 19641 shall use those funds to administer a
health and welfare trust fund without prejudice and for the benefit
of every eligible person. The welfare fund and benefits shall be
administered consistent with the standards established by the federal
Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (29 U.S.C. Sec. 1001
and following) subject to the oversight and regulation of the board.
(b) Every employer of backstretch workers shall, upon request,
submit or provide access to the administrator of the welfare program
for backstretch workers any employment records necessary for prompt
payment of benefits and proper administration of the program.
(c) On or before March 1, 2002, the welfare fund board
shall be expanded to include two additional holders of groom or
stable employee licenses who are currently employed in these
occupations at a California horse racing facility. Within 60 days of
a statewide majority of backstretch workers having chosen to be
represented by an exclusive bargaining agent pursuant to Article 2.5
(commencing with Section 19455) or any other law, that agent shall
designate two representatives to replace the board members appointed
pursuant to this subdivision.
(d) Nothing in this section is intended to affect the status of
the welfare fund as a charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the federal
Internal Revenue Code or it compliance with the Charitable Purposes
Act (Article 7 (commencing with Section 12580) of Chapter 6 of Part 2
of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code).
SEC. 9. The provisions of this act are severable. If any
provision of this act or its application is held invalid, that
invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can
be given effect without the invalid provision or application.
SEC. 10. No reimbursement is required by this act pursuant to
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution because the
only costs that may be incurred by a local agency or school district
will be incurred because this act creates a new crime or infraction,
eliminates a crime or infraction, or changes the penalty for a crime
or infraction, within the meaning of Section 17556 of the Government
Code, or changes the definition of a crime within the meaning of
Section 6 of Article XIIIB of the California Constitution.