BILL ANALYSIS
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 656
Author: DeSaulnier (D)
Amended: 8/17/09
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC EMP. & RET. COMMITTEE : 5-2, 4/27/09
AYES: Correa, Ducheny, Liu, Padilla, Wiggins
NOES: Ashburn, Benoit
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 11-0, 5/11/09
AYES: Kehoe, Cox, Corbett, Denham, DeSaulnier, Hancock,
Leno, Oropeza, Runner, Wolk, Wyland
NO VOTE RECORDED: Walters, Yee
SENATE FLOOR : 30-8, 5/26/09
AYES: Alquist, Calderon, Cedillo, Corbett, Correa, Denham,
DeSaulnier, Dutton, Florez, Hancock, Harman, Kehoe, Leno,
Liu, Lowenthal, Maldonado, Negrete McLeod, Oropeza,
Padilla, Pavley, Romero, Runner, Simitian, Steinberg,
Strickland, Wiggins, Wolk, Wright, Wyland, Yee
NOES: Aanestad, Ashburn, Benoit, Cogdill, Cox,
Hollingsworth, Huff, Walters
NO VOTE RECORDED: Ducheny, Vacancy
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 76-0, 9/2/09 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : Public employment: collective bargaining:
peace officers
SOURCE : Police Officers Research Association of
California
CONTINUED
SB 656
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2
DIGEST : This bill provides that a local bargaining unit
which is comprised of a majority of persons who are peace
officers will be excluded from the jurisdiction of the
Public Employment Relations Board for purposes of dispute
resolutions.
Assembly Amendments make a clarifying change.
ANALYSIS : The Public Employment Relations Board (PERB)
resolves disputes and enforces the statutory duties and
rights of employers and employees under the Educational
Employment Relations Act, the Higher Education
Employer-Employee Relations Act, the Ralph C. Dills Act,
and the Meyers-Milias-Brown Act.
Currently, PERB has jurisdiction over unfair labor disputes
of all miscellaneous employees, however, pursuant to SB 739
(Solis), Chapter 910 of 2000, law enforcement agencies are
excluded from PERB and therefore, are under the direct
jurisdiction of the courts. However, it has been noted
that there are certain bargaining units which are comprised
of both miscellaneous employees and employees with peace
officer status, and the existing statute is not clear as to
the jurisdiction of those employees' disputes. In those
units, PERB has asserted jurisdiction over cases that
affected the entire unit, whereby, an individual peace
officer under a mixed bargaining unit may file grievances
directly with the California Supreme Courts.
This bill provides that "mixed units", those bargaining
units comprised of both peace officer and miscellaneous
employees, shall be exempted from PERB's jurisdiction if
the majority of the unit is comprised of peace officers.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, the
Judicial Council has indicated that this bill will not
result in any increase in costs to the courts, and PERB may
experience very minor savings.
SB 656
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SUPPORT : (Verified 9/3/09)
Police Officers Research Association of California (source)
Orange County Employees' Association
OPPOSITION : (Verified 9/3/09)
California State Association of Counties
Regional Council of Rural Counties
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : In their sponsor letter, PORAC
states, "Currently, Government Code Section 3511 exempts
"persons who are peace officers as defined in Section 830.1
of the Penal Code" from the Jurisdiction of the Public
Employee Relation Board (PERB). The wording of this
statute is authority over dispute resolution. Public
employees, whom are not peace officers, are required to go
to PERB with their labor disputes. Peace officers are
exempted from this; thereby requiring they go to the
California Supreme Court for resolution. A problem arises
when a peace officer is a part of a "mixed unit", comprised
of both peace officers and miscellaneous employees (such as
Dispatchers, Community Services Officers and Crime Scene
Investigators). It is unclear in the writing of this law
who would have jurisdiction over these disputes. This
creates substantial risk of jurisdiction being challenged,
either in PERB or the Superior Court. SB 656 seeks to
remedy the uncertainty of the statute by clarifying that
these mixed units, should the unit be comprised of a
majority of peace officers, will be excluded from PERB
jurisdiction. This will enable the disputes of these peace
officers to remain in the Superior Court, thereby ending
the confusion. In addition, by providing certainly as to
jurisdiction, SB 656 will reduce costs associated with
challenging jurisdiction of mixed units."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : In their letter of opposition,
the California State Association of Counties and the
Regional Council of Rural Counties state, "SB 656 seeks to
exempt all employees in a mixed bargaining unit from the
jurisdiction of the Public Employment Relations Board
(BERB) if the bargaining unit includes a majority of peace
officers. Counties believe that it is inappropriate to
extend what is now a narrow exemption from PERB for peace
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officers to a large group of miscellaneous employees.
Counties do not see a significant problem with the current
structure where peace officer members of a mixed bargaining
unit resolve their disputes in court while miscellaneous
employees go before PERB. If a problem exists in a
particular bargaining unit, existing law provides peace
offices with the right to establish a separate bargaining
unit. SB 656 would treat all employees in mixed bargaining
units the same and we see no reason to do so. In face,
this change could have the unintended result of having
similar bargaining units with a majority of peace officers.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR :
AYES: Adams, Ammiano, Anderson, Arambula, Beall, Bill
Berryhill, Tom Berryhill, Blakeslee, Block, Blumenfield,
Brownley, Caballero, Charles Calderon, Carter, Chesbro,
Conway, Cook, Coto, Davis, De La Torre, De Leon, DeVore,
Duvall, Emmerson, Eng, Evans, Feuer, Fletcher, Fong,
Fuentes, Fuller, Furutani, Gaines, Galgiani, Garrick,
Gilmore, Hagman, Harkey, Hayashi, Hernandez, Hill, Huber,
Huffman, Jeffries, Jones, Knight, Krekorian, Lieu, Logue,
Bonnie Lowenthal, Ma, Mendoza, Miller, Monning, Nava,
Nestande, Niello, Nielsen, John A. Perez, V. Manuel
Perez, Portantino, Ruskin, Salas, Saldana, Silva,
Skinner, Smyth, Solorio, Audra Strickland, Swanson,
Torlakson, Torres, Torrico, Tran, Villines, Bass
NO VOTE RECORDED: Buchanan, Hall, Yamada, Vacancy
DLW:do 9/3/09 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
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