BILL NUMBER: AB 501 INTRODUCED
BILL TEXT
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Campos
FEBRUARY 15, 2011
An act to amend Section 3540.1 of the Government Code, relating to
public school employment.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 501, as introduced, Campos. Public school employment.
(1) Under existing law, public school employees have the right to
form, join, and participate in activities of employee organizations
of their own choosing for the purpose of representation on all
matters of employer-employee relations. Existing law defines the term
"public school employer" or "employer" for the purposes of
negotiations on collective bargaining agreements covering public
school employees, as the governing board of a school district, a
school district, a county board of education, a county superintendent
of schools, or certain charter schools. Existing law also authorizes
public agencies to agree to join together as joint powers agencies
for specified purposes.
This bill would expand the definition of "public school employer"
or "employer" to include joint powers agencies created as an entity
separate from the parties to the joint powers agreement with separate
employees that meet certain additional criteria. By requiring joint
powers agencies to engage in collective bargaining with their
separate employees, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
(2) Existing law defines the term "exclusive representative" as
the employee organization recognized or certified as the exclusive
negotiating representative of certificated or classified employees in
an appropriate unit of a public school employer.
This bill would change the definition of "exclusive representative"
to the employee organization recognized or certified as the
exclusive negotiating representative of all public school employees,
as defined. To the extent that this would increase the duties on
school districts with respect to collective bargaining, it would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(3) This bill would make various technical, nonsubstantive
changes.
(4) 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, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
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. Section 3540.1 of the Government Code is amended to
read:
3540.1. As used in this chapter:
(a) "Board" means the Public Employment Relations Board created
pursuant to Section 3541.
(b) "Certified organization" or "certified employee organization"
means an organization which that has
been certified by the board as the exclusive representative of the
public school employees in an appropriate unit after a proceeding
under Article 5 (commencing with Section 3544).
(c) "Confidential employee" means any an
employee who is required to develop or present management
positions with respect to employer-employee relations or whose duties
normally require access to confidential information that is used to
contribute significantly to the development of management positions.
(d) "Employee organization" means any an
organization which that includes
employees of a public school employer and which
that has as one of its primary purposes representing those
employees in their relations with that public school employer.
"Employee organization" shall also include any person of the
organization authorized to act on its behalf.
(e) "Exclusive representative" means the employee organization
recognized or certified as the exclusive negotiating representative
of certificated or classified public school
employees , as "public school employee" is defined in
subdivision (j), in an appropriate unit of a public school
employer.
(f) "Impasse" means that the parties to a dispute over matters
within the scope of representation have reached a point in meeting
and negotiating at which their differences in positions are so
substantial or prolonged that future meetings would be futile.
(g) "Management employee" means any an
employee in a position having significant responsibilities for
formulating district policies or administering district programs.
Management positions shall be designated by the public school
employer subject to review by the Public Employment Relations Board.
(h) "Meeting and negotiating" means meeting, conferring,
negotiating, and discussing by the exclusive representative and the
public school employer in a good faith effort to reach agreement on
matters within the scope of representation and the execution, if
requested by either party, of a written document incorporating any
agreements reached, which document shall, when accepted by the
exclusive representative and the public school employer, become
binding upon both parties and, notwithstanding Section 3543.7, is not
subject to subdivision 2 of Section 1667 of the Civil Code. The
agreement may be for a period of not to exceed three years.
(i) "Organizational security" is within the scope of
representation, and means either of the following:
(1) An arrangement pursuant to which a public school employee may
decide whether or not to join an employee organization, but which
requires him or her, as a condition of continued employment, if he or
she does join, to maintain his or her membership in good standing
for the duration of the written agreement. However, an arrangement
may shall not deprive the employee of
the right to terminate his or her obligation to the employee
organization within a period of 30 days following the expiration of a
written agreement.
(2) An arrangement that requires an employee, as a condition of
continued employment, either to join the recognized or certified
employee organization, or to pay the organization a service fee in an
amount not to exceed the standard initiation fee, periodic dues, and
general assessments of the organization for the duration of the
agreement, or a period of three years from the effective date of the
agreement, whichever comes first.
(j) "Public school employee" or "employee" means any
a person employed by any
a public school employer except persons elected by popular
vote, persons appointed by the Governor of this state, management
employees, and confidential employees.
(k) "Public school employer" or "employer" means the governing
board of a school district, a school district, a county board of
education, a county superintendent of schools, or
a charter school that has declared itself a public school employer
pursuant to subdivision (b) of Section 47611.5 of the Education Code
. , or a joint powers agency, except a joint
powers agency established to provide services pursuant to
Section 990.8, if all the following apply to the joint powers agency:
(1) It is created as an agency or
entity that is separate from the parties to the joint powers
agreement pursuant to Section 6503.5.
(2) It has its own employees separate from employees of the
parties to the joint powers agreement.
(3) Any of the following are true:
(A) It provides services primarily performed by a school district,
county board of education, or county superintendent of schools.
(B) A school district, county board of education, or county
superintendent of schools is designated in the joint powers agreement
pursuant to Section 6509.
(C) It is comprised solely of school agencies.
( l ) "Recognized organization" or "recognized employee
organization" means an employee organization which
that has been recognized by an employer as the exclusive
representative pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 3544).
(m) "Supervisory employee" means any an
employee, regardless of job description, having authority in
the interest of the employer to hire, transfer, suspend, lay off,
recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline other
employees, or the responsibility to assign work to and direct them,
or to adjust their grievances, or effectively recommend that action,
if, in connection with the foregoing functions, the exercise of that
authority is not of a merely routine or clerical nature, but requires
the use of independent judgment.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local
agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant
to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of
the Government Code.