BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 778
Page 1
Date of Hearing: January 23, 2014
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Mike Gatto, Chair
AB 778 (Bocanegra) - As Amended: January 6, 2014
Policy Committee: PERSSVote:5-2
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill makes changes to the Meyers-Milas-Brown Act (MMBA)
with respect to impasse procedures and fact-finding.
Specifically, this bill:
1)Provides that if either party disputes that a genuine impasse
has been reached, it may submit that dispute to PERB for
resolution. If PERB determines that a genuine impasse exists,
the parties' differences are subject to the remainder of the
fact finding procedures of the MMBA.
2)Specifies that the above provision does not apply to the City
and County of San Francisco and maintains the existing rights
of the County of Los Angeles and the City of Los Angeles to
amend its employee relations commissions' rules and
regulations providing for impasse resolution procedures.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Based on the staffing that PERB estimated was necessary to
administer the bill, the fiscal impact of administering the
provisions of this bill is approximately $250,000.
2)Though the bill is not keyed a local mandate, there could be
state mandated reimbursement of local costs for the impasse
decisions. The amount would depend on the number of requests
for impasse. Reimbursable costs could be in the millions of
dollars. The Commission on State Mandates has approved a test
claim for any local government subject to the jurisdiction of
PERB that incurs increased costs as a result of a mandate,
meaning their costs are eligible for reimbursement. There are
several thousand local governments, many with dozens of
AB 778
Page 2
bargaining units that would be subject to the bill.
COMMENTS
1)Purpose . According to the author, when a public employer and
a public employee organization reach an impasse in collective
bargaining and the dispute has not been submitted to voluntary
mediation, the employee organization may request that the
parties' differences be submitted to a fact-finding panel not
later than 30 days following the date that either party
provided the other with a written notice of a declaration of
impasse. This bill was introduced because PERB has
interpreted this provision, in its regulations and its
administrative rulings, to require the employee organization
to make this request within 30 days of a declaration of
impasse, without regard to whether the employer and union have
in fact reached a genuine impasse in the negotiations. The
author argues this loophole could allow a public employer to
evade its duty to bargain in good faith by declaring impasse
prematurely or in bad faith.
2)Opposition . Opponents, including the California Association
of Counties, are concerned that the bill will override local
rules, delay the conclusion of contract negotiations, and
create a greater administrative burden and unnecessary costs
for PERB. Opponents state AB 778 continues to undermine a
local agency's long-held authority to establish local rules
for resolving an impasse. They argue the Legislature has seen
wisdom in not having a state-wide uniform approach in certain
aspects of the collective bargaining process. Opponents note
one of those elements is avoiding requirements that delay the
conclusion of contract negotiations and having PERB directly
involved after an alleged impasse is reached promotes
unnecessary delays.
3)Previous legislation .
a) AB 616 (Bocanegra) of 2013 is similar to this bill.
This bill was held on the Senate Appropriations Committee
Suspense file.
a) AB 1606 (Perea), Chapter 314, Statutes of 2012,
authorized an employee organization to request that the
parties' differences be submitted to a fact-finding panel
not sooner than 30 days, but not more than 45 days,
AB 778
Page 3
following the appointment of a mediator or entering into a
mediation process. If the dispute was not submitted to
mediation, an employee organization may request that the
parties' differences be submitted to a factfinding panel
not later than 30 days following the date either party
provided the other with written notice of a declaration of
impasse.
b) AB 646 (Atkins), Chapter 680, Statutes of 2011, allowed
local public employee organizations to request factfinding
if a mediator is unable to reach a settlement within 30
days of appointment, defines certain responsibilities of
the factfinding panel and interested parties, and made
specified exemptions from these provisions.
Analysis Prepared by : Roger Dunstan / APPR. / (916) 319-2081