BILL ANALYSIS �
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | AB 1611|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|1020 N Street, Suite 524 | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
THIRD READING
Bill No: AB 1611
Author: Bonta (D), et al.
Amended: 4/21/14 in Assembly
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC EMPLOY. & RETIR. COMM. : 3-2, 6/23/14
AYES: Torres, De Le�n, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE : 5-2, 8/4/14
AYES: De Le�n, Hill, Lara, Padilla, Steinberg
NOES: Walters, Gaines
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 58-19, 5/15/14 - See last page for vote
SUBJECT : School employees: scope of representation: notice
SOURCE : AFSCME
California School Employees Association
DIGEST : This bill requires public school employers to provide
to the exclusive representative of a classified school employee
group reasonable written notice of their intent to make any
changes to matters within the scope of representation.
ANALYSIS :
Existing law:
1. Provides, under the Educational Employment Relations Act
CONTINUED
AB 1611
Page
2
(EERA), public school employees the right to form, join, and
participate in the activities of employee organizations of
their choosing for the purpose of representation on all
matters of employer-employee relations.
2. Provides that employee organizations have the right to
represent their members in their employment relations with
public school employers.
3. Provides that the scope of representation is limited to
matters relating to wages, hours of employment, and other
terms and conditions of employment.
This bill:
1. Requires public school employers to provide reasonable
written notice to the exclusive representative of classified
personnel of the employer's intent to make any changes to
matters within the scope of representation of the classified
personnel for purposes of providing the employee
representative a reasonable amount of time to negotiate with
the employer regarding the proposed changes.
2. Makes non-substantive, technical amendments to update and
clarify Education Code references.
Background
Under existing law, the Myers-Milias-Brown Act (MMBA), the Dills
Act, and the Trial Court Employees Act (TCEA) govern,
respectively, the labor relations of public agencies, the state,
and trial courts with their respective employees. Each act
provides that the respective employer shall give reasonable,
written notice to each recognized employee organization affected
by any rule, practice, or policy directly relating to matters
within the scope of representation proposed to be adopted by the
employer and shall give each such recognized employee
organization the opportunity to meet with the employer.
The EERA, which governs the labor relations of public school
employers and public school employees, does not have a similar
statutory provision as those in MMBA, Dill's Act, or TCEA,
explicitly mandating the employer give reasonable, written
notice of the employer's intent to make changes to matters
CONTINUED
AB 1611
Page
3
within the scope of representation.
FISCAL EFFECT : Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes
Local: Yes
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee, minor costs,
potentially state reimbursable, to public school employers for
providing the written notices. (General)
SUPPORT : (Verified 8/6/14)
AFSCME (co-source)
California School Employees Association (co-source)
California Federation of Teachers
California Labor Federation
California Professional Fireghters
California Teachers Association
LIUNA Local 777
SEIU
OPPOSITION : (Verified 8/6/14)
School Employers Association of California
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT : The California School Employees
Association, the sponsor of this bill, writes "Despite decades
of PERB decisional law that supports the right of the exclusive
representative to receive notice, representatives of classified
employees are forced to return to PERB to enforce such rights.
Unfortunately, unlike other code sections dealing with public
employees, there is no notice requirement within the Educational
Employment Relations Act (EERA), which would provide a clearer
understanding to both employers and employee representatives as
to what is required by law.
"AB 1611 would correct this problem by providing the written
notice requirement in statute, similar to language found in the
Myers-Milias-Brown Act for public agency employees; the Dills
Act for state employees; and the Trial Court Employment Act."
ARGUMENTS IN OPPOSITION : The School Employers Association of
California (SEAC) opposes this bill because they say it comes at
a time when school districts are already being asked to
implement and manage a multitude of new programs and
CONTINUED
AB 1611
Page
4
requirements. SEAC also doesn't see what problem this bill is
hoping to address and asks why it is necessary at this time to
impose new requirements on a process which, from their
perspective, appears to be working well.
ASSEMBLY FLOOR : 58-19, 5/15/14
AYES: Achadjian, Alejo, Ammiano, Bloom, Bocanegra, Bonilla,
Bonta, Bradford, Brown, Buchanan, Ian Calderon, Campos, Chau,
Chesbro, Cooley, Dababneh, Daly, Dickinson, Eggman, Fong, Fox,
Frazier, Garcia, Gatto, Gomez, Gonzalez, Gordon, Gray, Hall,
Roger Hern�ndez, Holden, Jones-Sawyer, Levine, Lowenthal,
Medina, Mullin, Muratsuchi, Nazarian, Olsen, Pan, Perea, John
A. P�rez, V. Manuel P�rez, Quirk, Quirk-Silva, Rendon,
Ridley-Thomas, Rodriguez, Salas, Skinner, Stone, Ting,
Waldron, Weber, Wieckowski, Williams, Yamada, Atkins
NOES: Allen, Bigelow, Ch�vez, Conway, Dahle, Donnelly, Beth
Gaines, Gorell, Grove, Hagman, Harkey, Jones, Linder, Logue,
Maienschein, Nestande, Patterson, Wagner, Wilk
NO VOTE RECORDED: Mansoor, Melendez, Vacancy
JL:d 8/6/14 Senate Floor Analyses
SUPPORT/OPPOSITION: SEE ABOVE
**** END ****
CONTINUED