Senate Study Bill 1226 - Introduced SENATE FILE _____ BY (PROPOSED COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND BUSINESS RELATIONS BILL BY CHAIRPERSON SCHULTZ) A BILL FOR An Act relating to public safety employees and collective 1 bargaining units for purposes of public employee collective 2 bargaining and including effective date and applicability 3 provisions. 4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA: 5 TLSB 2616XC (3) 88 je/rn

S.F. _____ Section 1. Section 20.1, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 1 2019, is amended to read as follows: 2 a. Determining appropriate bargaining units , amending 3 the composition of previously determined bargaining units 4 represented by a certified employee organization, reconsidering 5 and altering the composition of previously determined 6 bargaining units which are not represented by a certified 7 employee organization, and conducting representation elections. 8 Sec. 2. Section 20.3, subsection 11, Code 2019, is amended 9 by adding the following new paragraph: 10 NEW PARAGRAPH . g. A peace officer employed by a regents 11 institution. 12 Sec. 3. Section 20.13, Code 2019, is amended to read as 13 follows: 14 20.13 Bargaining unit determination , amendment, and 15 reconsideration and alteration . 16 1. Board The board’s determination of an appropriate 17 bargaining unit shall be upon petition filed by a public 18 employer, public employee, or employee organization. Except 19 as provided in subsection 3, the board’s amendment of a 20 represented bargaining unit shall be upon petition filed by 21 the public employer or certified representative of the unit. 22 The board’s reconsideration and alteration of a previously 23 determined bargaining unit that is not represented by a 24 certified representative shall be upon the combined petition 25 of an employee organization which also seeks a representation 26 election pursuant to section 20.14, subsection 2. 27 2. Within thirty days of receipt of a petition, the 28 board shall conduct a public hearing, receive written or 29 oral testimony, and promptly thereafter file issue an order 30 defining the appropriate bargaining unit , amending or refusing 31 to amend the composition of a represented bargaining unit, 32 or reconsidering and altering or refusing to reconsider and 33 alter the composition of an unrepresented bargaining unit . 34 In defining the unit, or determining whether a unit should 35 -1- LSB 2616XC (3) 88 je/rn 1/ 5

S.F. _____ be amended or reconsidered and altered in response to a 1 petition for amendment or reconsideration and alteration, 2 the board shall take into consideration, along with other 3 relevant factors, the principles of efficient administration 4 of government, the existence of a community of interest among 5 public employees, the history and extent of public employee 6 organization, geographical location, and the recommendations 7 of the parties involved. 8 3. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1, a 9 petition to amend the composition of a represented bargaining 10 unit by the removal of all public safety employees from the 11 unit may be filed by a public safety employee who is a member 12 of the unit. If the petition is accompanied by evidence 13 satisfactory to the board that the public safety employees 14 in the bargaining unit do not constitute at least thirty 15 percent of the employees in the unit and that a majority of 16 the public safety employees in the unit support the petition, 17 the board shall, within thirty days of finding such evidence 18 satisfactory, conduct a public hearing, receive written or oral 19 testimony, and promptly thereafter issue an order granting or 20 denying the requested amendment to the composition of the unit. 21 If the board amends the bargaining unit by removing the public 22 safety employees from the unit, the board shall not consider 23 any of the following unless a period of two years has elapsed 24 since the date of the removal: 25 a. A petition filed pursuant to subsection 1 that would 26 determine a bargaining unit that would include any removed 27 public safety employee still employed by the same public 28 employer. 29 b. A petition filed pursuant to subsection 1 that would 30 amend a represented bargaining unit or reconsider and alter a 31 previously determined bargaining unit if acting on the petition 32 would result in the inclusion of any removed public safety 33 employee employed by the same public employer in a bargaining 34 unit. 35 -2- LSB 2616XC (3) 88 je/rn 2/ 5

S.F. _____ 3. 4. Appeals from such an order issued pursuant to this 1 section shall be governed by the provisions of chapter 17A . 2 4. 5. Professional and nonprofessional employees shall not 3 be included in the same bargaining unit unless a majority of 4 both agree. 5 Sec. 4. EFFECTIVE DATE. This Act, being deemed of immediate 6 importance, takes effect upon enactment. 7 Sec. 5. APPLICABILITY. The following applies to collective 8 bargaining procedures pursuant to chapter 20 initiated on or 9 after the effective date of this Act: 10 The section of this Act amending section 20.3. 11 EXPLANATION 12 The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with 13 the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. 14 This bill relates to public safety employees and collective 15 bargaining units for purposes of public employee collective 16 bargaining. 17 The bill designates peace officers employed by regents 18 institutions as public safety employees for the purposes of 19 collective bargaining pursuant to Code chapter 20, the public 20 employment relations Act. Code chapter 20 and Code chapter 21 400 include collective bargaining procedures specifically 22 applicable to public safety employees that are not applicable 23 to other public employees, including procedures relating to 24 the scope of collective bargaining negotiations, arbitration 25 procedures, and certain matters relating to city civil service 26 employment. This provision applies to collective bargaining 27 procedures pursuant to Code chapter 20 initiated on or after 28 the effective date of the bill. 29 The bill provides that the powers and duties of the 30 public employment relations board (PERB) include amending 31 the composition of previously determined public employee 32 collective bargaining units represented by a certified employee 33 organization, and reconsidering and altering the composition 34 of previously determined public employee collective bargaining 35 -3- LSB 2616XC (3) 88 je/rn 3/ 5

S.F. _____ units which are not represented by a certified employee 1 organization. 2 The bill provides that amendment by the PERB of a public 3 employee collective bargaining unit represented by a certified 4 representative shall be upon petition filed by the public 5 employer or certified representative of the bargaining unit. 6 The bill provides that reconsideration and alteration by the 7 PERB of a previously determined public employee collective 8 bargaining unit that is not represented by a certified 9 representative shall be upon the combined petition of an 10 employee organization which also seeks a representation 11 election. The bill provides that procedures of the PERB 12 applicable to determining a public employee collective 13 bargaining unit apply to amending a represented bargaining 14 unit or reconsidering and altering a previously determined 15 bargaining unit. 16 The bill provides that a petition to amend the composition 17 of a public employee collective bargaining unit represented 18 by a certified representative by removing all public safety 19 employees from the bargaining unit may be filed by a public 20 safety employee who is a member of the bargaining unit. 21 The bill requires the PERB to conduct a public hearing to 22 receive written or oral testimony within 30 days of receiving 23 such a petition if the petition is accompanied by evidence 24 satisfactory to the PERB that the public safety employees in 25 the bargaining unit do not constitute at least 30 percent of 26 the employees in the bargaining unit and that a majority of 27 the public safety employees in the bargaining unit support 28 the petition. After the hearing, the bill requires the PERB 29 to promptly thereafter issue an order granting or denying the 30 requested amendment to the composition of the bargaining unit. 31 If the PERB amends the public employee collective bargaining 32 unit by removing the public safety employees from the 33 bargaining unit, the bill prohibits the PERB from considering 34 certain bargaining unit petitions unless a period of two 35 -4- LSB 2616XC (3) 88 je/rn 4/ 5

S.F. _____ years has elapsed since the date of the removal. The first 1 prohibited petition is a petition that would determine a 2 bargaining unit that would include any removed public safety 3 employee still employed by the same public employer. The 4 second prohibited petition that would amend a represented 5 bargaining unit or reconsider and alter a previously determined 6 bargaining unit if acting on the petition would result in the 7 inclusion of any removed public safety employee employed by the 8 same public employer in a bargaining unit. 9 The bill takes effect upon enactment. 10 -5- LSB 2616XC (3) 88 je/rn 5/ 5