Revision: March 14, 2012, midnight
HB 1645-FN – AS INTRODUCED
2012 SESSION
06/10
HOUSE BILL 1645-FN
AN ACT prohibiting all public employees from participating in collective bargaining.
SPONSORS: Rep. Lambert, Hills 27; Rep. Manuse, Rock 5
COMMITTEE: Labor, Industrial and Rehabilitative Services
This bill repeals provisions giving public employees the right to bargain collectively.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
12-2114
06/10
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twelve
AN ACT prohibiting all public employees from participating in collective bargaining.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Public Employee Labor Relations. RSA 273-A:1 through RSA 273-A:17 are repealed and reenacted to read as follows:
273:1 Contracts Between the State or Any Political Subdivision and Public Employees Prohibited. Any agreement or contract between the state, its agencies, or any political subdivision of the state as defined in RSA 5-B:2, III and any labor union, trade union, or labor organization as bargaining agent for any public employees of the state, its agencies, or political subdivisions entered into after the effective date of this act, is hereby declared to be against public policy, illegal, unlawful, void, and of no effect.
2 New Positions and Reclassifications of Positions. Amend RSA 21-I:54, III to read as follows:
III. The director shall make a decision on any request for reclassification or reallocation from department heads or position incumbents within 45 days of receipt of a completed request for reclassification or reallocation as defined by rules adopted under RSA 21-I:43, II(u). Except as otherwise provided by law[,] or rule[, or bargaining agreement negotiated under the provisions of RSA 273-A], no increases in salary shall be allowed for any request until a final decision is made by the director, or if the director’s decision is appealed, by the personnel appeals board. Increases in salary due to reclassification or reallocation shall become effective at the beginning of the next pay period following the final decision of the director or the board.
3 Discharge or Suspension from Employment. Amend RSA 28:10-a, I to read as follows:
I. Before any county may discharge, remove, or suspend an employee as provided in paragraphs II-IV, the county commissioners shall first adopt and establish rules and procedures for the discharge, removal, or suspension of its employees. Each county employee shall receive a copy of the rules and procedures which the county adopts. [Nothing in this section shall be construed so as to limit negotiations under, or the applicability of, RSA 273-A. In the event that rules or procedures adopted by the county commissioners conflict with an agreement negotiated pursuant to RSA 273-A, the provisions of the collective bargaining agreement shall prevail.]
4 Discharge or Suspension from Employment. Amend RSA 28:10-a, III to read as follows:
III. Within 30 days of receipt of the notice under subparagraph II(a), or within 10 days of the first day of suspension under subparagraph II(b), the employee may request in writing a public hearing on such notice or suspension before the county personnel committee, consisting of the chairman, vice-chairman and clerk of the county convention[, except if said employee is covered by a collective bargaining agreement under RSA 273-A, in which case the employee’s hearing and discharge, removal, or suspension proceedings shall be held pursuant to the provisions of the agreement]. If, upon such hearing, said committee finds good cause for discharge, removal, or suspension of the employee, they shall approve his discharge, removal, or suspension as ordered or approved by the county commissioners. The personnel committee may establish reasonable rules for procedure and the admission of evidence and shall keep a record of all proceedings under this section. Any action or decision made under this section shall be subject to rehearing and appeal as provided in RSA 541. The county personnel committee, when acting under the provisions of this section, shall be deemed a commission within the meaning of RSA 541:1.
5 Use of Official Ballot. Amend RSA 40:13, II-a(b) to read as follows:
(b) The [“budget submission date” as defined in RSA 273-A:1, III and the] final date for submission of petitioned articles under RSA 39:3 and RSA 197:6 shall be the second Tuesday in January.
6 Use of Official Ballot. Amend RSA 40:13, II-b(b) to read as follows:
(b) The [“budget submission date” as defined in RSA 273-A:1, III and the] final date for submission of petitioned articles under RSA 39:3 and RSA 197:6 shall be the second Tuesday in February.
7 Use of Official Ballot. Amend RSA 40:13, II-c(b) to read as follows:
(b) The [“budget submission date” as defined in RSA 273-A:1, III and the] final date for submission of petitioned articles under RSA 39:3 and RSA 197:6 shall be the second Tuesday in March.
8 Increase in Salary of State Employees. Amend RSA 99:3 to read as follows:
99:3 Increase in Salary. Notwithstanding [the provisions of RSA 273-A or] any other provision of law to the contrary, classified employees of the state as of January 2, 2009, shall be placed in the corresponding steps in the new salary ranges as their length of service justifies and their salaries shall be in accordance with the salary scales set forth in RSA 99:1-a. The provisions hereof shall not be construed as affecting so-called longevity payments which shall be in addition to the regular salary scale.
9 School Districts; Joint Maintenance Agreements. Amend RSA 194:21, III to read as follows:
III. The school boards of the component school districts shall be authorized to incur indebtedness by the issuance and sale of bonds or notes, or otherwise, in the name of the joint maintenance agreement subject to approval by the legislative body of the component districts pursuant to RSA 33. The school boards of the component school districts shall be authorized to [engage in collective bargaining pursuant to RSA 273-A and to] hire staff in the name of the joint maintenance agreement, as may be necessary.
10 Court Personnel and Compensation System. Amend RSA 490:26-b to read as follows:
490:26-b Court Personnel and Compensation System.
I. The supreme court shall establish a uniform personnel classification and compensation system and salary and grievance procedures for all nonjudicial court personnel [not covered by a collective bargaining agreement under RSA 273-A]. The compensation system shall be approved by the legislature prior to becoming effective if the legislature is meeting in regular session. If the legislature is not meeting in regular session, the compensation system shall be approved by the legislative fiscal committee prior to becoming effective. The salary and grievance procedures for employees [not covered by a collective bargaining agreement under RSA 273-A] shall be established by administrative order of the supreme court.
II. [If court employees exercise their rights under RSA 273-A, their wages, benefits, and other conditions of employment shall be negotiated through their bargaining agent. Once a petition for certification covering court employees has been filed, the terms and conditions of their employment shall remain in force and preserve the status quo until either an election has been conducted or an initial contract has been negotiated, whichever is the last to occur. If they choose not to organize under RSA 273-A or are unsuccessful, their] The wages, benefits, and terms and conditions of employment of court employees shall be determined by the provisions of RSA 490:28.
11 Benefits of Nonjudicial Employees. Amend RSA 490:28, I to read as follows:
I. [Except as provided in a collective bargaining agreement under RSA 273-A,] Full-time nonjudicial employees of the judicial branch shall, effective January 1, 1984, receive all fringe benefits and salary increases as provided for classified state employees including membership in the state retirement system, health insurance, dental insurance, life insurance coverage, and annual and sick leave benefits. Annual and sick leave benefits accumulated by said employees, as a result of service prior to January 1, 1984, shall be transferable under such guidelines as may be established by the supreme court [unless covered in a collective bargaining agreement under RSA 273-A].
12 Electioneering by Public Employees. Amend RSA 659:44-a to read as follows:
659:44-a Electioneering by Public Employees. No public employee[, as defined in RSA 273-A:1, IX,] shall electioneer while in the performance of his or her official duties or use government property, including, but not limited to, telephones, facsimile machines, vehicles, and computers, for electioneering. For the purposes of this section, “electioneer” means to act in any way specifically designed to influence the vote of a voter on any question or office. Any person who violates this section shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.
13 Repeal. The following are repealed:
I. RSA 31:5, III, relative to special meetings to address negotiated cost items.
II. RSA 32:5-a, relative to presentation of negotiated cost items at the annual meeting.
III. RSA 32:19, relative to collective bargaining agreements.
IV. RSA 32:19-a, relative to presentation of negotiated cost items at the annual meeting.
V. RSA 162-K:2, relative to the definition of budget submission date.
VI. RSA 197:3, III, relative to cost items at special meetings.
VII. RSA 273-C, relative to dog and horse racing employees.
14 Effective Date. This act shall take effect 60 days after its passage.
LBAO
12-2114
12/22/11
HB 1645-FN – FISCAL NOTE
AN ACT prohibiting all public employees from participating in collective bargaining.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The Public Employee Labor Relations Board states this bill will decrease state general fund expenditures by an indeterminable amount in FY 2013 and each year thereafter, the Department of Administrative Services states this bill will have an indeterminable impact on state expenditures in FY 2013 and each year thereafter, and the New Hampshire Association of Counties and New Hampshire Municipal Association state this bill may decrease county and local expenditures by indeterminable amounts in FY 2013 and each year thereafter. There will be no impact on state, county, and local revenues.
METHODOLOGY:
The Public Employee Labor Relations Board repeals RSA 273-A:1 through 273-A:17, provides that any general agreements or contracts between any public employer and any labor union entered into after the effective date of the bill shall be void, and also eliminates the Public Employee Labor Relations Board. The Board states in FY 2013 it has a general fund appropriation of $400,259 in the state operating budget, however costs related to employee terminations would net against potential savings of this bill. The Board is unable to determine the potential overall net savings as it is unable to predict total termination costs at this time.
The Department of Administrative Services states this bill could potentially result in both a cost and savings for the state. The Department states there will be an indeterminate cost associated with the necessary and essential laws, rules and/or policies required to be implemented to address all conditions of employment currently covered under collective bargaining. The Department states there could be potential indeterminate savings to the state as a result of changes in wages and benefits in the absence of collective bargaining. The Department also states all of the collective bargaining agreements (CBA) the state is currently participating in, expire on June 30, 2013 and include evergreen clauses, and the probability of realizing savings in wages and benefits would not happen until current CBAs expire and unions agree to give up their evergreen rights.
The New Hampshire Association of Counties states this bill repeals public employee collective bargaining, which county commissioners and county department heads participate in. The Association states in the absence of collective bargaining, county expenditures could decrease as there would be less personnel time and county resources spent, and counties would no longer need to obtain outside legal services or consultants to assist in the negotiating process. The Association is unable to estimate the potential decrease in county expenditures as a result of this bill.
The New Hampshire Municipal Association states this bill would eliminate collective bargaining between political subdivisions and public employees. The Association states by eliminating the need for municipalities to engage in collective bargaining, this bill would result in a decrease to local expenditures. The Association states it does not have information as to the time and resources spent by municipalities, and therefore is unable to estimate the decrease in local expenditures. The Association states municipalities may incur labor negotiation costs on an individual by individual basis, which cannot be estimated at this time.
The Judicial Branch states this bill would reduce management’s time spent on collective bargaining issues, but should not result in an impact to the Branch’s budget.