Revision: Jan. 25, 2019, 9:09 a.m.
SB 249-FN - AS INTRODUCED
2019 SESSION
19-0994
04/05
SENATE BILL 249-FN
AN ACT including the legislature as a public employer under the public employee labor relations act.
SPONSORS: Sen. Cavanaugh, Dist 16
COMMITTEE: Commerce
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ANALYSIS
This bill establishes the legislature as a public employer under the public employee labor relations act and establishes procedures for collective bargaining by nonpartisan employees.
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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Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
19-0994
04/05
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Nineteen
AN ACT including the legislature as a public employer under the public employee labor relations act.
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
1 Legislative Facilities Committee. Amend RSA 17-E:5 to read as follows:
17-E:5 House and Senate Subcommittees. The house members, with the speaker as chairperson, shall be a subcommittee for legislative management for the house; and the senate members, with the president as chairperson, shall be a subcommittee for legislative management of the senate. All individual transfers within the house or senate appropriations in excess of $75,000 and all salaries of legislative attaches and other employees, covered by a collective bargaining agreement under RSA 273-A, or otherwise specifically provided by statute shall require the approval of the respective subcommittee. The salaries as determined hereunder shall be a charge upon the appropriation made for the legislature.
2 New Subparagraph; Public Employee Labor Relations Board; Board of the Public Employer. Amend RSA 273-A:1, II(a) by inserting after subparagraph (2) the following new subparagraph:
(3) The board of the public employer for the legislature means the joint committee on legislative facilities established in RSA 17-E. Joint employees of the house of representatives and senate shall negotiate with the joint committee on legislative facilities. Employees of the house of representatives or the senate shall negotiate with their respective committees or subcommittees.
3 Public Employees Labor Relations Board; Definitions. Amend RSA 273-A:1, X to read as follows:
X. "Public employer'' means the state and any political subdivision thereof, the legislative and judicial [branch] branches of the state, any quasi-public corporation, council, commission, agency or authority, the state community college system, and the state university system.
4 New Section; Public Employee Labor Relations Board; Bargaining by Legislative Employees. Amend RSA 273-A by inserting after section 9-b the following new section:
273-A:9-c Bargaining by Legislative Employees.
I. In this section, "nonpartisan employee" means an employee whose purpose is to serve the institution of the general court rather than to shape and implement policies that reflect the positions of elected officials. Nonpartisan employees shall include employees in the following offices: legislative accounting, legislative budget assistant, legislative services, legislative operations and maintenance, nurse, general court information systems, visitors center, security, house and senate research and secretarial staff, clerks, and the house and senate sergeant-at-arms and staff.
II. All cost items and terms and conditions of employment affecting legislative employees generally shall be negotiated by the legislature, represented by the joint committee on legislative facilities, with a single employee bargaining committee comprised of exclusive representatives of all interested bargaining units. Negotiations regarding terms and conditions of employment unique to individual bargaining units shall be negotiated individually with the representatives of those units by the committee.
III. The joint committee on legislative facilities may designate an official legislative negotiator who shall serve at the pleasure of the committee.
5 Effective Date. This act shall take effect January 1, 2020.
19-0994
1/22/19
SB 249-FN- FISCAL NOTE
AS INTRODUCED
AN ACT including the legislature as a public employer under the public employee labor relations act.
FISCAL IMPACT: [ X ] State [ ] County [ ] Local [ ] None
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| Estimated Increase / (Decrease) | |||
STATE: | FY 2020 | FY 2021 | FY 2022 | FY 2023 |
Appropriation | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Revenue | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Expenditures | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable | Indeterminable |
Funding Source: | [ X ] General [ ] Education [ ] Highway [ ] Other | |||
METHODOLOGY:
This bill establishes the legislature as a public employer under the public employee labor relations act, RSA 273-A and provides procedures for collective bargaining by a defined group of nonpartisan employees. The Legislature shall be represented by the Joint Committee on Legislative Facilities and a single bargaining committee comprised of exclusive representatives of all interested bargaining units shall negotiate all cost items and terms and conditions of employment. Joint employees shall negotiate with the joint committee on legislative facilities and employees of the house and senate shall negotiate with the respective subcommittees. The Joint Committee on Legislative Facilities may designate an official legislative negotiator who shall serve at the pleasure of the committee. The Legislative Branch indicates the fiscal impact is indeterminable because there is no way to estimate what employee compensation, benefits or other terms of employment, if any, might be negotiated into a collective bargaining agreement. Any additional cost associated with the designation of an official legislative negotiator also cannot be predicted.
The Public Employees Labor Relations Board (PELRB) states the bill includes a definition of “nonpartisan employees” to apparently restrict the right of collective bargaining to only these legislative employees, but this is not expressly stated. PELRB indicates in the event eligible legislative branch employees form bargaining units the Legislature would be required to negotiate "terms and conditions" of their employment as defined in RSA 273-A:1, XI. The Legislative Branch would also become a party to any resulting collective bargaining agreement, which by law is required to include a workable grievance procedure. The PELRB states the fiscal impact of the bill is indeterminable due to a number of unknown factors. These include whether eligible legislative employees successfully petition the PELRB to form a bargaining unit(s) and the scope and outcome of collective bargaining. Petitions for bargaining units will likely result in the expenditure of State funds in response. The additional costs would depend on whether the petition(s) are contested at the PELRB. In addition, costs would be incurred in connection with the filing of any unfair labor practice complaints or other petitions at the PELRB and processing of any employee grievances under the collective bargaining grievance procedure.
AGENCIES CONTACTED:
Legislative Branch and Public Employees Labor Relations Board