SB 151 PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT LABOR RELATIONS COCHAIR PEARCE MOVED for adoption of Amendment #1. COCHAIR SHARP objected. Testimony was heard from ED FLANAGAN. The objection was withdrawn, and Amendment There being no objection, Amendment #2 was ADOPTED. COCHAIR PEARCE MOVED Amendment #3. COCHAIR SHARP objected, then withdrew his objection. Without further objection, Amendment #3 was ADOPTED. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #4. COCHAIR SHARP and COCHAIR PEARCE objected. Amendment #4 FAILED by a 3 to 3 vote. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #5. COCHAIR PEARCE objected. Amendment #5 FAILED by a 3 to 3 vote. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #6. COCHAIR PEARCE objected. Amendment #6 FAILED by a 3 to 3 vote. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #7. COCHAIR SHARP objected. Testimony was heard from ART CHANCE. COCHAIR SHARP withdrew his objection and Amendment #7 was ADOPTED. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #8. COCHAIR PEARCE objected. Amendment #8 FAILED by a 3 to 3 vote. SENATOR ADAMS did not offer Amendments #9 - PEARCE objected. SENATOR ADAMS withdrew his motion without objection. COCHAIR SHARP MOVED Amendment #15. SENATOR ADAMS objected, then withdrew his objection. Without further objection, Amendment #15 was ADOPTED. COCHAIR SHARP MOVED Amendment #16. SENATOR DONLEY MOVED for adoption of an Amendment to Amendment #16. Without objection, the Amendment to Amendment #16 was ADOPTED. Amendment #16 was ADOPTED by a 6 to 1 vote. COCHAIR SHARP MOVED Amendment #17. There being no objection, Amendment #17 was adopted. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #14. COCHAIR PEARCE objected. Amendment #14 FAILED by a 2 to 4 vote. COCHAIR PEARCE MOVED Amendment #18. COCHAIR SHARP objected, then withdrew his objection. Without further objection, Amendment previous action in failing to adopt Amendment #14. There being no objection, Amendment #14 was before the committee. Amendment #14 FAILED by a 3 to 4 vote. COCHAIR PEARCE MOVED CSSB 151(FIN) from committee with individual recommendations. SENATOR ADAMS objected. By a vote of 4 to 3, CSSB 151(FIN) was REPORTED OUT with individual recommendations, a previous fiscal note from the Department of Law (277.0), new fiscal notes from the Department of Labor (263.9), the Court System (14.7), and forthcoming fiscal notes from the Department of Administration and the Department of Labor. SENATE BILL NO. 151 "An Act relating to public employment labor relations; relating to the protection of the rights of public employees under the Public Employment Relations Act; establishing ethical standards for union representatives of public employees; and establishing disclosure requirements for public employee labor organizations." SENATOR ADAMS objected to the bill as expensive and not needed. He cited previous legislative appropriation concerning Indian Country, audits of native corporations and believed they should get away from people bashing. End SFC-97 #112, Side 1, Begin Side 2 COCHAIR PEARCE MOVED for adoption of Amendment #1. COCHAIR SHARP objected for the purpose of explanation. COCHAIR PEARCE stated the amendment included employees of juvenile detention facilities in the list of employees prohibited from striking. SENATOR DONLEY asked for the administration's position on the amendment. ED FLANAGAN, Deputy Commissioner, Department of Labor, testified that the amendment would mitigate some of the harm and lessen the negative impact of language in the bill. There would still be many employees in youth correction facilities eligible to strike, but youth correction officers would be excluded. He supported the amendment. The objection was withdrawn, and Amendment #1 was ADOPTED. COCHAIR PEARCE MOVED Amendment #2. She explained it had been suggested by the unions because of concern over representation by labor organizations. There being no objection, Amendment #2 was ADOPTED. COCHAIR PEARCE MOVED Amendment #3. COCHAIR SHARP objected. COCHAIR PEARCE explained that the bill was not intended to break up unions and the amendment clarified that certain bargaining unions could continue. Those affected would include the Fairbanks North Star Borough and another political subdivision of the state. COCHAIR SHARP removed his objection. Without further objection, Amendment #3 was ADOPTED. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #4. COCHAIR SHARP and COCHAIR PEARCE objected. SENATOR ADAMS explained that the amendment decertified all current unions from representing any other public employees if peace officers were members. He further explained the impact of the legislation on Petersburg and that the amendment would cut some of the costs of the legislation. COCHAIR PEARCE spoke to her objection, pointing out that Amendment #3 fixed the problem affecting Petersburg. A roll call vote was taken on the MOTION to adopt Amendment IN FAVOR: Donley, Adams, Phillips OPPOSED: Parnell, Pearce, Sharp Amendment #4 FAILED by a 3 to 3 vote. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #5. COCHAIR PEARCE objected. SENATOR ADAMS explained that the amendment eliminated the findings in Section 1. SENATOR DONLEY spoke in favor of the amendment, stating that the findings language was inflammatory and not necessary. COCHAIR PEARCE spoke to her opposition. She commented that it was inflammatory that members of public unions had hired private investigators to investigate legislative members to find something to use to blackmail them in a vote, which happened last session. SENATOR PHILLIPS declared a conflict of interest concerning the legislation in that his wife was a state employee and asked to refrain from voting. COCHAIR SHARP objected. A roll call vote was taken on the MOTION to adopt Amendment IN FAVOR: Adams, Phillips, Donley OPPOSED: Parnell, Pearce, Sharp Amendment #5 FAILED by a 3 to 3 vote. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #6. COCHAIR PEARCE objected. SENATOR ADAMS explained that the amendment deleted the federal labor management reporting and disclosure act being rolled into PERA and spoke to the cost. Discussion was had among COCHAIR PEARCE, SENATORS ADAMS, DONLEY and PHILLIPS regarding the amendment. A roll call vote was taken on the MOTION to adopt Amendment IN FAVOR: Phillips, Donley, Adams OPPOSED: Parnell, Pearce, Sharp Amendment #6 FAILED by a 3 to 3 vote. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #7. COCHAIR SHARP objected. SENATOR ADAMS explained that the amendment would delete the provision to allow copying of a list of union members' addresses. COCHAIR PEARCE stated her support of the amendment. There was additional discussion among members. SENATOR PARNELL asked to hear from Mr. Chance as he was not familiar with labor elections. ART CHANCE, Consultant, House and Senate Finance Committees, stated the way the current language had been characterized was inaccurate. The language would insure that a member of the union could have a list of the membership if the member was a bonafide candidate for office. It would not make the list public record. COCHAIR SHARP withdrew his objection and Amendment #7 was ADOPTED. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #8. COCHAIR PEARCE objected. SENATOR ADAMS explained that the amendment deleted the requirement that current arbitration awards could be funded within the state agency budget if the money was available. Current language in the bill would require that award, extensions or modifications be approved by the legislature which would delay settlement of cases and generate interest costs. COCHAIR PEARCE spoke to her objection that some modifications had been large and should be brought before the legislature. SENATOR ADAMS requested the department's response. MR. FLANAGAN stated that the amendment would allow interest arbitrations to stand and take effect without waiting for legislative approval. A roll call vote was taken on the MOTION to adopt Amendment IN FAVOR: Adams, Phillips, Donley OPPOSED: Parnell, Pearce, Sharp Amendment #8 FAILED by a 3 to 3 vote. SENATOR ADAMS did not offer Amendments #9 - #13 as they were duplicates of previous amendments. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #14. COCHAIR PEARCE objected. SENATOR ADAMS explained that the amendment exempted anything having to do with NEA and established a separate PERA for school employees. SENATOR DONLEY asked to hear from the department on the amendment. MR. FLANAGAN explained that it left school employees in the status quo and lessened the impact and workload of required reporting. He was supportive of the amendment. COCHAIR PEARCE informed the committee that she had a forthcoming amendment that would remove NEA from the bill and asked SENATOR ADAMS to withdraw his amendment. SENATOR ADAMS withdrew his motion without objection. COCHAIR SHARP MOVED a conceptual Amendment #15 that would change a majority of the total number of employees in a union to a total number of employees voting in a union election. SENATOR ADAMS objected and requested comment from the department. MR. FLANAGAN stated that the amendment addressed one of their many concerns and he was supportive. SENATOR ADAMS withdrew his objection. Without further objection, Amendment #15 was ADOPTED. COCHAIR SHARP MOVED Amendment #16. He explained that it excluded unpaid volunteers, such as shop stewards and chapter representatives, from reporting requirements. End SFC-97 #112, Side 2 Begin SFC-97 #113, Side 1 SENATOR DONLEY MOVED for adoption of an Amendment to Amendment #16 to add the language "other than reimbursement for actual expenses." Without objection, the Amendment to Amendment #16 was ADOPTED. COCHAIR PEARCE objected to Amendment #16 for the purpose of hearing from Mr. Chance on the section. MR. CHANCE stated the section did not require a generalized reporting by officers, stewards or representatives unless they did certain things, such as exchanging money with a public employer or engaging in a business relationship or contract with a public employer. MR. FLANAGAN didn't dispute Mr. Chances interpretation. He gave an example and stated that it would lessen the number of people required to report and thereby reduce the workload. He supported the amendment. SENATOR DONLEY inquired about what would trigger the disclosure reporting. MR. CHANCE and MR. FLANAGAN responded to the questions. A roll call vote was taken on the MOTION to adopt Amendment IN FAVOR: Phillips, Donley, Torgerson, Parnell, Pearce, Sharp OPPOSED: Adams Amendment #16 as amended was ADOPTED by a 6 to 1 vote. COCHAIR SHARP MOVED Amendment #17. He explained that it was intended to address the problem of making a contribution to a state or local candidate for public office. It would not be reportable if it was $100 or less, similar to APOC requirements. There was brief discussion. Without objection, Amendment #17 was adopted. COCHAIR PEARCE brought up Amendment #14 previously offered by SENATOR ADAMS, and noted she had Amendment #18 that exempted NEA. She noted Amendment #14 exempted NEA from the entire bill, whereas Amendment #18 exempted them from the reporting requirements. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED Amendment #14. COCHAIR PEARCE objected. There was brief discussion. A roll call vote was taken on the MOTION to adopt Amendment IN FAVOR: Adams, Phillips OPPOSED: Torgerson, Parnell, Pearce, Sharp Amendment #14 FAILED by a 2 to 4 vote. COCHAIR PEARCE MOVED Amendment #18. COCHAIR SHARP objected for the purpose of explanation. MR. CHANCE described the amendment. It would clarify the cost that could be charged to a fee payer to include contract administration. Also, if an organization had its fee established by arbitration or court action, the filing with the commissioner of Labor would satisfy the reporting requirement for labor organizations. It that was done, then the officers and employees would be exempt from the individual reporting requirements. It would avoid a duplication of effort. COCHAIR SHARP withdrew his objection. Without further objection, Amendment #18 was ADOPTED. SENATOR DONLEY stated for the record his support of Amendment #14. SENATOR ADAMS MOVED to rescind previous action in failing to adopt Amendment #14. There being no objection, Amendment A roll call vote was taken on the MOTION to adopt Amendment IN FAVOR: Adams, Phillips, Donley OPPOSED: Torgerson, Parnell, Pearce, Sharp Amendment #14 FAILED by a 3 to 4 vote. COCHAIR PEARCE MOVED CSSB 151(FIN) from committee with individual recommendations. SENATOR ADAMS objected. He pointed out there had been no public support to the legislation and he believed it was bad public policy. He reiterated previous comments in opposition. SENATOR PHILLIPS had concern that it was the wrong approach to get at the problem, instead it gets at the "rank and file." A roll call vote was taken on the MOTION. IN FAVOR: Parnell, Torgerson, Pearce, Sharp OPPOSED: Adams, Phillips, Donley By a vote of 4 to 3, CSSB 151(FIN) was REPORTED OUT with individual recommendations, a previous fiscal note from the Department of Law (277.0), new fiscal notes from the Department of Labor (263.9), the Court System (14.7), and forthcoming fiscal notes from the Department of Administration and the Department of Labor.