Public Employees Relations Commission

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A bill to be entitled 1
An act relating to the Public Employees Relations 2
Commission; amending s. 110.227, F.S.; conforming 3
final order requirements to ch. 120, F.S.; removing a 4
provision requiring exceptions to a recommended order 5
to be filed within a specified timeframe; amending s. 6
112.0455, F.S.; conforming final order requirements to 7
ch. 120, F.S.; revising the timeframe in which an 8
appeal hearing must be conducted; amending s. 120.80, 9
F.S.; providing applicability; amending s. 295.14, 10
F.S.; conforming final order requirements to ch. 120, 11
F.S.; amending s. 447.203, F.S.; providing and 12
revising definitions; amending s. 447.205, F.S.; 13
revising the seal of the Public Employees Relations 14
Commission; amending s. 447.207, F.S.; providing 15
construction relating to the rulemaking authority of 16
the commission; authorizing subpoenas to be served by 17
certified mail, return receipt requested, or by 18
personal service; revising requirements for proof of 19
service; removing the requirement that the commission 20
adopt rules for the qualifications of persons who may 21
serve as mediators; authorizing the commission, under 22
certain circumstances, to waive the application of any 23
provision of part II of ch. 447, F.S., rather than 24
only specified provisions; amending s. 447.301, F.S.; 25

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revising requirements for an employee organization 26
membership authorization form; requiring an employee 27
organization, within a specified timeframe, to revoke 28
the membership of and cease the collection of 29
membership dues from a public employee; providing that 30
a membership authorization form is valid if it meets 31
certain requirements; amending s. 447.303, F.S.; 32
authorizing public employees to pay membership dues 33
directly to an employee organization, a parent 34
organization of the employee organization, and any 35
affiliate of such organizations; amending s. 447.305, 36
F.S.; revising application requirements for employee 37
organization registration and renewal of registration; 38
requiring an employee organization to provide an 39
application for renewal of registration to certain 40
persons within a specified timeframe; requiring a 41
bargaining agent to provide missing application 42
information to the commission within a specified 43
timeframe; requiring the commission to dismiss an 44
application for renewal of registration under certain 45
circumstances; requiring the commission to notify the 46
bargaining agent when such application information is 47
complete; requiring the bargaining agent to petition 48
for recertification within a specified timeframe 49
thereafter; requiring the commission or one of its 50

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designated agents to conduct an investigation if a 51
challenge to an application for renewal of 52
registration is filed; authorizing a designated agent 53
of the commission to conduct an investigation to 54
confirm validity of submitted information; exempting 55
certain employee organizations from a specified 56
requirement; requiring a registration fee for 57
applications for registration and renewal of 58
registration; requiring certain employee organization 59
accounts to be open for inspection at a reasonable 60
time and place; providing for the revocation of an 61
employee organization's certification under certain 62
circumstances; providing that certain decisions issued 63
by the commission are final agency actions; amending 64
s. 447.307, F.S.; revising requirements for the 65
certification and recertification of an employee 66
organization; creating s. 447.3076, F.S.; authorizing 67
a petition to clarify the composition of a bargaining 68
unit to be filed with the commission under certain 69
circumstances; requiring a copy of the petition to be 70
served on certain persons; requiring the public 71
employer to provide a copy of the petition to certain 72
affected employees within a specified timeframe; 73
requiring a petition to be dismissed under certain 74
circumstances; amending s. 447.308, F.S.; revising 75

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requirements for the decertification of an employee 76
organization; amending s. 447.309, F.S.; removing 77
provisions relating to conflicts between any 78
collective bargaining agreement provision and certain 79
laws, ordinances, rules, or regulations; requiring 80
certain agreements to be returned to the bargaining 81
agent, rather than the employee organization; 82
requiring collective bargaining agreements to contain 83
specified terms and conditions; amending s. 447.401, 84
F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made by the 85
act; amending s. 447.403, F.S.; providing requirements 86
for when an impasse occurs; requiring a hearing within 87
a specified timeframe; authorizing the recommended 88
decision of a special magistrate from an impasse 89
hearing to be transmitted by any method of service 90
that establishes proof of delivery; amending s. 91
447.405, F.S.; conforming provisions to changes made 92
by the act; amending s. 447.4095, F.S.; providing that 93
salary increases appropriated by the Legislature are 94
considered a financial urgency; providing meeting and 95
dispute requirements; prohibiting unfair labor charges 96
to be filed during specified time periods; amending s. 97
447.501, F.S.; requiring a public employer to provide 98
to all employee organizations or petitioning employees 99
equal access to the employer's facilities and 100

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communication systems for a specified time period; 101
amending s. 447.503, F.S.; authorizing certain public 102
employers, public employees, and employee 103
organizations, or combinations thereof, to file 104
certain charges with the commission; amending s. 105
447.507, F.S.; increasing fines for certain 106
violations; amending s. 447.509, F.S.; prohibiting 107
public employers, their agents or representatives, and 108
any persons acting on their behalf from taking certain 109
actions; authorizing certain actions by public 110
employees under certain circumstances; providing 111
exceptions; amending ss. 110.114, 110.205, 112.3187, 112
121.031, 447.02, 447.609, and 1011.60, F.S.; 113
conforming cross-references and provisions to changes 114
made by the act; providing an effective date. 115
116
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 117
118
Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (6) of section 119
110.227, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 120
110.227 Suspensions, dismissals, reductions in pay, 121
demotions, layoffs, transfers, and grievances.— 122
(6) The following procedures shall apply to appeals filed 123
pursuant to subsection (5) with the Public Employees Relations 124
Commission, hereinafter referred to as the commission: 125

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(d) A recommended order must shall be issued by the 126
hearing officer within 30 days after following the hearing. 127
Exceptions to the recommended order shall be filed within 15 128
days after the recommended order is issued. The final order must 129
be issued shall be filed by the commission in accordance with 130
ss. 120.569 and 120.57 no later than 45 calendar days after the 131
hearing or after the filing of exceptions or oral arguments if 132
granted. 133
Section 2. Paragraph (a) of subsection (14) of section 134
112.0455, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 135
112.0455 Drug-Free Workplace Act.— 136
(14) DISCIPLINE REMEDIES.— 137
(a) An executive branch employee who is disciplined or who 138
is a job applicant for another position and is not hired 139
pursuant to this section, may file an appeal with the Public 140
Employees Relations Commission. Any appeal must be filed within 141
30 calendar days after of receipt by the employee or job 142
applicant of notice of discipline or refusal to hire. The notice 143
shall inform the employee or job applicant of the right to file 144
an appeal, or if available, the right to file a collective 145
bargaining grievance pursuant to s. 447.401. Such appeals shall 146
be resolved pursuant to the procedures established in ss. 147
447.207(1)-(4), 447.208(2), and 447.503(4) and (5). A hearing on 148
the appeal shall be conducted within 60 30 days after of the 149
filing of the appeal, unless an extension is requested by the 150

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employee or job applicant and granted by the commission or an 151
arbitrator. The final order must be issued by the commission in 152
accordance with ss. 120.569 and 120.57. 153
Section 3. Paragraph (c) is added to subsection (12) of 154
section 120.80, Florida Statutes, to read: 155
120.80 Exceptions and special requirements; agencies.— 156
(12) PUBLIC EMPLOYEES RELATIONS COMMISSION.— 157
(c) Section 120.60 does not apply to registration of 158
employee organizations under s. 447.305. 159
Section 4. Subsection (1) of section 295.14, Florida 160
Statutes, is amended to read: 161
295.14 Penalties.— 162
(1) When the Public Employees Relations Commission, after 163
a hearing on notice conducted according to rules adopted by the 164
commission, determines that a violation of s. 295.07, s. 295.08, 165
s. 295.085, or s. 295.09(1)(a) or (b) has occurred and sustains 166
the veteran seeking redress, the commission shall order the 167
offending agency, employee, or officer of the state to comply 168
with the provisions of s. 295.07, s. 295.08, s. 295.085, or s. 169
295.09(1)(a) or (b); and, in the event of a violation of s. 170
295.07, s. 295.08, s. 295.085, or s. 295.09(1)(a) or (b), the 171
commission may issue an order to compensate the veteran for the 172
loss of any wages and reasonable attorney attorney's fees for 173
actual hours worked, and costs of all work, including 174
litigation, incurred as a result of such violation, which order 175

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shall be conclusive on the agency, employee, or officer 176
concerned. The attorney attorney's fees and costs may not exceed 177
$10,000. The final order must be issued by action of the 178
commission in accordance with ss. 120.569 and 120.57 shall be in 179
writing and shall be served on the parties concerned by 180
certified mail with return receipt requested. 181
Section 5. Section 447.203, Florida Statutes, is amended 182
to read: 183
447.203 Definitions.—As used in this part: 184
(1)(12) "Bargaining agent" means the employee organization 185
that which has been certified by the commission as representing 186
the employees in the bargaining unit, as provided in s. 447.307, 187
or its representative. 188
(2)(8) "Bargaining unit" means either that unit determined 189
by the commission, that unit determined through local 190
regulations adopted promulgated pursuant to s. 447.603, or that 191
unit determined by the public employer and the public employee 192
organization and approved by the commission to be appropriate 193
for the purposes of collective bargaining. However, no 194
bargaining unit shall be defined as appropriate which includes 195
employees of two employers that are not departments or divisions 196
of the state, a county, a municipality, or other political 197
entity. 198
(3)(9) "Chief executive officer" for the state means shall 199
mean the Governor and for other public employers means shall 200

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mean the person, whether elected or appointed, who is 201
responsible to the legislative body of the public employer for 202
the administration of the governmental affairs of the public 203
employer. 204
(4)(16) "Civil service" means any career, civil, or merit 205
system used by any public employer. 206
(5)(14) "Collective bargaining" means the performance of 207
the mutual obligations of the public employer and the bargaining 208
agent of the employee organization to meet at reasonable times, 209
to negotiate in good faith, and to execute a written contract 210
with respect to agreements reached concerning the terms and 211
conditions of employment, except that neither party shall be 212
compelled to agree to a proposal or be required to make a 213
concession unless otherwise provided in this part. 214
(6)(1) "Commission" means the Public Employees Relations 215
Commission created by s. 447.205. 216
(7)(5) "Confidential employees" means are persons who act 217
in a confidential capacity to assist or aid managerial employees 218
as defined in subsection (12) (4). 219
(8)(11) "Employee organization" or "organization" means 220
any labor organization, union, association, fraternal order, 221
occupational or professional society, or group, however 222
organized or constituted, which represents, or seeks to 223
represent, any public employee or group of public employees 224
concerning any matters relating to their employment relationship 225

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with a public employer. 226
(9) "Employee organization activities" means activities 227
undertaken at the direction of, on behalf of, or to advance the 228
purposes of an employee organization or any parent organization 229
or affiliate of the employee organization by doing any of the 230
following: 231
(a) Supporting or opposing a candidate for federal, state, 232
or local public office. 233
(b) Influencing the passage or defeat of any federal or 234
state legislation or regulation, local ordinance or resolution, 235
or ballot measure. 236
(c) Promoting or soliciting membership or participation 237
in, or financial support of, an employee organization or any 238
parent organization or affiliate of the employee organization. 239
(d) Seeking certification as a bargaining agent. 240
(e) Participating in the administration, business, or 241
internal governance of an employee organization or any parent 242
organization or affiliate of the employee organization. 243
(f) Preparing, conducting, or attending employee 244
organization events, conferences, conventions, meetings, or 245
trainings, unless such training is directly related to the 246
performance of a public employee's job duties. 247
(g) Distributing communications of an employee 248
organization or any parent organization or affiliate of the 249
employee organization. 250

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(h) Representing or speaking on behalf of an employee 251
organization or any parent organization or affiliate of the 252
employee organization in any setting, venue, or procedure in 253
which the public employer is not a participant. 254
(i) Preparing, filing, or pursuing unfair labor practice 255
charges or grievances. 256
(j) Representing public employees in investigatory 257
interviews; disciplinary proceedings or appeals, including 258
termination; or other administrative or legal proceedings. 259
(k) Engaging in collective bargaining and any related 260
mediation, factfinding, or arbitration. 261
(l) Administering a collective bargaining agreement. 262
(m) Participating in labor-management committees. 263
(10)(17) "Good faith bargaining" means shall mean, but is 264
not be limited to, the willingness of both parties to meet at 265
reasonable times and places, as mutually agreed upon, in order 266
to discuss issues that which are proper subjects of bargaining, 267
with the intent of reaching a common accord. The term includes 268
It shall include an obligation for both parties to participate 269
actively in the negotiations with an open mind and a sincere 270
desire, as well as making a sincere effort, to resolve 271
differences and come to an agreement. In determining whether a 272
party failed to bargain in good faith, the commission shall 273
consider the total conduct of the parties during negotiations as 274
well as the specific incidents of alleged bad faith. Incidents 275

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indicative of bad faith shall include, but not be limited to, 276
the following occurrences: 277
(a) Failure to meet at reasonable times and places with 278
representatives of the other party for the purpose of 279
negotiations. 280
(b) Placing unreasonable restrictions on the other party 281
as a prerequisite to meeting. 282
(c) Failure to discuss proper subjects of bargaining 283
bargainable issues. 284
(d) Refusing, upon reasonable written request, to provide 285
public information, excluding work products as defined in s. 286
447.605. 287
(e) Refusing to negotiate because of an unwanted person on 288
the opposing negotiating team. 289
(f) Negotiating directly with employees rather than with 290
their certified bargaining agent. 291
(g) Refusing to reduce a total agreement to writing. 292
(11)(10) "Legislative body" means the State Legislature, 293
the board of county commissioners, the district school board, 294
the governing body of a municipality, or the governing body of 295
an instrumentality or unit of government having authority to 296
appropriate funds and establish policy governing the terms and 297
conditions of employment and which, as the case may be, is the 298
appropriate legislative body for the bargaining unit. For 299
purposes of s. 447.403, the Board of Governors of the State 300

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University System, or the board's designee, shall be deemed to 301
be the legislative body with respect to all employees of each 302
constituent state university. For purposes of s. 447.403, the 303
board of trustees of a community college shall be deemed to be 304
the legislative body with respect to all employees of the 305
community college. 306
(12)(4) "Managerial employees" means are those employees 307
who: 308
(a) Perform jobs that are not of a routine, clerical, or 309
ministerial nature and require the exercise of independent 310
judgment in the performance of such jobs and to whom one or more 311
of the following applies: 312
1. They formulate or assist in formulating policies which 313
are applicable to bargaining unit employees. 314
2. They may reasonably be required on behalf of the 315
employer to assist in the preparation for the conduct of 316
collective bargaining negotiations. 317
3. They have a role in the administration of agreements 318
resulting from collective bargaining negotiations. 319
4. They have a significant role in personnel 320
administration. 321
5. They have a significant role in employee relations. 322
6. They are included in the definition of administrative 323
personnel contained in s. 1012.01(3). 324
7. They have a significant role in the preparation or 325

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administration of budgets for any public agency or institution 326
or subdivision thereof. 327
(b) Serve as police chiefs, fire chiefs, or directors of 328
public safety of any police, fire, or public safety department. 329
Other police officers, as defined in s. 943.10(1), and 330
firefighters, as defined in s. 633.102, may be determined by the 331
commission to be managerial employees of such departments. In 332
making such determinations, the commission shall consider, in 333
addition to the criteria established in paragraph (a), the 334
paramilitary organizational structure of the department 335
involved. 336
337
However, in determining whether an individual is a managerial 338
employee pursuant to paragraph (a) or paragraph (b), above, the 339
commission may consider historic relationships of the employee 340
to the public employer and to coemployees. 341
(13) "Membership dues" means employee organization dues; 342
uniform assessments; fees, including initiation fees; or 343
voluntary contributions paid in exchange for membership in an 344
employee organization or as a member of the employee 345
organization. 346
(14)(15) "Membership dues deduction" means the practice by 347
of a public employer of deducting membership dues and uniform 348
assessments from the salary or wages of a public employee and. 349
Such term also means the practice of a public employer of 350

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transmitting the sums so deducted to an such employee 351
organization on behalf of the public employee. 352
(15)(13) "Professional employee" means: 353
(a) Any employee engaged in work in any two or more of the 354
following categories: 355
1. Work predominantly intellectual and varied in character 356
as opposed to routine mental, manual, mechanical, or physical 357
work.; 358
2. Work involving the consistent exercise of discretion 359
and judgment in its performance.; 360
3. Work of such a character that the output produced or 361
the result accomplished cannot be standardized in relation to a 362
given period of time.; and 363
4. Work requiring advanced knowledge in a field of science 364
or learning customarily acquired by a prolonged course of 365
specialized intellectual instruction and study in an institution 366
of higher learning or a hospital, as distinguished from a 367
general academic education, an apprenticeship, or training in 368
the performance of routine mental or physical processes. 369
(b) Any employee who: 370
1. Has completed the course of specialized intellectual 371
instruction and study described in subparagraph (a)4. 4. of 372
paragraph (a); and 373
2. Is performing related work under supervision of a 374
professional person to qualify to become a professional employee 375

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as defined in paragraph (a). 376
(16)(3) "Public employee" means any person employed by a 377
public employer except: 378
(a) Those persons appointed by the Governor or elected by 379
the people, agency heads, and members of boards and commissions. 380
(b) Those persons holding positions by appointment or 381
employment in the organized militia. 382
(c) Those individuals acting as negotiating 383
representatives for employer authorities. 384
(d) Those persons who are designated by the commission as 385
managerial or confidential employees pursuant to criteria 386
contained herein. 387
(e) Those persons holding positions of employment with the 388
Florida Legislature. 389
(f) Those persons who have been convicted of a crime and 390
are inmates confined to institutions within the state. 391
(g) Those persons appointed to inspection positions in 392
federal/state fruit and vegetable inspection service whose 393
conditions of appointment are affected by the following: 394
1. Federal license requirement. 395
2. Federal autonomy regarding investigation and 396
disciplining of appointees. 397
3. Frequent transfers due to harvesting conditions. 398
(h) Those persons employed by the Public Employees 399
Relations Commission. 400

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(i) Those persons enrolled as undergraduate students in a 401
state university who perform part-time work for the state 402
university. 403
(17)(2) "Public employer" or "employer" means the state or 404
any county, municipality, or special district or any subdivision 405
or agency thereof which the commission determines has sufficient 406
legal distinctiveness properly to carry out the functions of a 407
public employer. With respect to all public employees determined 408
by the commission as properly belonging to a statewide 409
bargaining unit composed of State Career Service System 410
employees or Selected Professional Service employees, the 411
Governor is deemed to be the public employer; and the Board of 412
Governors of the State University System, or the board's 413
designee, is deemed to be the public employer with respect to 414
all public employees of each constituent state university. The 415
board of trustees of a community college is deemed to be the 416
public employer with respect to all employees of the community 417
college. The district school board is deemed to be the public 418
employer with respect to all employees of the school district. 419
The Board of Trustees of the Florida School for the Deaf and the 420
Blind is deemed to be the public employer with respect to the 421
academic and academic administrative personnel of the Florida 422
School for the Deaf and the Blind. The Governor is deemed to be 423
the public employer with respect to all employees in the 424
Correctional Education Program of the Department of Corrections 425

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established pursuant to s. 944.801. 426
(18) "Public safety unit" means a bargaining unit in which 427
the majority of the public employees are employed as a law 428
enforcement officer, correctional officer, or correctional 429
probation officer, as those terms are defined in s. 943.10(1), 430
(2), or (3), respectively; a firefighter as defined in s. 431
633.102(9); a 911 public safety telecommunicator as defined in 432
s. 401.465(1); or an emergency medical technician or a 433
paramedic, as those terms are defined in s. 401.23. 434
(19) "Representational employee organization activities" 435
means those activities specified in paragraphs (9)(i)-(m). 436
(20) "Showing of interest" means written statements signed 437
and dated by public employees in a proposed or existing 438
bargaining unit indicating the desire of the public employees 439
either to be represented by the employee organization for 440
purposes of collective bargaining or to no longer be represented 441
by the bargaining agent for purposes of collective bargaining.442
(21)(6) "Strike" means the concerted failure of employees 443
to report for duty; the concerted absence of employees from 444
their positions; the concerted stoppage of work by employees; 445
the concerted submission of resignations by employees; the 446
concerted abstinence in whole or in part by any group of 447
employees from the full and faithful performance of the duties 448
of employment with a public employer for the purpose of 449
inducing, influencing, condoning, or coercing a change in the 450

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terms and conditions of employment or the rights, privileges, or 451
obligations of public employment, or participating in a 452
deliberate and concerted course of conduct which adversely 453
affects the services of the public employer; the concerted 454
failure of employees to report for work after the expiration of 455
a collective bargaining agreement; and picketing in furtherance 456
of a work stoppage. The term includes "strike" shall also mean 457
any overt preparation, including, but not limited to, the 458
establishment of strike funds with regard to the above-listed 459
activities listed in this subsection. 460
(22)(7) "Strike funds" means are any appropriations by an 461
employee organization which are established to directly or 462
indirectly aid any employee or employee organization to 463
participate in a strike in the state. 464
(23)(18) "Student representative" means the representative 465
selected by each community college or university student 466
government association. Each representative may be present at 467
all negotiating sessions that take place between the appropriate 468
public employer and a an exclusive bargaining agent. The 469
representative must be enrolled as a student with at least 8 470
credit hours in the respective community college or university 471
during his or her term as student representative. 472
Section 6. Subsection (8) of section 447.205, Florida 473
Statutes, is amended to read: 474
447.205 Public Employees Relations Commission.— 475

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(8) The commission shall have a seal for authentication of 476
its orders and proceedings, upon which shall be inscribed the 477
words "State of Florida—Public Employees Relations Commission" 478
"State of Florida—Employees Relations Commission—and which shall 479
be judicially noticed. 480
Section 7. Subsections (1), (4), (5), (6), and (12) of 481
section 447.207, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 482
447.207 Commission; powers and duties.— 483
(1) The commission shall, in accordance with chapter 120, 484
adopt, promulgate, amend, or rescind such rules and regulations 485
as it deems necessary and administratively feasible to carry out 486
the provisions of this part. Any additional grants of rulemaking 487
authority contained in this part do not limit the grant of 488
rulemaking authority in this section. 489
(4) Any subpoena, notice of hearing, or other process or 490
notice of the commission issued under the provisions of this 491
part must either shall be served personally or by certified 492
mail, return receipt requested, or be served personally by any 493
person specified by law to serve process or by any person who is 494
not a party and who is 18 years of age or older. When certified 495
mail is used, a returned post office receipt constitutes proof 496
of service. When personal service is used, if the subpoena is 497
not served by a person specified by law to serve process, an 498
affidavit of the person making service constitutes proof of 499
service. A return made and verified by the individual making 500

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such service and setting forth the manner of such service is 501
proof of service, and a returned post office receipt, when 502
certified mail is used, is proof of service. All process of any 503
court to which application may be made under the provisions of 504
this part shall be served in the county wherein the persons 505
required to be served reside or may be found. 506
(5) The commission shall adopt rules as to the 507
qualifications of persons who may serve as mediators and special 508
magistrates and shall maintain a list lists of such qualified 509
persons who are not employees of the commission. The commission 510
may initiate dispute resolution procedures by special 511
magistrates, pursuant to the provisions of this part. 512
(6) Pursuant to its established procedures, the commission 513
shall resolve questions and controversies concerning claims for 514
recognition as the bargaining agent for a bargaining unit, 515
determine or approve units appropriate for purposes of 516
collective bargaining, expeditiously process charges of unfair 517
labor practices and violations of s. 447.505 by public 518
employees, and resolve such other questions and controversies as 519
it may be authorized herein to undertake. The petitioner, 520
charging party, respondent, and any intervenors shall be the 521
adversary parties before the commission in any adjudicatory 522
proceeding conducted pursuant to this part. Any commission 523
statement of general applicability that implements, interprets, 524
or prescribes law or policy, made in the course of adjudicating 525

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a case pursuant to s. 447.307 or s. 447.503 shall not constitute 526
a rule within the meaning of s. 120.52. 527
(12) Upon a petition by a public employer after it has 528
been notified by the Department of Labor that the public 529
employer's protective arrangement covering mass transit 530
employees does not meet the requirements of 49 U.S.C. s. 5333(b) 531
and would jeopardize the public employer's continued eligibility 532
to receive Federal Transit Administration funding, the 533
commission may waive the application of this part, but only to 534
the extent necessary for the public employer to comply with the 535
requirements of 49 U.S.C. s. 5333(b), any of the following for 536
an employee organization that has been certified as a bargaining 537
agent to represent mass transit employees: 538
(a) The prohibition on dues and assessment deductions 539
provided in s. 447.303(1) as it applies to a mass transit 540
employee who has provided a copy of his or her membership 541
authorization form to the employer as part of the authorization 542
of dues deduction under a waiver. 543
(b) The requirement to petition the commission for 544
recertification. 545
(c) The revocation of certification provided in s. 546
447.305(6) and (7). 547
Section 8. Paragraph (b) of subsection (1) and subsection 548
(2) of section 447.301, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 549
447.301 Public employees' rights; organization and 550

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representation.— 551
(1) 552
(b)1. A public employee who desires to be a member of an 553
employee organization must sign and date a membership 554
authorization form, as prescribed by the commission, and submit 555
the executed form to the bargaining agent. 556
2. The membership authorization form must identify the 557
name of the bargaining agent; the name of the employee; the 558
class code and class title of the employee; the name of the 559
public employer and employing agency, if applicable; the amount 560
of the membership initiation fee and of the monthly dues which 561
the public employee member must pay; and the names name and 562
amounts total amount of salary, allowances, and other direct or 563
indirect disbursements, including reimbursements, paid to each 564
of the five highest compensated officers and employees of the 565
employee organization disclosed under s. 447.305(2)(d) for the 566
officers and employees receiving the five highest total dollar 567
amounts. 568
3. The membership authorization form must contain the 569
following statement in 14-point type: 570
571
As a public employee in the State of Florida, is a right-to-work 572
state. membership or nonmembership non-membership in a labor 573
union is not required as a condition of employment., and Union 574
membership and payment of membership union dues and assessments 575

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are voluntary. A public employee's Each person has the right to 576
join and pay membership dues to a labor union or to refrain from 577
joining and paying membership dues to a labor union is protected 578
by both Florida's right-to-work law and the First Amendment of 579
the United States Constitution. A public employer may not 580
discriminate against a public No employee may be discriminated 581
against in any manner for joining and financially supporting, a 582
labor union or for refusing to join and or financially support, 583
a labor union. 584
4. A public employee may revoke membership in the employee 585
organization at any time of the year. Within 30 days after Upon 586
receipt of the public employee's written revocation of 587
membership, the employee organization must revoke the a public 588
employee's membership and cease collection of membership dues 589
for such public employee. The employee organization may not 590
limit a public an employee's right to revoke membership to 591
certain dates. If a public employee must complete a form to 592
revoke membership in the employee organization, the form may not 593
require a reason for the public employee's decision to revoke 594
his or her membership. 595
5. An employee organization must retain for inspection by 596
the commission such membership authorization forms and any 597
revocations. A membership authorization form is valid if it 598
meets the requirements in law at the time it was signed by the 599
employee and if the employee's membership has not been 600

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subsequently revoked. 601
6. This paragraph does not apply to public employees in 602
public safety units members of a bargaining unit the majority of 603
whose employees eligible for representation are employed as law 604
enforcement officers, correctional officers, or correctional 605
probation officers as those terms are defined in s. 943.10(1), 606
(2), or (3), respectively; firefighters as defined in s. 607
633.102; 911 public safety telecommunicators as defined in s. 608
401.465(1)(a); or emergency medical technicians or paramedics as 609
defined in s. 401.23. 610
7. The commission may adopt rules to implement this 611
paragraph. 612
(2) Public employees shall have the right to be 613
represented by any employee organization of their own choosing 614
and to negotiate collectively, through a certified bargaining 615
agent, with their public employer in the determination of the 616
terms and conditions of their employment. Public employees shall 617
have the right to be represented in the determination of 618
grievances on all terms and conditions of their employment. 619
Public employees shall have the right to refrain from exercising 620
the right to be represented. 621
Section 9. Subsections (1) and (2) of section 447.303, 622
Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 623
447.303 Membership dues; deduction and collection.— 624
(1) Except as authorized in subsection (2) or subject to a 625

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waiver of the prohibition on membership dues deduction granted 626
pursuant to s. 447.207(12), a public employer may not engage in 627
membership dues deduction on behalf of s. 447.207(12)(a), an 628
employee organization that has been certified as a bargaining 629
agent may not have its dues and uniform assessments deducted and 630
collected by the employer from the salaries of those employees 631
in the unit. A public employee may pay membership dues and 632
uniform assessments directly to the employee organization, any 633
parent organization of the employee organization, and any 634
affiliate of either the employee organization or the parent 635
organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent. 636
(2)(a) Upon the written authorization of a public employee 637
in a public safety unit, the public employer must engage in 638
membership dues deduction for such public employee. A public 639
employee may revoke his or her authorization for membership dues 640
deduction upon providing 30 days' written notice to the public 641
employer and bargaining agent An employee organization that has 642
been certified as a bargaining agent to represent a bargaining 643
unit the majority of whose employees eligible for representation 644
are employed as law enforcement officers, correctional officers, 645
or correctional probation officers as those terms are defined in 646
s. 943.10(1), (2), or (3), respectively; firefighters as defined 647
in s. 633.102; 911 public safety telecommunicators as defined in 648
s. 401.465(1)(a); or emergency medical technicians or paramedics 649
as defined in s. 401.23 has the right to have its dues and 650

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uniform assessments for that bargaining unit deducted and 651
collected by the employer from the salaries of those employees 652
who authorize the deduction and collection of said dues and 653
uniform assessments. However, such authorization is revocable at 654
the employee's request upon 30 days' written notice to the 655
employer and employee organization. Said deductions shall 656
commence upon the bargaining agent's written request to the 657
employer. 658
(b) Reasonable costs to the public employer of engaging in 659
membership dues said deductions is a proper subject of 660
collective bargaining. 661
(c) The requirement to engage in membership dues 662
deductions Such right to deduction, unless revoked under s. 663
447.507, is in force as for so long as the employee organization 664
remains the certified bargaining agent remains certified to 665
represent for the public employees in the bargaining unit. 666
Section 10. Section 447.305, Florida Statutes, is amended 667
to read: 668
447.305 Registration of employee organizations 669
organization.— 670
(1) Every employee organization seeking to become a 671
certified bargaining agent for public employees shall register 672
with the commission before pursuant to the procedures set forth 673
in s. 120.60 prior to requesting recognition by a public 674
employer for purposes of collective bargaining and prior to 675

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submitting a certification, recertification, or unit 676
clarification petition to the commission requesting 677
certification as an exclusive bargaining agent. Further, If an 678
such employee organization is not registered, it may not do any 679
of the following: participate in a certification, 680
recertification, or unit clarification representation hearing;, 681
participate in a certification or recertification representation 682
election;, or be certified as a an exclusive bargaining agent. 683
The application for registration required by this section must 684
shall be under oath, and in such form as the commission may 685
prescribe, and shall include all of the following: 686
(a) The name and address of the organization and of any 687
parent organization or affiliate of the employee organization 688
with which it is affiliated. 689
(b) The names and addresses of the principal officers and 690
all representatives of the organization. 691
(c) The amount of the initiation fee and the amount and 692
collection frequency of the membership dues and uniform 693
assessments that a member of the organization must pay. 694
(d) The current annual financial statement of the 695
organization, prepared by an independent certified public 696
accountant licensed under chapter 473. 697
(e) The name of its business agent, if any; if different 698
from the business agent, the name of its local agent for service 699
of process; and the addresses where such person or persons can 700

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be reached. 701
(f) A pledge, in a form prescribed by the commission, that 702
the employee organization will conform to the laws of this the 703
state and that it will accept members without regard to age, 704
race, sex, religion, or national origin. 705
(g) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the 706
employee organization. 707
(h) A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the 708
state and national groups with which the employee organization 709
is affiliated or associated. In lieu of this provision, and upon 710
adoption of a rule by the commission, a state or national 711
affiliate or parent organization of any registering employee 712
labor organization may annually submit a copy of its current 713
constitution and bylaws. 714
(2) A registration granted to an employee organization 715
pursuant to this section runs for 1 year after from the date of 716
issuance. A registration must be renewed annually by filing an 717
application for renewal under oath with the commission, which 718
application must reflect any changes in the information provided 719
to the commission in conjunction with the employee 720
organization's preceding application for registration or 721
previous renewal, whichever is applicable. Each application for 722
renewal of registration must include a current annual financial 723
statement, prepared by an independent certified public 724
accountant licensed under chapter 473 and signed by the employee 725

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organization's president and treasurer or corresponding 726
principal officers, containing the following information in such 727
detail as may be necessary to accurately to disclose its 728
financial condition and operations for its preceding fiscal year 729
and in all of the following such categories as prescribed by the 730
commission may prescribe: 731
(a) Assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the 732
fiscal year.; 733
(b) Receipts of any kind and the sources thereof.; 734
(c) Disbursements by category.; 735
(d) Salary, wages, fringe benefits, allowances, and other 736
direct or indirect disbursements, including reimbursed expenses, 737
paid or accruing to each of its officers officer and also to 738
each of its employees employee who, during such fiscal year, 739
received more than $10,000 in the aggregate from such employee 740
organization and any parent organization of the other employee 741
organization or any affiliate of either the employee 742
organization or the parent organization. This paragraph requires 743
reporting of any reimbursements paid by the employee 744
organization to a public employer for moneys paid by the public 745
employer to the employee organization's officers or employees. 746
affiliated with it or with which it is affiliated or which is 747
affiliated with the same national or international employee 748
organization; 749
(e) Direct and indirect loans made to any of its officers 750

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officer, employees employee, or members member which aggregated 751
more than $250 during the fiscal year, together with a statement 752
of the purpose, security, if any, and arrangements for 753
repayment.; and 754
(f) Direct and indirect loans to any business enterprise, 755
together with a statement of the purpose, security, if any, and 756
arrangements for repayment. 757
(g) The amount of membership dues retained by or 758
distributed to each of the following: the employee organization, 759
any parent organization of the employee organization, and any 760
affiliate of either the employee organization or the parent 761
organization. 762
(3) As part of its application for renewal of 763
registration, a In addition to subsection (2), an employee 764
organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent for 765
public employees must include all of for each such certified 766
bargaining unit the following information and documentation as 767
of the 30th day immediately preceding the date upon which its 768
current registration is scheduled to end for any renewal of 769
registration on or after October 1, 2023: 770
(a) For each bargaining unit for which the bargaining 771
agent is certified, the certification number assigned to the 772
bargaining unit by the commission. 773
(b)(a) For each certification, the number of public 774
employees in the bargaining unit who are eligible for 775

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representation by the employee organization. 776
(c) For each certification, the number of public employees 777
in the bargaining unit who paid full membership dues sufficient 778
to maintain membership in good standing in the bargaining agent. 779
(d)(b) For each certification, the number of public 780
employees in the bargaining unit who have submitted signed 781
membership authorization forms without a subsequent revocation 782
of such membership. 783
(c) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who 784
paid dues to the employee organization. 785
(d) The number of employees in the bargaining unit who did 786
not pay dues to the employee organization. 787
(e) An agreed-upon procedures report performed 788
Documentation provided by an independent certified public 789
accountant retained by the employee organization to assist in 790
determining the accuracy of which verifies the information 791
provided in paragraphs (b), (c), and (d). The agreed-upon 792
procedures must be conducted in accordance with attestation 793
standards established by the American Institute of Certified 794
Public Accountants (a)-(d). 795
(4) Within 30 days after filing an application for renewal 796
of registration with the commission, the employee organization 797
must provide a copy of its application for renewal of 798
registration relating to a public employer's employees to the 799
public employer and public employees of each bargaining unit for 800

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which the employee organization is the bargaining agent on the 801
same day the application is submitted to the commission. 802
(5) An application for renewal of registration is 803
incomplete and is not eligible for consideration by The 804
commission must notify the bargaining agent if it does not 805
include all of the information and documentation required in 806
subsection (3) is incomplete. The bargaining agent must provide 807
the missing information to the commission within 30 days after 808
such notification. If the bargaining agent fails to provide the 809
missing information within 30 days after notification, the 810
commission must dismiss the application The commission shall 811
notify the employee organization if the application is 812
incomplete. An incomplete application must be dismissed if the 813
required information and documentation are not provided within 814
10 days after the employee organization receives such notice. 815
(6) The commission must notify the bargaining agent when 816
the information required in subsection (3) is complete. Within 817
30 days after such notification, the bargaining agent must 818
petition for recertification pursuant to s. 447.307 for each of 819
its bargaining units Notwithstanding the provisions of this 820
chapter relating to collective bargaining, an employee 821
organization certified as a bargaining agent to represent a 822
bargaining unit for which less than 60 percent of the public 823
unit employees in the bargaining unit have submitted membership 824
authorization forms without subsequent revocation and paid 825

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membership dues to the organization, as reported under 826
subsection (3) during its last registration period must petition 827
the commission pursuant to s. 447.307(2) and (3) for 828
recertification as the exclusive representative of all employees 829
in the bargaining unit within 30 days after the date on which 830
the employee organization applies for renewal of registration 831
pursuant to subsection (2). The certification of an employee 832
organization that does not comply with this section is revoked. 833
(7) If a The public employer or a public employee of a 834
bargaining unit represented by a bargaining agent believes that 835
the bargaining agent's employee may challenge an employee 836
organization's application for renewal of registration is 837
materially inaccurate, if the public employer or public 838
bargaining unit employee may challenge believes that the 839
application as materially is inaccurate during the pendency of 840
the application or, if the registration renewal has been 841
granted, before the date upon which the bargaining agent's 842
current registration is scheduled to end. If a challenge is 843
filed, the commission or one of its designated agents must 844
conduct an investigation pursuant to subsection (8) shall review 845
the application to determine its accuracy and compliance with 846
this section. If the commission finds that the application is 847
inaccurate or does not comply with this section, the commission 848
shall revoke the registration and certification of the employee 849
organization. 850

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(8) The commission or one of its designated agents may 851
conduct an investigation to confirm the validity of any 852
information submitted pursuant to this section. The commission 853
may revoke or deny an employee organization's registration or 854
certification if it finds that the employee organization: 855
(a) Failed to cooperate with the investigation conducted 856
pursuant to this subsection, including refusal to permit the 857
commission or one of its designated agents to inspect membership 858
authorization forms or revocations pursuant to s. 859
447.301(1)(b)5.; or 860
(b) Intentionally misrepresented the information it 861
submitted pursuant to this section. 862
863
A decision issued by the commission pursuant to this subsection 864
is a final agency action that is reviewable pursuant to s. 865
447.504. 866
(9) An employee organization is exempt from the 867
requirements of subsections (3)-(8) and (12) for each public 868
safety unit it represents only with respect to the circumstances 869
of each bargaining unit the majority of whose employees eligible 870
for representation are employed as law enforcement officers, 871
correctional officers, or correctional probation officers as 872
those terms are defined in s. 943.10(1), (2), or (3), 873
respectively; firefighters as defined in s. 633.102; 911 public 874
safety telecommunicators as defined in s. 401.465(1)(a); or 875

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emergency medical technicians or paramedics as defined in s. 876
401.23. 877
(10) A registration fee must shall accompany each 878
application for registration or renewal of registration filed 879
with the commission. The registration fee may amount charged for 880
an application for registration or renewal of registration shall 881
not exceed $15. All such money collected by the commission shall 882
be deposited in the General Revenue Fund. 883
(11) Every employee organization shall keep accurate 884
accounts of its income and expenses, which accounts must shall 885
be open for inspection at a all reasonable time and place times 886
by any member of the organization or by the commission. In 887
addition, each employee organization that has been certified as 888
a bargaining agent must provide to its members an annual 889
financial report prepared by an independent certified public 890
accountant licensed under chapter 473 that includes a detailed 891
breakdown of revenues and expenditures in such categories as the 892
commission may prescribe, and an accounting of membership dues 893
and assessments. The employee organization must notify its 894
members annually of all costs of membership. 895
(12) The certification of an employee organization that 896
does not comply with this section is revoked. An employee 897
organization that has its certification revoked under this 898
subsection may not file a petition for certification under s. 899
447.307 which covers any of the public employees in the 900

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bargaining unit described in the revoked certification for at 901
least 12 months after the date the certification was revoked. 902
(13) A decision issued by the commission under this 903
section which revokes a certification, revokes a registration, 904
or grants, denies, or dismisses an application for registration 905
or renewal of registration is a final agency action that is 906
reviewable pursuant to s. 447.504. 907
Section 11. Section 447.307, Florida Statutes, is amended 908
to read: 909
447.307 Certification and recertification of employee 910
organizations organization.— 911
(1)(a) An Any employee organization seeking certification 912
or recertification as a bargaining agent must file a petition 913
with the commission accompanied by a showing of interest from at 914
least 30 percent of the public employees in the proposed or 915
existing bargaining unit. The showing of interest statements 916
must be signed and dated by the public employees not more than 917
12 months before the filing of the petition which is designated 918
or selected by a majority of public employees in an appropriate 919
unit as their representative for purposes of collective 920
bargaining shall request recognition by the public employer. The 921
public employer shall, if satisfied as to the majority status of 922
the employee organization and the appropriateness of the 923
proposed unit, recognize the employee organization as the 924
collective bargaining representative of employees in the 925

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designated unit. Upon recognition by a public employer, the 926
employee organization shall immediately petition the commission 927
for certification. The commission shall review only the 928
appropriateness of the unit proposed by the employee 929
organization. If the unit is appropriate according to the 930
criteria used in this part, the commission shall immediately 931
certify the employee organization as the exclusive 932
representative of all employees in the unit. If the unit is 933
inappropriate according to the criteria used in this part, the 934
commission may dismiss the petition. 935
(b) Whenever a public employer recognizes an employee 936
organization on the basis of majority status and on the basis of 937
appropriateness in accordance with subparagraph (4)(f)5., the 938
commission shall, in the absence of inclusion of a prohibited 939
category of employees or violation of s. 447.501, certify the 940
proposed unit. 941
(b)(2) A If the public employer refuses to recognize the 942
employee organization, the employee organization may file a 943
petition with the commission for certification as the bargaining 944
agent for a proposed bargaining unit. The petition shall be 945
accompanied by dated statements signed by at least 30 percent of 946
the employees in the proposed unit, indicating that such 947
employees desire to be represented for purposes of collective 948
bargaining by the petitioning employee organization. Once a 949
petition for certification has been filed by an employee 950

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organization, any registered employee organization desiring 951
placement on the ballot in any certification or recertification 952
election to be conducted pursuant to this section may be 953
permitted by the commission to intervene in the proceeding upon 954
a motion accompanied by a showing of interest from dated 955
statements signed by at least 10 percent of the public employees 956
in the proposed or existing bargaining unit, indicating that 957
such employees desire to be represented for the purposes of 958
collective bargaining by the moving employee organization. The 959
showing of interest petitions and dated statements must be 960
signed and dated by the public employees not more than 12 months 961
before the filing of the petition. 962
(c) The showing of interest is are confidential and exempt 963
from the provisions of s. 119.07(1), except that any public 964
employee, public employer, or employee organization having 965
sufficient reason to believe that the showing of interest was 966
any of the employee signatures were obtained by collusion, 967
coercion, intimidation, or misrepresentation or is are otherwise 968
invalid shall be given a reasonable opportunity to verify and 969
challenge the showing of interest signatures appearing on the 970
petition. 971
(d) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), if any employees in the 972
proposed unit are included in a bargaining unit for which there 973
is a bargaining agent currently certified by the commission, 974
such bargaining agent will be automatically added as a party to 975

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the case and may appear on the ballot without being required to 976
file a motion to intervene or a showing of interest. 977
(2)(a) A certification petition may not be filed regarding 978
any proposed or existing bargaining unit within 12 months after 979
the date the commission issues an order that verifies the 980
results of a certification, recertification, or decertification 981
election covering any of the public employees in the proposed or 982
existing bargaining unit. 983
(b) If a valid collective bargaining agreement covering 984
any of the public employees in a proposed or existing bargaining 985
unit is in effect, a certification petition may only be filed 986
with the commission at least 90 but not more than 150 days 987
immediately preceding the expiration date of the collective 988
bargaining agreement, or at any time subsequent to such 989
agreement's expiration date but before the effective date of a 990
new collective bargaining agreement. The effective date of a 991
collective bargaining agreement is the date of ratification of 992
such agreement by both parties if such agreement becomes 993
effective immediately or retroactively, or the collective 994
bargaining agreement's actual effective date if such agreement 995
becomes effective after its ratification date. 996
(3)(a) The commission or one of its designated agents 997
shall investigate a certification or recertification the 998
petition to determine its sufficiency; if it has reasonable 999
cause to believe that the petition is sufficient, the commission 1000

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shall provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. Such a 1001
hearing may be conducted by an agent of the commission. If the 1002
commission finds that the petition is to be insufficient, the 1003
commission must it may dismiss the petition. If the commission 1004
finds upon the record of the hearing that the petition is 1005
sufficient, the commission must it shall immediately: 1006
(a)1. Define the proposed or existing bargaining unit and 1007
determine which public employees are shall be qualified and 1008
entitled to vote at any election held by the commission. Upon 1009
providing due notice, the commission may provide for a hearing. 1010
(b)2. Identify the public employer or employers for 1011
purposes of collective bargaining with the bargaining agent. 1012
(c)3. Order an election by secret ballot, the cost of said 1013
election and any required runoff election to be borne equally by 1014
the parties, except as the commission may provide by rule. The 1015
commission's order assessing costs of an election may be 1016
enforced pursuant to the provisions of this part. 1017
(4)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), elections are 1018
determined as follows for all certification or recertification 1019
petitions filed on or after July 1, 2026: 1020
1.(b) If When an employee organization is selected by a 1021
majority vote of the public employees who are in the bargaining 1022
unit as of the date set by the commission voting in an election, 1023
the commission shall certify or recertify the employee 1024
organization as the exclusive collective bargaining agent for 1025

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the public representative of all employees in the unit. 1026
2. A runoff election shall be held according to rules 1027
adopted by the commission if, in the election conducted under 1028
subparagraph 1., there was more than one employee organization 1029
on the ballot, a majority of the public employees who are in the 1030
bargaining unit as of the date set by the commission voted in 1031
the election, and none of the choices on the ballot received a 1032
majority vote of the public employees who are in the bargaining 1033
unit as of the date set by the commission. 1034
(b) Certification elections involving public safety units 1035
are determined as follows: 1036
1. If an employee organization is selected by a majority 1037
vote of the public employees voting in the election, the 1038
commission shall certify the employee organization as the 1039
bargaining agent for the public employees in the bargaining 1040
unit. 1041
2. A runoff election shall be held according to rules 1042
adopted by the commission if, in the election conducted under 1043
subparagraph 1., there was more than one employee organization 1044
on the ballot and none of the choices on the ballot received a 1045
majority vote of the public employees voting in the election. 1046
(c) Certification, recertification, or revocation under 1047
this section is effective upon the issuance of a the final order 1048
by the commission or, if the final order is appealed, at the 1049
time the appeal is exhausted or any stay is vacated by the 1050

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commission or a the court. 1051
(c) In any election in which none of the choices on the 1052
ballot receives the vote of a majority of the employees voting, 1053
a runoff election shall be held according to rules promulgated 1054
by the commission. 1055
(d) No petition may be filed seeking an election in any 1056
proposed or existing appropriate bargaining unit to determine 1057
the exclusive bargaining agent within 12 months after the date 1058
of a commission order verifying a representation election or, if 1059
an employee organization prevails, within 12 months after the 1060
date of an effective certification covering any of the employees 1061
in the proposed or existing bargaining unit. Furthermore, if a 1062
valid collective bargaining agreement covering any of the 1063
employees in a proposed unit is in effect, a petition for 1064
certification may be filed with the commission only during the 1065
period extending from 150 days to 90 days immediately preceding 1066
the expiration date of that agreement, or at any time subsequent 1067
to its expiration date but prior to the effective date of any 1068
new agreement. The effective date of a collective bargaining 1069
agreement means the date of ratification by both parties, if the 1070
agreement becomes effective immediately or retroactively; or its 1071
actual effective date, if the agreement becomes effective after 1072
its ratification date. 1073
(5)(4) In defining a proposed bargaining unit, the 1074
commission shall take into consideration: 1075

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(a) The principles of efficient administration of 1076
government. 1077
(b) The number of employee organizations with which the 1078
employer might have to negotiate. 1079
(c) The compatibility of the unit with the joint 1080
responsibilities of the public employer and public employees to 1081
represent the public. 1082
(d) The power of the officials of government at the level 1083
of the unit to agree, or make effective recommendations to 1084
another administrative authority or to a legislative body, with 1085
respect to matters of employment upon which the employee desires 1086
to negotiate. 1087
(e) The organizational structure of the public employer. 1088
(f) Community of interest among the employees to be 1089
included in the unit, considering: 1090
1. The manner in which wages and other terms of employment 1091
are determined. 1092
2. The method by which jobs and salary classifications are 1093
determined. 1094
3. The interdependence of jobs and interchange of 1095
employees. 1096
4. The desires of the employees. 1097
5. The history of employee relations within the 1098
organization of the public employer concerning organization and 1099
negotiation and the interest of the employees and the employer 1100

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in the continuation of a traditional, workable, and accepted 1101
negotiation relationship. 1102
(g) The statutory authority of the public employer to 1103
administer a classification and pay plan. 1104
(h) Such other factors and policies as the commission may 1105
deem appropriate. 1106
1107
However, a bargaining no unit may not shall be established or 1108
approved for purposes of collective bargaining which includes 1109
both professional and nonprofessional employees unless a 1110
majority of each group votes for inclusion in such bargaining 1111
unit. 1112
Section 12. Section 447.3076, Florida Statutes, is created 1113
to read: 1114
447.3076 Clarification of bargaining units.— 1115
(1) A petition to clarify the composition of a bargaining 1116
unit may be filed with the commission when significant changes 1117
in statutory law or case law require clarification of the 1118
bargaining unit or when a classification was: 1119
(a) Created or substantially changed after the unit was 1120
initially defined by the commission; 1121
(b) Retitled with no substantial change in job duties; or 1122
(c) Included or excluded through inadvertence or 1123
misunderstanding by the commission. 1124
(2) A bargaining unit clarification petition may be filed 1125

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by the bargaining agent for the bargaining unit or by the public 1126
employer of the public employees in the unit. 1127
(3) A copy of the petition must be served on the public 1128
employer and any bargaining agent that is certified to represent 1129
any employee or classification which may be substantially 1130
affected by the proposed bargaining unit clarification. 1131
(4) If any substantially affected employees are not 1132
represented by a bargaining agent, the public employer must 1133
provide a copy of the petition to those employees within 10 days 1134
after the filing of the petition. 1135
(5) When the clarification of a bargaining unit would 1136
result in an increase in the size of the bargaining unit by more 1137
than 25 percent, the unit clarification petition raises a 1138
question concerning representation and must be dismissed. 1139
Section 13. Section 447.308, Florida Statutes, is amended 1140
to read: 1141
447.308 Decertification Revocation of certification of 1142
employee organizations organization.— 1143
(1) A public Any employee or group of public employees 1144
that which no longer desires to be represented by a the 1145
certified bargaining agent may file with the commission a 1146
petition to decertify the bargaining agent revoke certification. 1147
The petition must shall be accompanied by a showing of interest 1148
from dated statements signed by at least 30 percent of the 1149
public employees in the bargaining unit, indicating that such 1150

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employees no longer desire to be represented for purposes of 1151
collective bargaining by the certified bargaining agent. The 1152
time of filing said petition shall be governed by the provisions 1153
of s. 447.307(3)(d) relating to petitions for certification. The 1154
showing of interest statements must be signed and dated by the 1155
public employees not more than 12 months before the filing of 1156
the petition. Any employee, employer, or employee organization 1157
having sufficient reason to believe that the showing of interest 1158
was any of the employee signatures were obtained by collusion, 1159
coercion, intimidation, or misrepresentation or is are otherwise 1160
invalid shall be given a reasonable opportunity to verify and 1161
challenge the showing of interest signatures appearing on the 1162
petition. 1163
(2)(a) A decertification petition may not be filed 1164
regarding the bargaining unit within 12 months after the date 1165
the commission issues an order that verifies the results of a 1166
certification, recertification, or decertification election 1167
covering any of the public employees in the unit. 1168
(b) If a valid collective bargaining agreement covering 1169
any of the public employees in the bargaining unit is in effect, 1170
a decertification petition may only be filed with the commission 1171
at least 90 but not more than 150 days immediately preceding the 1172
expiration date of the collective bargaining agreement, or at 1173
any time after such agreement's expiration date but before the 1174
effective date of a new collective bargaining agreement. The 1175

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effective date of a collective bargaining agreement is the date 1176
of ratification of such agreement by both parties if such 1177
agreement becomes effective immediately or retroactively, or the 1178
collective bargaining agreement's actual effective date if such 1179
agreement becomes effective after its ratification date. 1180
(3) The commission or one of its designated agents shall 1181
investigate the decertification petition to determine its 1182
sufficiency. If the commission finds that the petition is to be 1183
insufficient, the commission must it may dismiss the petition. 1184
If the commission finds that the petition is sufficient, the 1185
commission must it shall immediately: 1186
(a) Identify the bargaining unit and determine which 1187
public employees shall be qualified and entitled to vote in the 1188
election held by the commission. 1189
(b) Identify the public employer or employers of the 1190
bargaining unit. 1191
(c) Order an election by secret ballot, the cost of said 1192
election to be borne equally by the parties, except as the 1193
commission may provide by rule. The commission's order assessing 1194
costs of an election may be enforced pursuant to the provisions 1195
of this part. 1196
(4)(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b), elections are 1197
determined as follows for all decertification petitions filed on 1198
or after July 1, 2026: 1199
1. If decertification of the bargaining agent is selected 1200

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by a majority vote of the public employees who are in the 1201
bargaining unit as of the date set by the commission, the 1202
commission shall revoke the bargaining agent's certification for 1203
that bargaining unit. 1204
2. If decertification is not selected by a majority vote 1205
of the public employees who are in the bargaining unit as of the 1206
date set by the commission, the bargaining agent shall retain 1207
its certification for that bargaining unit. 1208
(b) Decertification elections involving public safety 1209
units are determined as follows: 1210
1.(2) If decertification is selected by a majority vote of 1211
the public employees voting in the such election vote against 1212
the continuation of representation by the certified bargaining 1213
agent, the commission shall revoke the certification of the 1214
employee organization as the exclusive bargaining agent's 1215
certification for that agent for the employees in the bargaining 1216
unit shall be revoked. 1217
2.(3) If decertification is not selected by a majority 1218
vote of the public employees voting in the such election do not 1219
vote against the continuation of representation by the certified 1220
bargaining agent, the bargaining agent shall retain its 1221
certification for that bargaining of the employee organization 1222
as the exclusive bargaining agent for the employees in the unit 1223
shall be retained by the organization. 1224
(c) Revocation under this section is effective upon the 1225

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issuance of a final order by the commission or, if the final 1226
order is appealed, at the time the appeal is exhausted or any 1227
stay is vacated by the commission or a court. 1228
Section 14. Section 447.309, Florida Statutes, is amended 1229
to read: 1230
447.309 Collective bargaining; approval or rejection.— 1231
(1) After an employee organization has been certified as 1232
the bargaining agent of a bargaining unit pursuant to the 1233
provisions of this part, the bargaining agent for the 1234
organization and the chief executive officer of the appropriate 1235
public employer or employers, jointly, shall bargain 1236
collectively in the determination of the wages, hours, and terms 1237
and conditions of employment of the public employees within the 1238
bargaining unit. The chief executive officer or his or her 1239
representative and the bargaining agent or its representative 1240
shall meet at reasonable times and bargain in good faith. In 1241
conducting negotiations with the bargaining agent, the chief 1242
executive officer or his or her representative shall consult 1243
with, and attempt to represent the views of, the legislative 1244
body of the public employer. Any collective bargaining agreement 1245
reached by the negotiators shall be reduced to writing, and such 1246
agreement shall be signed by the chief executive officer and the 1247
bargaining agent. Any agreement signed by the chief executive 1248
officer and the bargaining agent is shall not be binding on the 1249
public employer until such agreement has been ratified by the 1250

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public employer and the by public employees in who are members 1251
of the bargaining unit, subject to subsection the provisions of 1252
subsections (2) and (3). However, with respect to statewide 1253
bargaining units, any agreement signed by the Governor and the 1254
bargaining agent for such a bargaining unit is shall not be 1255
binding until approved by the public employees in who are 1256
members of the bargaining unit, subject to subsection the 1257
provisions of subsections (2) and (3). 1258
(2)(a) Upon execution of the collective bargaining 1259
agreement, the chief executive shall, in his or her annual 1260
budget request or by other appropriate means, request the 1261
legislative body to appropriate such amounts as shall be 1262
sufficient to fund the provisions of the collective bargaining 1263
agreement. 1264
(b) If the state is a party to a collective bargaining 1265
agreement in which less than the requested amount is 1266
appropriated by the Legislature, the collective bargaining 1267
agreement shall be administered on the basis of the amounts 1268
appropriated by the Legislature. The failure of the Legislature 1269
to appropriate funds sufficient to fund the collective 1270
bargaining agreement shall not constitute, or be evidence of, 1271
any unfair labor practice. All collective bargaining agreements 1272
entered into by the state are subject to the appropriations 1273
powers of the Legislature, and the provisions of this section 1274
shall not conflict with the exclusive authority of the 1275

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Legislature to appropriate funds. 1276
(3) If any provision of a collective bargaining agreement 1277
is in conflict with any law, ordinance, rule, or regulation over 1278
which the chief executive officer has no amendatory power, the 1279
chief executive officer shall submit to the appropriate 1280
governmental body having amendatory power a proposed amendment 1281
to such law, ordinance, rule, or regulation. Unless and until 1282
such amendment is enacted or adopted and becomes effective, the 1283
conflicting provision of the collective bargaining agreement 1284
shall not become effective. 1285
(3)(4) If the agreement is not ratified by the public 1286
employer or is not approved by a majority vote of the public 1287
employees voting in the unit, in accordance with procedures 1288
adopted by the commission, the agreement shall be returned to 1289
the chief executive officer and the bargaining agent employee 1290
organization for further negotiations. 1291
(4)(5) A Any collective bargaining agreement may shall not 1292
provide for a term of existence of more than 3 years and must 1293
shall contain all of the terms and conditions of employment 1294
negotiated by the bargaining agent and the public employer and 1295
all of the disputed impasse issues resolved by the legislative 1296
body's action taken pursuant to s. 447.403 of the employees in 1297
the bargaining unit during such term except those terms and 1298
conditions provided for in applicable merit and civil service 1299
rules and regulations. 1300

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Section 15. Section 447.401, Florida Statutes, is amended 1301
to read: 1302
447.401 Grievance procedures.—Each public employer and 1303
bargaining agent shall negotiate a grievance procedure to be 1304
used for the settlement of disputes between a public employer 1305
and a public employee, or a group of public employees, involving 1306
the interpretation or application of a collective bargaining 1307
agreement. The Such grievance procedure must shall have as its 1308
terminal step a final and binding disposition by an impartial 1309
neutral, mutually selected by the parties; however, when the 1310
issue under appeal is an allegation of abuse, abandonment, or 1311
neglect of a child by a public an employee under s. 39.201 or an 1312
allegation of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a vulnerable 1313
adult by a public employee under s. 415.1034, the grievance may 1314
not be decided until such allegation the abuse, abandonment, or 1315
neglect of a child has been judicially determined. However, an 1316
arbitrator arbiter or other neutral may shall not have the power 1317
to add to, subtract from, modify, or alter the terms of a 1318
collective bargaining agreement. If an employee organization is 1319
certified as the bargaining agent of a bargaining unit, the 1320
grievance procedure then in existence may be the subject of 1321
collective bargaining, and any agreement that which is reached 1322
shall supersede the previously existing procedure. All public 1323
employees shall have the right to a fair and equitable grievance 1324
procedure administered without regard to membership or 1325

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nonmembership in any employee organization, except that 1326
bargaining agents may certified employee organizations shall not 1327
be required to process grievances for public employees who are 1328
not members of the employee organization. A public career 1329
service employee may use shall have the option of utilizing the 1330
civil service appeal procedure, an unfair labor practice 1331
procedure, or a grievance procedure established under this 1332
section, but may not avail such employee is precluded from 1333
availing himself or herself of to more than one of these 1334
procedures. 1335
Section 16. Subsections (1) through (4) of section 1336
447.403, Florida Statutes, are amended to read: 1337
447.403 Resolution of impasses.— 1338
(1) If, after a reasonable period of negotiation 1339
concerning the terms and conditions of employment to be 1340
incorporated in a collective bargaining agreement, a dispute 1341
exists between a public employer and a bargaining agent, either 1342
party may declare an impasse by providing written notification 1343
shall be deemed to have occurred when one of the parties so 1344
declares in writing to the other party and to the commission. 1345
When an impasse occurs, the public employer or the bargaining 1346
agent, or both parties acting jointly, may use appoint, or 1347
secure the services appointment of, a mediator to assist in the 1348
resolution of the impasse. If the Governor is the public 1349
employer or for an impasse declared pursuant to s. 447.4095, a 1350

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no mediator may not shall be appointed. 1351
(2)(a) If a no mediator is not used under subsection (1) 1352
appointed, or upon the request of either party, the commission 1353
must shall appoint, and submit all unresolved issues to, a 1354
special magistrate acceptable to both parties. If the parties 1355
are unable to agree on the appointment of a special magistrate, 1356
the commission must shall appoint, in its discretion, a 1357
qualified special magistrate. However, if the parties agree in 1358
writing to waive the appointment of a special magistrate, the 1359
parties may proceed directly to resolution of the impasse by the 1360
legislative body pursuant to paragraph (4)(d). Nothing in this 1361
section precludes the parties from using the services of a 1362
mediator at any time during the conduct of collective 1363
bargaining. 1364
(b) If the Governor is the public employer, a no special 1365
magistrate may not shall be appointed. The parties must may 1366
proceed directly to the Legislature for resolution of the 1367
impasse pursuant to paragraph (4)(d). 1368
(c) For an impasse declared pursuant to s. 447.4095(2), 1369
the parties must agree on a special magistrate and submit the 1370
agreed-upon name to the commission within 5 calendar days after 1371
the declaration of impasse. Within 2 business days after the 1372
submission of the special magistrate's name, the commission must 1373
appoint the agreed-upon special magistrate. If the parties do 1374
not submit the name of an agreed-upon special magistrate to the 1375

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commission within 5 calendar days after the declaration of 1376
impasse, the commission must appoint a special magistrate of its 1377
choosing within 5 calendar days after the parties' deadline to 1378
submit the name of the agreed-upon special magistrate. Within 5 1379
calendar days after the special magistrate is appointed, each 1380
party must submit a list of issues at impasse to the special 1381
magistrate and serve a copy of the list on the other party at 1382
the same time. 1383
(3) The special magistrate must shall hold a hearing 1384
hearings in order to define the area or areas of dispute, to 1385
determine facts relating to the dispute, and to render a 1386
decision on any and all unresolved contract issues. The hearing 1387
must hearings shall be held at a time, date, and place times, 1388
dates, and places to be established by the special magistrate in 1389
accordance with rules adopted promulgated by the commission. For 1390
an impasse declared pursuant to s. 447.4095(2), a hearing must 1391
be held within 20 calendar days after the parties submit the 1392
list of issues at impasse to the special magistrate. The special 1393
magistrate may shall be empowered to administer oaths and issue 1394
subpoenas on behalf of the parties to the dispute or on his or 1395
her own behalf. Within 15 calendar days after the close of the 1396
final hearing, or 7 calendar days after the close of the hearing 1397
for an impasse declared pursuant to s. 447.4095(2), the special 1398
magistrate must submit shall transmit his or her recommended 1399
decision to the commission and to the representatives of both 1400

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parties by any method of service that establishes proof of 1401
delivery registered mail, return receipt requested. Such 1402
recommended decision must shall be discussed by the parties, and 1403
each recommendation of the special magistrate is shall be deemed 1404
approved by both parties unless specifically rejected by either 1405
party by written notice filed with the commission within 20 1406
calendar days, or 10 calendar days for an impasse declared 1407
pursuant to s. 447.4095(2), after the date the party received 1408
the special magistrate's recommended decision. The written 1409
notice must shall include a statement of the cause for each 1410
rejection and shall be served upon the other party at the same 1411
time as it is filed with the commission. 1412
(4) If either the public employer or the bargaining agent 1413
employee organization does not accept, in whole or in part, the 1414
recommended decision of the special magistrate, all of the 1415
following procedures apply: 1416
(a) The chief executive officer of the governmental entity 1417
involved shall, within 10 calendar days after rejection of a 1418
recommendation of the special magistrate, submit to the 1419
legislative body of the governmental entity involved a copy of 1420
the findings of fact and recommended decision of the special 1421
magistrate, together with the chief executive officer's 1422
recommendations for settling the disputed impasse issues. The 1423
chief executive officer shall also submit transmit his or her 1424
recommendations to the bargaining agent at the same time as the 1425

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recommendations are submitted to the legislative body. employee 1426
organization; 1427
(b) Within 10 calendar days after rejection of a 1428
recommendation of the special magistrate, the bargaining agent 1429
employee organization shall submit its recommendations for 1430
settling the disputed impasse issues to such legislative body 1431
and to the chief executive officer.; 1432
(c) The legislative body or its a duly authorized 1433
committee thereof shall forthwith conduct a public hearing at 1434
which the parties shall be required to explain their positions 1435
with respect to the rejected recommendations of the special 1436
magistrate. For an impasse declared pursuant to s. 447.4095(2), 1437
the legislative body must conduct the public hearing within 20 1438
calendar days after the parties submit their recommendations to 1439
the legislative body.; 1440
(d) Thereafter, the legislative body shall take such 1441
action as it deems to be in the public interest, including the 1442
interest of the public employees involved, to resolve all 1443
disputed impasse issues. For an impasse declared pursuant to s. 1444
447.4095(2), the legislative body must take action within 10 1445
calendar days after the close of the public hearing.; and 1446
(e)1. Following the resolution of the disputed impasse 1447
issues by the legislative body, the parties shall reduce to 1448
writing an agreement which includes those issues agreed to by 1449
the parties and those disputed impasse issues resolved by the 1450

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legislative body's action taken pursuant to paragraph (d). For 1451
an impasse declared pursuant to s. 447.4095(2), the parties must 1452
reduce the agreement to writing within 10 calendar days after 1453
the resolution of the disputed impasse issues by the legislative 1454
body. 1455
2. The agreement must shall be signed by the chief 1456
executive officer and the bargaining agent and shall be 1457
submitted to the public employer and to the public employees in 1458
who are members of the bargaining unit for ratification. For an 1459
impasse declared pursuant to s. 447.4095(2), the chief executive 1460
officer and the bargaining agent must sign the agreement within 1461
7 calendar days after the agreement is reduced to writing and 1462
must submit the agreement to the public employer and the 1463
bargaining unit for ratification within 10 calendar days after 1464
the agreement is signed. For an impasse declared pursuant to s. 1465
447.4095(2), the agreement must be signed, submitted, and 1466
ratified separately from other bargainable issues. 1467
3. If the such agreement is not ratified by all parties, 1468
pursuant to the provisions of s. 447.309, the legislative body's 1469
action taken pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (d) shall 1470
take effect as of the date of such legislative body's action for 1471
the remainder of the first fiscal year which was the subject of 1472
negotiations; however, the legislative body's action may shall 1473
not take effect with respect to those disputed impasse issues 1474
that which establish the language of contractual provisions that 1475

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which could have no effect in the absence of a ratified 1476
agreement, including, but not limited to, preambles, recognition 1477
clauses, and duration clauses. 1478
Section 17. Section 447.405, Florida Statutes, is amended 1479
to read: 1480
447.405 Factors to be considered by the special 1481
magistrate.—The special magistrate shall conduct the hearings 1482
and render recommended decisions with the objective of achieving 1483
a prompt, peaceful, and just settlement of disputes between the 1484
bargaining agents public employee organizations and the public 1485
employers. The factors, among others, to be given weight by the 1486
special magistrate in arriving at a recommended decision must 1487
shall include: 1488
(1) Comparison of the annual income of employment of the 1489
public employees in question with the annual income of 1490
employment maintained for the same or similar work of employees 1491
exhibiting like or similar skills under the same or similar 1492
working conditions in the local operating area involved. 1493
(2) Comparison of the annual income of employment of the 1494
public employees in question with the annual income of 1495
employment of public employees in similar public employee 1496
governmental bodies of comparable size within this the state. 1497
(3) The interest and welfare of the public. 1498
(4) Comparison of peculiarities of employment in regard to 1499
other trades or professions, specifically with respect to: 1500

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(a) Hazards of employment. 1501
(b) Physical qualifications. 1502
(c) Educational qualifications. 1503
(d) Intellectual qualifications. 1504
(e) Job training and skills. 1505
(f) Retirement plans. 1506
(g) Sick leave. 1507
(h) Job security. 1508
(5) Availability of funds. 1509
Section 18. Section 447.4095, Florida Statutes, is amended 1510
to read: 1511
447.4095 Financial urgency.— 1512
(1) In the event of a financial urgency requiring 1513
modification of an agreement, the chief executive officer or his 1514
or her representative and the bargaining agent or its 1515
representative must shall meet as soon as possible to negotiate 1516
the impact of the financial urgency. If after a reasonable 1517
period of negotiation, which may shall not exceed 14 calendar 1518
days, a dispute exists between the public employer and the 1519
bargaining agent, an impasse is shall be deemed to have 1520
occurred, and one of the parties must shall so declare in 1521
writing to the other party and to the commission. The parties 1522
must shall then proceed to follow the requirements under 1523
pursuant to the provisions of s. 447.403. An unfair labor 1524
practice charge may shall not be filed during the 14 calendar 1525

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days during which negotiations are occurring under pursuant to 1526
this section. 1527
(2) Salary increases appropriated by the Legislature are, 1528
for purposes of this section, considered a financial urgency. In 1529
the event of salary increases appropriated by the Legislature 1530
which require modification of an agreement, the chief executive 1531
officer or his or her representative and the bargaining agent or 1532
its representative must meet within 15 calendar days after the 1533
effective date of the appropriation to negotiate the impact of 1534
the financial urgency. If 30 calendar days after the effective 1535
date of the appropriation, a dispute exists between the public 1536
employer and the bargaining agent as to the impact of the 1537
financial urgency, one of the parties must, within 2 business 1538
days, declare an impasse in writing to the other party and to 1539
the commission. The parties must then proceed to follow the 1540
requirements under s. 447.403. An unfair labor practice charge 1541
may not be filed during the 30-day period of negotiations or 1542
while the parties are proceeding through the resulting impasse 1543
process. This subsection does not apply to public employees in 1544
public safety units, as defined in s. 447.203. 1545
Section 19. Paragraphs (c) and (f) of subsection (1) and 1546
subsection (2) of section 447.501, Florida Statutes, are 1547
amended, and paragraph (g) is added to subsection (1) of that 1548
section, to read: 1549
447.501 Unfair labor practices.— 1550

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(1) Public employers or their agents or representatives 1551
are prohibited from: 1552
(c) Refusing to bargain collectively, failing to bargain 1553
collectively in good faith, or refusing to sign a final 1554
agreement agreed upon with the certified bargaining agent for 1555
the public employees in the bargaining unit. 1556
(f) Refusing to discuss grievances in good faith pursuant 1557
to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement with either 1558
the certified bargaining agent for the public employee or the 1559
employee involved. 1560
(g) Failing to provide to any employee organization or any 1561
petitioning public employee who is seeking to support, oppose, 1562
or intervene in the certification, recertification, or 1563
decertification of a bargaining agent equal access to the public 1564
employer's facilities and its internal means of communication 1565
for those purposes. The public employer must provide such equal 1566
access from the date of the filing of a petition pursuant to s. 1567
447.307 or s. 447.308 until the final resolution of the 1568
petition. 1569
(2) An A public employee organization or anyone acting on 1570
in its behalf or its officers, representatives, agents, or 1571
members are prohibited from: 1572
(a) Interfering with, restraining, or coercing public 1573
employees in the exercise of any rights guaranteed them under 1574
this part or interfering with, restraining, or coercing 1575

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managerial employees by reason of their performance of job 1576
duties or other activities undertaken in the interests of the 1577
public employer. 1578
(b) Causing or attempting to cause a public employer to 1579
discriminate against a public an employee because of such the 1580
employee's membership or nonmembership in an employee 1581
organization or attempting to cause the public employer to 1582
violate any of the provisions of this part. 1583
(c) Refusing to bargain collectively or failing to bargain 1584
collectively in good faith with a public employer. 1585
(d) Discriminating against a public an employee because he 1586
or she has signed or filed an affidavit, a petition, or a 1587
complaint or given any information or testimony in any 1588
proceedings provided for in this part. 1589
(e) Participating in a strike against the public employer 1590
by instigating or supporting, in any positive manner, a strike. 1591
A person who violates Any violation of this paragraph is shall 1592
subject the violator to the penalties provided in this part. 1593
(f) Instigating or advocating support, in any positive 1594
manner, for an employee organization's activities from high 1595
school or grade school students or students in institutions of 1596
higher learning. 1597
Section 20. Subsection (1) of section 447.503, Florida 1598
Statutes, is amended to read: 1599
447.503 Charges of unfair labor practices.—It is the 1600

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intent of the Legislature that the commission act as 1601
expeditiously as possible to settle disputes regarding alleged 1602
unfair labor practices. To this end, violations of the 1603
provisions of s. 447.501 shall be remedied by the commission in 1604
accordance with the following procedures and in accordance with 1605
chapter 120; however, to the extent that chapter 120 is 1606
inconsistent with the provisions of this section, the procedures 1607
contained in this section shall govern: 1608
(1) A proceeding to remedy a violation of the provisions 1609
of s. 447.501 must shall be initiated by the filing of a charge 1610
with the commission by a public an employer, a public employee, 1611
or an employee organization, or any combination thereof, whose 1612
substantial interests will be affected as referenced in chapter 1613
120. Such a charge must shall contain a clear and concise 1614
statement of facts constituting the alleged unfair labor 1615
practice, including the names of all individuals involved in the 1616
alleged unfair labor practice, and include specific reference to 1617
the provisions of s. 447.501 alleged to have been violated, and 1618
such other relevant information as the commission may by rule 1619
require or allow. Service of the charge must shall be made upon 1620
each named respondent at the time of filing with the commission. 1621
The charge must be accompanied by sworn statements and 1622
documentary evidence sufficient to establish a prima facie 1623
violation of the applicable unfair labor practice provision. 1624
Such supporting evidence is not to be attached to the charge and 1625

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is to be furnished only to the commission. 1626
Section 21. Subsections (2) through (5) and paragraph (a) 1627
of subsection (6) of section 447.507, Florida Statutes, are 1628
amended to read: 1629
447.507 Violation of strike prohibition; penalties.— 1630
(2) If a public employee, a group of public employees, an 1631
employee organization, or any officer, agent, or representative 1632
of any employee organization engages in a strike in violation of 1633
s. 447.505, either the commission or any public employer whose 1634
public employees are involved or whose public employees may be 1635
affected by the strike may file suit to enjoin the strike in the 1636
circuit court having proper jurisdiction and proper venue of 1637
such actions under the Florida Rules of Civil Procedure and 1638
Florida Statutes. The circuit court shall conduct a hearing, 1639
with notice to the commission and to all interested parties, at 1640
the earliest practicable time. If the plaintiff makes a prima 1641
facie showing that a violation of s. 447.505 is in progress or 1642
that there is a clear, real, and present danger that such a 1643
strike is about to commence, the circuit court must shall issue 1644
a temporary injunction enjoining the strike. Upon final hearing, 1645
the circuit court shall either make the injunction permanent or 1646
dissolve it. 1647
(3) If an injunction to enjoin a strike issued pursuant to 1648
this section is not promptly complied with, on the application 1649
of the plaintiff, the circuit court shall immediately initiate 1650

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contempt proceedings against those who appear to be in 1651
violation. An employee organization found to be in contempt of 1652
court for violating an injunction against a strike shall be 1653
fined an amount deemed appropriate by the court. In determining 1654
the appropriate fine, the court shall objectively consider the 1655
extent of lost services and the particular nature and position 1656
of the public employee group in violation. A In no event shall 1657
the fine may not exceed $30,000 $5,000. Each officer, agent, or 1658
representative of an employee organization found to be in 1659
contempt of court for violating an injunction against a strike 1660
shall be fined at least $300, but not more than $600, not less 1661
than $50 nor more than $100 for each calendar day that the 1662
violation is in progress. 1663
(4) An employee organization is shall be liable for any 1664
damages that which might be suffered by a public employer as a 1665
result of a violation of the provisions of s. 447.505 by the 1666
employee organization or its representatives, officers, or 1667
agents. The circuit court having jurisdiction over such actions 1668
may is empowered to enforce judgments against employee 1669
organizations in the amount deemed appropriate by the court in 1670
accordance with this section. An action may not, as defined in 1671
this part, by attachment or garnishment of union initiation fees 1672
or dues which are to be deducted or checked off by public 1673
employers. No action shall be maintained pursuant to this 1674
subsection until all proceedings that which were pending before 1675

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the commission at the time of the strike or that which were 1676
initiated within 30 days after of the strike have been finally 1677
adjudicated or otherwise disposed of. In determining the amount 1678
of damages, if any, to be awarded to the public employer, the 1679
trier of fact shall take into consideration any action or 1680
inaction by the public employer or its agents that provoked or 1681
tended to provoke the strike by the public employees. The trier 1682
of fact shall also take into consideration any damages that 1683
might have been recovered by the public employer under 1684
subparagraph (6)(a)4. 1685
(5) If the commission, after a hearing on notice conducted 1686
according to rules adopted promulgated by the commission, 1687
determines that a public an employee has violated s. 447.505, it 1688
may order the termination of such employee's his or her 1689
employment by the public employer. Notwithstanding any other 1690
provision of law, a person knowingly violating s. 447.505 the 1691
provision of said section may, subsequent to such violation, be 1692
appointed, reappointed, employed, or reemployed as a public 1693
employee, but only upon the following conditions: 1694
(a) Such person shall be on probation for a period of 18 1695
months after following his or her appointment, reappointment, 1696
employment, or reemployment, during which period he or she shall 1697
serve without permanent status and at the pleasure of the agency 1698
head. 1699
(b) His or her compensation may not in no event exceed the 1700

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compensation that received immediately before prior to the time 1701
of the violation. 1702
(c) The compensation of the person may not be increased 1703
until at least after the expiration of 1 year after from such 1704
appointment, reappointment, employment, or reemployment. 1705
(6)(a) If the commission determines that an employee 1706
organization has violated s. 447.505, it may: 1707
1. Issue cease and desist orders as necessary to ensure 1708
compliance with its order. 1709
2. Suspend or revoke the certification of the employee 1710
organization as the bargaining agent of such bargaining employee 1711
unit. 1712
3. Revoke any requirement of the public employer to engage 1713
in membership the right of dues deduction for the and collection 1714
previously granted to said employee organization pursuant to s. 1715
447.303. 1716
4. Fine the organization up to $120,000 $20,000 for each 1717
calendar day of such violation or determine the approximate cost 1718
to the public due to each calendar day of the strike and fine 1719
the organization an amount equal to such cost, regardless of 1720
whether the fine exceeds $120,000 notwithstanding the fact that 1721
the fine may exceed $20,000 for each such calendar day. The 1722
fines so collected shall immediately accrue to the public 1723
employer and must shall be used by the public employer him or 1724
her to replace those services denied the public as a result of 1725

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the strike. In determining the amount of damages, if any, to be 1726
awarded to the public employer, the commission must consider 1727
shall take into consideration any action or inaction by the 1728
public employer or its agents that provoked, or tended to 1729
provoke, the strike by the public employees. 1730
Section 22. Subsection (3) of section 447.509, Florida 1731
Statutes, is renumbered as subsection (6), and new subsections 1732
(3), (4), and (5) are added to that section, to read: 1733
447.509 Other unlawful acts; exceptions.— 1734
(3) Public employers, their agents or representatives, or 1735
any persons acting on their behalf may not provide any form of 1736
compensation or paid leave to a public employee, directly or 1737
indirectly, for the purpose of engaging in employee organization 1738
activities. 1739
(4) Notwithstanding subsection (3), a public employee may 1740
do any of the following: 1741
(a) Be granted time off without pay or benefits to engage 1742
in employee organization activities, provided that the public 1743
employer and the bargaining agent agree. An employee 1744
organization may compensate a public employee for engaging in 1745
employee organization activities. 1746
(b) Use compensated personal leave, whether the leave is 1747
the public employee's or is voluntarily donated by other public 1748
employees in the bargaining unit, to engage in employee 1749
organization activities if: 1750

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1. The leave is accrued at the same rate by similarly 1751
situated public employees in the bargaining unit without regard 1752
to membership in or participation with an employee organization. 1753
2. The public employee may freely choose how to use the 1754
leave. 1755
(c) Engage in representational employee organization 1756
activities on behalf of the bargaining agent while in a duty 1757
status without loss of pay or benefits, provided that the public 1758
employer and the bargaining agent agree. 1759
(5) Subsections (3) and (4) do not apply to public 1760
employees in public safety units. 1761
Section 23. Subsection (3) of section 110.114, Florida 1762
Statutes, is amended to read: 1763
110.114 Employee wage deductions.— 1764
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (1) and 1765
(2), the deduction of an employee's membership dues deductions 1766
as defined in s. 447.203 s. 447.203(15) for an employee 1767
organization as defined in s. 447.203(11) shall be authorized or 1768
permitted only for an organization that has been certified 1769
pursuant to chapter 447 as the exclusive bargaining agent 1770
pursuant to chapter 447 for a unit of public state employees in 1771
which the employee is included. Such deductions shall be subject 1772
to the provisions of s. 447.303. 1773
Section 24. Paragraph (w) of subsection (2) of section 1774
110.205, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 1775

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110.205 Career service; exemptions.— 1776
(2) EXEMPT POSITIONS.—The exempt positions that are not 1777
covered by this part include the following: 1778
(w) Managerial employees and, as defined in s. 447.203(4), 1779
confidential employees, as those terms are defined in s. 447.203 1780
s. 447.203(5), and supervisory employees who spend the majority 1781
of their time communicating with, motivating, training, and 1782
evaluating employees, and planning and directing employees' 1783
work, and who have the authority to hire, transfer, suspend, lay 1784
off, recall, promote, discharge, assign, reward, or discipline 1785
subordinate employees or effectively recommend such action, 1786
including all employees serving as supervisors, administrators, 1787
and directors. Excluded are employees also designated as special 1788
risk or special risk administrative support and attorneys who 1789
serve as administrative law judges pursuant to s. 120.65 or for 1790
hearings conducted pursuant to s. 120.57(1)(a). Additionally, 1791
registered nurses licensed under chapter 464, dentists licensed 1792
under chapter 466, psychologists licensed under chapter 490 or 1793
chapter 491, nutritionists or dietitians licensed under part X 1794
of chapter 468, pharmacists licensed under chapter 465, 1795
psychological specialists licensed under chapter 491, physical 1796
therapists licensed under chapter 486, and speech therapists 1797
licensed under part I of chapter 468 are excluded, unless 1798
otherwise collectively bargained. 1799
Section 25. Subsection (6) of section 112.3187, Florida 1800

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Statutes, is amended to read: 1801
112.3187 Adverse action against employee for disclosing 1802
information of specified nature prohibited; employee remedy and 1803
relief.— 1804
(6) TO WHOM INFORMATION DISCLOSED.—The information 1805
disclosed under this section must be disclosed to any agency or 1806
federal government entity having the authority to investigate, 1807
police, manage, or otherwise remedy the violation or act, 1808
including, but not limited to, the Office of the Chief Inspector 1809
General, an agency inspector general or the employee designated 1810
as agency inspector general under s. 112.3189(1) or inspectors 1811
general under s. 20.055, the Florida Commission on Human 1812
Relations, and the whistle-blower's hotline created under s. 1813
112.3189. However, for disclosures concerning a local 1814
governmental entity, including any regional, county, or 1815
municipal entity, special district, community college district, 1816
or school district or any political subdivision of any of the 1817
foregoing, the information must be disclosed to a chief 1818
executive officer as defined in s. 447.203 s. 447.203(9) or 1819
other appropriate local official. 1820
Section 26. Subsection (5) of section 121.031, Florida 1821
Statutes, is amended to read: 1822
121.031 Administration of system; appropriation; oaths; 1823
actuarial studies; public records.— 1824
(5) The names and addresses of retirees are confidential 1825

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and exempt from the provisions of s. 119.07(1) to the extent 1826
that no state or local governmental agency may provide the names 1827
or addresses of such persons in aggregate, compiled, or list 1828
form to any person except to a public agency engaged in official 1829
business. However, a state or local government agency may 1830
provide the names and addresses of retirees from that agency to 1831
a bargaining agent as defined in s. 447.203 s. 447.203(12) or to 1832
a retiree organization for official business use. Lists of names 1833
or addresses of retirees may be exchanged by public agencies, 1834
but such lists shall not be provided to, or open for inspection 1835
by, the public. Any person may view or copy any individual's 1836
retirement records at the Department of Management Services, one 1837
record at a time, or may obtain information by a separate 1838
written request for a named individual for which information is 1839
desired. 1840
Section 27. Subsection (1) of section 447.02, Florida 1841
Statutes, is amended to read: 1842
447.02 Definitions.—The following terms, when used in this 1843
chapter, shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this 1844
section: 1845
(1) The term "labor organization" means any organization 1846
of employees or local or subdivision thereof, having within its 1847
membership residents of the state, whether incorporated or not, 1848
organized for the purpose of dealing with employers concerning 1849
hours of employment, rate of pay, working conditions, or 1850

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grievances of any kind relating to employment and recognized as 1851
a unit of bargaining by one or more employers doing business in 1852
this state, except that an "employee organization," as defined 1853
in s. 447.203 s. 447.203(11), shall be included in this 1854
definition at such time as it seeks to register pursuant to s. 1855
447.305. 1856
Section 28. Section 447.609, Florida Statutes, is amended 1857
to read: 1858
447.609 Representation in proceedings.—Any full-time 1859
employee or officer of any public employer or employee 1860
organization may represent his or her employer or any public 1861
employee in member of a bargaining unit in any proceeding 1862
authorized in this part, excluding the representation of any 1863
person or public employer in a court of law by a person who is 1864
not a licensed attorney. 1865
Section 29. Subsection (2) of section 1011.60, Florida 1866
Statutes, is amended to read: 1867
1011.60 Minimum requirements of the Florida Education 1868
Finance Program.—Each district which participates in the state 1869
appropriations for the Florida Education Finance Program shall 1870
provide evidence of its effort to maintain an adequate school 1871
program throughout the district and shall meet at least the 1872
following requirements: 1873
(2) MINIMUM TERM.—Operate all schools for a term of 180 1874
actual teaching days or the equivalent on an hourly basis as 1875

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.
hb995-02-c2
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F L O R I D A H O U S E O F R E P R E S E N T A T I V E S

specified by rules of the State Board of Education each school 1876
year. The State Board of Education may prescribe procedures for 1877
altering, and, upon written application, may alter, this 1878
requirement during a national, state, or local emergency as it 1879
may apply to an individual school or schools in any district or 1880
districts if, in the opinion of the board, it is not feasible to 1881
make up lost days or hours, and the apportionment may, at the 1882
discretion of the Commissioner of Education and if the board 1883
determines that the reduction of school days or hours is caused 1884
by the existence of a bona fide emergency, be reduced for such 1885
district or districts in proportion to the decrease in the 1886
length of term in any such school or schools. A strike, as 1887
defined in s. 447.203 s. 447.203(6), by employees of the school 1888
district may not be considered an emergency. 1889
Section 30. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026. 1890