Expedited Bill No.        57-10                

Concerning:    Personnel – Collective Bargaining – Impasse Procedures                       

Revised:    12/14/10          Draft No. 11 

Introduced:      November 23, 2010        

Enacted:         December 14, 2010        

Executive:       December 22, 2010        

Effective:        December 22, 2010        

Sunset Date:  None                             

Ch.    57   , Laws of Mont. Co.    2010    

 

County Council

For Montgomery County, Maryland

 

By: Council Vice President Ervin, Council President Floreen, and Councilmembers Andrews, Berliner, Elrich, Knapp, Navarro, Trachtenberg, and Leventhal

 

AN EXPEDITED ACT to:

(1)        modify the criteria for an impasse neutral and a mediator/arbitrator to evaluate before issuing an arbitration award; and

(2)        generally amend County collective bargaining laws.

 

By amending

            Montgomery County Code

            Chapter 33, Personnel and Human Resources

            Sections 33-81, 33-108, and 33-153

 

 

Boldface                                             Heading or defined term.

Underlining                                          Added to existing law by original bill.

[Single boldface brackets]                  Deleted from existing law by original bill.

Double underlining                              Added by amendment.

[[Double boldface brackets]]              Deleted from existing law or the bill by amendment.

*   *   *                                                  Existing law unaffected by bill.

 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


The County Council for Montgomery County, Maryland approves the following Act:


          Sec. 1.  Sections  33-81, 33-108, and 33-153 are amended as follows:

33-81.                   Impasse procedure.

*                 *                 *

(b)     (1)     During the course of collective bargaining, either party may declare an impasse and request the services of the impasse neutral.  If the parties have not reached agreement by January 20, an impasse exists.

*                 *                 *

(5)     On or before February 1, the impasse neutral must select, as a whole, the more reasonable, in the impasse neutral's judgment, of the final offers submitted by the parties.

(A)    The impasse neutral must first evaluate and give the highest priority to the ability of the County to pay for additional short-term and long-term expenditures by considering:

(i)      the limits on the County’s ability to raise taxes under State law and the County Charter;

(ii)     the added burden on County taxpayers, if any, resulting from increases in revenues needed to fund a final offer; and

(iii)    the County’s ability to continue to provide the current standard of all public services.

(B)     After evaluating the ability of the County to pay under subparagraph (A), the impasse neutral may only consider:

(i)      the interest and welfare of County taxpayers and service recipients;

(ii)     past collective bargaining contracts between the parties, including the bargaining history that led to each contract;

(iii)    a comparison of wages, hours, benefits, and conditions of employment of similar employees of other public employers in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Maryland;

(iv)    a comparison of wages, hours, benefits, and conditions of employment of other Montgomery County employees; and

(v)     wages, benefits, hours and other working conditions of similar employees of private employers in Montgomery County.

(6)     The impasse neutral must:

(A)    not compromise or alter the final offer that he or she selects;

(B)     select an offer based on the contents of that offer;

(C)     not consider or receive any evidence or argument concerning the history of collective bargaining in this immediate dispute, including offers of settlement not contained in the offers submitted to the impasse neutral; and

(D)    consider all previously agreed on items integrated with the specific disputed items to determine the single most reasonable offer.

          *                 *                 *

33-108.       Bargaining, impasse, and legislative procedures.

*                 *                 *

(f)      (1)     If binding arbitration is invoked, the mediator/arbitrator must require each party to submit a final offer, which must consist either of a complete draft of a proposed collective bargaining agreement or a complete package proposal, as the mediator/arbitrator directs.  If only complete package proposals are required, the mediator/arbitrator must require the parties to submit jointly a memorandum of all items previously agreed on.

*                 *                 *

(4)     In making a determination under this subsection, the mediator/arbitrator must first evaluate and give the highest priority to the ability of the County to pay for additional short-term and long-term expenditures by considering:

(A)    the limits on the County’s ability to raise taxes under State law and the County Charter;

(B)     the added burden on County taxpayers, if any, resulting from increases in revenues needed to fund a final offer; and

(C)     the County’s ability to continue to provide the current standard of all public services.

(5)     After evaluating the ability of the County to pay under paragraph (4), the mediator/arbitrator may only consider:

(A)    the interest and welfare of County taxpayers and service recipients;

(B)     past collective bargaining agreements between the parties, including the past bargaining history that led to each agreement;

(C)     a comparison of wages, hours, benefits, and conditions of employment of similar employees of other public employers in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Maryland;

(D)    a comparison of wages, hours, benefits, and conditions of employment of other Montgomery County employees; and

(E)     wages, benefits, hours, and other working conditions of similar employees of private employers in Montgomery County.

(6)     The offer selected by the mediator/arbitrator, integrated with all previously agreed on items, is the final agreement between the employer and the certified representative, need not be ratified by any party, and has the effect of a contract ratified by the parties under subsection (c).  The parties must execute the agreement, and any provision which requires action in the County budget must be included in the budget which the employer submits to the County Council.

*                 *                 *

33-153.       Bargaining, impasse, and legislative procedures.

*                 *                 *

(i)      On or before February 1, unless that date is extended by written agreement of the parties, the impasse neutral must select the final offer that, as a whole, the impasse neutral judges to be the more reasonable.

(1)     In determining which final offer is the more reasonable, the impasse neutral must first evaluate and give the highest priority to the ability of the County to pay for additional short-term and long-term expenditures by considering:

(A)    the limits on the County’s ability to raise taxes under State law and the County Charter;

(B)     the added burden on County taxpayers, if any, resulting from increases in revenues needed to fund a final offer; and

(C)     the County’s ability to continue to provide the current standard of all public services.

(2)     After evaluating the ability of the County to pay under paragraph (1), the impasse neutral may only consider:

(A)    the interest and welfare of County taxpayers and service recipients;

(B)     past collective bargaining agreements between the parties, including the past bargaining history that led to each agreement;

(C)     wages, hours, benefits and conditions of employment of similar employees of other public employers in the Washington Metropolitan Area and in Maryland;

(D)    wages, hours, benefits, and conditions of employment of other Montgomery County employees; and

(E)     wages, benefits, hours, and other working conditions of similar employees of private employers in Montgomery County.

*                      *                      *

          Sec. 2.  Effective Date.

          The Council declares that this legislation is necessary for the immediate protection of the public interest.  This Act takes effect on the date on which it becomes law.

 


 

Approved: