HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES STAFF ANALYSIS
BILL #: CS/HB 1445 Employee Organizations Representing Public Employees
SPONSOR(S): State Affairs Committee, Black and others
TIED BILLS: IDEN./SIM. BILLS: CS/CS/SB 256
REFERENCE ACTION ANALYST STAFF DIRECTOR or
BUDGET/POLICY CHIEF
1) Constitutional Rights, Rule of Law & 10 Y, 5 N Villa Miller
Government Operations Subcommittee
2) State Affairs Committee 14 Y, 6 N, As CS Villa Williamson
SUMMARY ANALYSIS
Collective bargaining is a constitutional right afforded to public employees in Florida. As such, public employees have the
right to form, join, participate in, and be represented by an employee organiz ation of their own choosing, or to refrain from
such activities. An employee organization authorized to represent public employees in collective bargaining is known as a
certified bargaining agent. In order to become a certified bargaining agent, the employee organization must register with
and be certified by the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC). A registration granted to an employee
organization is valid for one year and must be renewed annually. A certified bargaining agent may have its dues and
uniform assessments deducted from the salaries of employees who authorize such a deduction.
Beginning July 1, 2023, the bill requires a public employee who desires to join an employee organization to sign and date
a membership authorization form, which must contain certain information. An employee organization is required to revoke
an employee’s membership upon the employee’s written request and may not limit an employee’s right to revoke
membership to certain dates. If the employee must complete a form to request membership revocation, the form may not
require the employee to provide a reason for that decision. An employee organization must retain all membership
authorization forms and requests for revocation.
Beginning July 1, 2023, the bill prohibits an employee organization that has been certified as a bargaining agent for a unit
of public employees from having its dues and uniform assessments deducted from the salaries of employees in the unit
and collected by the employer.
Beginning October 1, 2023, the bill makes certain changes to the employee organization registration and registration
renewal process. The bill requires an employee organization certified to represent public employees to include certain
membership information and verification documentation in its registration renewal application. If an application is
incomplete, PERC must notify the employee organization and the organization has 10 days to include the missing
information, otherwise the application will be dismissed. The bill authorizes a public employer or a bargaining unit
employee to challenge an employee organization’s registration renewal application. If the dues paying membership of a
certified bargaining agent drops below 60 percent of the employees eligible for representation during its last registration
period, the bill requires the employee organization to petition PERC for recertification.
The foregoing provisions do not apply to an employee organization that has been certified as the bargaining agent to
represent law enforcement officers, correctional officers, correctional probation officers, or firefighters. However, every
employee organization representing public employees must provide its members with an annual audited finan cial report
and include an annual audited financial statement in its registration renewal application. In addition, every employee
organization is prohibited from offering certain gifts or other compensation to public officers.
The bill authorizes PERC to waive certain provisions of the act as applied to an employee organization representing mass
transit employees if the United States Department of Labor notifies a public employer that its protective arrangement
covering mass transit employees does not meet the requirements of federal law and would jeopardize the employer’s
continued ability to receive Federal Transit Administration funding.
The bill may have a fiscal impact on state and local government, as well as the private sector. See Fiscal Comments
section.
This docum ent does not reflect the intent or official position of the bill sponsor or House of Representatives .
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 FULL ANALYSIS
I. SUBSTANTIVE ANALYSIS
A. EFFECT OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
Present Situation
Right-to-Work
The State Constitution provides that Florida is a right to work state; therefore, the right of an individual
to work cannot be denied or abridged based on membership or non-membership in any employee
organization.1 As such, public employees 2 have the right to form, join, participate in, and be
represented by an employee organization of their own choosing, or to refrain from forming, joining,
participating in, or being represented by an employee organization. 3
Collective Bargaining
Collective bargaining is a constitutional right afforded to public employees in Florida. 4 To implement this
constitutional provision, the Legislature enacted ch. 447, F.S., which provides that the purpose of
collective bargaining is to promote cooperative relationships between the government and its
employees and to protect the public by assuring the orderly and uninterrupted operations and functions
of government.5 Through collective bargaining, public employees collectively negotiate with their public
employer6 in the determination of the terms and conditions of their employment. 7 The Public Employees
Relations Commission (PERC) is responsible for assisting in resolving disputes between public
employees and public employers.8
An “employee organization” is any “labor organization, union, association, fraternal order, occupational
or professional society, or group, however organized or constituted, which represents, or seeks to
represent, any public employee or group of public employees concerning any matters relating to their
employment relationship with a public employer.” 9 An employee organization that is authorized to
represent public employees in collective bargaining is known as a certified bargaining agent. 10 A
certified bargaining agent is the exclusive representative of all employees in that bargaining unit. 11,12
1 Art. I, s. 6, FLA. CONST.
2 S. 447.203(3), F.S., defines the term “public employee” to mean any person employed by a public employer except:
(a) Persons appointed by the Governor or elected by the people, agency heads, and members of boards and commissions.
(b) Persons holding positions by appointment or employment in the organized militia.
(c) Individuals acting as negotiating representatives for employer authorities.
(d) Persons who are designated by the commission as managerial or confidential employees pursuant to criteria contained herein.
(e) Persons holding positions of employment with the Florida Legislature.
(f) Persons who have been convicted of a crime and are inmates confined to institutions within the state.
(g) Persons appointed to inspection positions in federal/state fruit and vegetable inspection service whose conditions of
appointment are affected by the following:
1. Federal license requirement.
2. Federal autonomy regarding investigation and disciplining of appointees.
3. Frequent transfers due to harvesting conditions.
(h) Persons employed by the Public Employees Relations Commission.
(i) Persons enrolled as undergraduate students in a state universi ty who perform part-time work for the university.
3 S. 447.301(1) and (2), F.S.
4
Art. I, s. 6, FLA. CONST.
5 S. 447.201, F.S.
6 S. 447.203(2), F.S., defines the term “public employer” to mean the state or any county, municipality, or special district or any
subdivision or agency thereof that the commission determines has sufficient legal distinctiveness properly to carry out the f unctions of a
public employer.
7 S. 447.301(2), F.S.
8 S. 447.201(3), F.S.
9 S. 447.203(11), F.S.
10 S. 447.203(12), F.S., defines the term “bargaining agent” to mean the employee organization which has been certified by PERC as
representing the employees in the bargaining unit, as provided in s. 447.307, F.S., or its representative.
11 S. 447.307(1), F.S.
12 S. 447.203(8), F.S., defines the term “bargaining unit” to mean either that unit determined by PERC, that unit determined through
local regulations, or that unit determined by the public employer and the public employee organization and approved by the co mmission
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 Registration of an Employee Organization
An employee organization seeking to become a certified bargaining agent for a unit of public
employees must register with and be certified by PERC. To register, the employee organization must
submit an application, under oath, to PERC that includes the following information:
 The name and address of the organization and of any parent organization or organization with
which it is affiliated.
 The names and addresses of the principal officers and all representatives of the organization.
 The amount of the initiation fee and of the monthly dues that members must pay.
 The current annual financial statement of the organization.
 The name of its business agent, if any; if different from the business agent, the name of its local
agent for service of process; and the addresses where such person or persons can be reached.
 A pledge, in a form prescribed by PERC, that the employee organization will conform to the
laws of the state and that it will accept members without regard to age, race, sex, religion, or
national origin.
 A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the employee organization.
 A copy of the current constitution and bylaws of the state and national groups with which the
employee organization is affiliated or associated. 13
A registration granted to an employee organization is valid for one year and must be renewed
annually.14 The renewal application must reflect any changes to the information provided to PERC in
the preceding application and must include a current annual financial report, signed by its president and
treasurer (or corresponding principal officers), that contains the following information:
 Assets and liabilities at the beginning and end of the fiscal year.
 Receipts of any kind and the sources thereof.
 Salary, allowances, and other direct or indirect disbursements, including reimbursed expenses,
to each officer and each employee who, during such fiscal year, received more than $10,000 in
the aggregate from the employee organization and any other affiliated employee organization.
 Direct and indirect loans made to any officer, employee, or member that aggregated more than
$250 during the fiscal year, together with a statement of the purpose, security, if any, and
arrangements for repayment.
 Direct and indirect loans to any business enterprise, together with a statement of the purpose,
security, if any, and arrangements for repayment.15
Certification of an Employee Organization
After registering with PERC, an employee organization may begin the certification process. In order to
be certified, an employee organization selected by a majority of the employees in a unit as their
representative must first request recognition by the public employer. 16 If satisfied as to the majority
status of the employee organization and the appropriateness of the proposed unit, the employer will
recognize the employee organization as the collective bargaining representative for that unit. 17
Following recognition by the employer, the employee organization must immediately petition PERC for
certification.18 If the unit proposed by the employee organization is deemed appropriate, PERC will
immediately certify the employee organization as the exclusive representative of all employees in the
unit.19
to be appropriate for the purposes of collective bargaining. However, no bargaining unit may be defined as appropriate, which inclu des
employees of two employers that are not departments or divisions of the state, a county, a municipality, or other political e ntity.
13 S. 447.305(1), F.S.
14 S. 447.305(2), F.S.
15 Id.
16 S. 447.307(1)(a), F.S.
17 Id.
18 Id.
19 Id.
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 However, if the employer refuses to recognize the employee organization, the employee organization
must file a petition with PERC that is accompanied by dated statements signed by at least 30 percent of
the employees in the proposed unit, indicating that such employees desire to be represented by the
employee organization.20 If PERC finds the petition to be sufficient, it must order an election by secret
ballot to determine whether the employee organization will be certified. 21 The petitioning employee
organization is placed on the ballot along with any other registered employee organization that submits
dated statements signed by at least 10 percent of the employees in the proposed unit, indicating their
desire to be represented by that employee organization.22 When an employee organization is selected
by a majority of the employees voting in an election, PERC must certify the employee organization as
the exclusive collective bargaining representative of all employees in the unit. 23 PERC may pass on the
cost of the election to the public employer and employee organization.24
An employee or group of employees who no longer desires to be represented by the certified
bargaining agent may file with PERC a petition to revoke certification. The petition must be
accompanied by dated statements signed by at least 30 percent of the employees in the unit, indicating
that such employees no longer desire to be represented by the certified bargaining agent. If PERC finds
the petition to be sufficient, it must immediately order an election by secret ballot. If a majority of voting
employees vote against the continuation of representation by the certified bargaining agent, the
organization’s certification is revoked.25
K-12 Instructional Personnel
An employee organization that has been certified as the collective bargaining agent for a unit of K-12
instructional personnel26 must include certain statistics in its application for renewal of registration,
including the number of employees who are represented by the employee organization, the number of
members who pay dues, and the number of members who do not pay dues. 27 If the employee
organization’s dues-paying membership for a unit of K-12 instructional personnel is less than 50
percent of the employees eligible for representation in the unit, the organization must petition PERC for
recertification as the exclusive representative of all employees in the unit within a certain time. If the
certified employee organization does not comply with the recertification requirements or if it does not
include the required information in its application for registration renewal, the organization’s certification
for the unit is revoked.28
20
S. 447.307(2), F.S.
21 S. 447.307(3)(a), F.S.
22 S. 447.307(2), F.S.
23
S. 447.307(3)(b), F.S.
24 See s. 447.307(3)(a), F.S.; see also R. 60CC-2.006, F.A.C.
25 S. 447.308, F.S.
26 S. 1012.01(2), F.S., defines the term “instructional personnel” to mean any K-12 staff member whose function includes the provision
of direct instructional services to students and includes K-12 personnel whose functions provide direct support in the learning process
of students. Included in the classification of instructional personnel are the following K -12 personnel:
 Classroom teachers: Classroom teachers are staff members assigned the professional activity of instructing students in
courses in classroom situations, including basic instruction, exceptional student education, career education, and adult
education, including substitute teachers.
 Student personnel services: Student personnel services include staff members responsible for advising students w ith regard to
their abilities and aptitudes, educational and occupational opportunities, and personal and social adjustments; providing
placement services; performing educational evaluations; and similar functions.
 Librarians and media specialists: Librarians and media specialists are staff members responsible for providing school library
media services.
 Other instructional staff: Other instructional staff are staff members who are part of the instructional staff but are not cl assified
in one of the categories specified above.
 Education paraprofessionals: Education paraprofessionals are individuals who are under the direct supervision of an
instructional staff member, aiding the instructional process.
27 S. 1012.2315(4)(c)1., F.S.
28 S. 1012.2315(4)(c)2., F.S.
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