In the near future, I will reintroduce legislation to provide public notice of collective bargaining agreements prior to approval. Taxpayers have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent. Currently, public employers across the Commonwealth negotiate contracts worth billions of dollars without any public oversight or review.
 
My proposed legislation will mandate that any proposed collective bargaining agreement be posted on the public employer’s publicly accessible website within 48 hours of its receipt by an employee organization. The agreement must remain online for two weeks prior to, and 30 days following, its final approval. The posting must include the following information:

• A clear statement of the terms of the proposed collective bargaining agreement.
• An estimate of the costs associated with the agreement for the public employer.

Under this legislation, proposed collective bargaining agreements, along with any documents presented by the public employer or received from the employee organization during negotiations, will be considered public records subject to the Right-to-Know Law.
 
Taxpayers have a vested interest in the labor negotiations between public employers and their employees, and they deserve the opportunity to review these agreements. Requiring the online posting of proposed collective bargaining agreements is a simple yet essential reform that will promote government transparency and ensure that taxpayer money is spent responsibly.
 
This legislation was formerly Senate Bill 399 from the 2023-24 Session and was co-sponsored by Senators Dush, Phillips-Hill, J. Ward, Mastriano, Pennycuick, Coleman, Hutchinson, and Aument.
 
I hope you will join me in co-sponsoring this important legislation to ensure that our government remains accountable to the people it serves. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this information, please contact Jeffrey Ivicic in my office at jivicic@pasen.gov.