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PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 759
PRINTER'S NO. 842
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No.
645
Session of
2015
INTRODUCED BY STEFANO, SCARNATI, CORMAN, FOLMER, ALLOWAY,
EICHELBERGER, VOGEL, WAGNER, AUMENT, WHITE, BARTOLOTTA AND
HUTCHINSON, APRIL 16, 2015
SENATOR WARD, APPROPRIATIONS, RE-REPORTED AS AMENDED, MAY
4, 2015
AN ACT
Providing for notice and disclosure of proposed collective
bargaining agreements and related documents and for open
records.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Public
Employer Collective Bargaining Transparency Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Employee organization." An organization of any kind, or any
agency or employee representation committee or plan in which
membership includes public employees, and which exists for the
purpose, in whole or in part, of dealing with employers
concerning grievances, employee-employer disputes, wages, rates
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of pay, hours of employment or conditions of work. The term does
not include any organization that practices discrimination in
membership because of race, color, creed, national origin or
political affiliation.
"Proposed collective bargaining agreement." Any terms of
bargaining between a public employer and an employee
organization covering public employee wages, benefits and
working conditions that have been reduced to writing under
section 701 of the act of July 23, 1970 (P.L.563, No.195), known
as the Public Employe Relations Act.
"Public employee" or "employee." An individual employed by a
public employer. This term does not include any of the
following:
(1) Elected officials.
(2) Appointees of the Governor with the advice and
consent of the Senate as required by law.
(3) Management-level employees.
(4) Confidential employees.
(5) Clergymen or other persons in a religious
profession, employees or personnel at church offices or
facilities when utilized primarily for religious purposes.
(6) Employees covered under the act of June 24, 1968
(P.L.237, No.111), referred to as the Policemen and Firemen
Collective Bargaining Act.
"Public employer." Includes all of the following: AS
FOLLOWS:
(1) The Commonwealth and its political subdivisions,
including school districts, and any officer, board,
commission, agency, authority or other instrumentality
thereof.
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(2) A nonprofit organization or institution and any
charitable, religious, scientific, literary, recreational,
health, educational or welfare institution receiving grants
or appropriations from Federal, State or local government.
The term does not include employers subject to the act of June
(2) THE TERM DOES NOT INCLUDE EMPLOYERS SUBJECT TO THE
ACT OF JUNE 1, 1937 (P.L.1168, No.294), known as the
Pennsylvania Labor Relations Act, or the National Labor
Relations Act (49 Stat. 449, 29 U.S.C. ยง 151 et seq.).
Section 3. Notice prior to approval of collective bargaining
agreement.
(a) Notice.--A public employer shall provide notice prior to
signing a proposed collective bargaining agreement. The notice
shall include all of the following:
(1) A statement of the terms of the proposed collective
bargaining agreement.
(2) An estimate of the costs to the public employer
associated with the proposed collective bargaining agreement.
(b) Posting.--The notice required shall be posted on the
public employer's publicly accessible Internet website beginning
at least two weeks prior to the signing of THE proposed
collective bargaining agreement and continuing until at least 30
days after the signing of the collective bargaining agreement.
IF A PUBLIC EMPLOYER DOES NOT HAVE A PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE
INTERNET WEBSITE, THE PUBLIC EMPLOYER MUST PUBLISH THE REQUIRED
NOTICE ONCE AT LEAST TWO WEEKS PRIOR TO THE SIGNING OF THE
PROPOSED COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT.
(c) Unenforceability.--A collective bargaining agreement
executed without providing the notice required under this
section shall be void and unenforceable in its entirety.
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Section 4. Open records.
All of the following are public records subject to the act of
February 14, 2008 (P.L.6, No.3), known as the Right-to-Know Law:
(1) A proposed collective bargaining agreement made by a
public employer or received by a public employer from an
employee organization. The proposed collective bargaining
agreement shall be posted on the public employer's publicly
accessible Internet website within 48 hours of receipt of the
proposed collective bargaining agreement.
(2) Any documents that are presented by a public
employer or received by a public employer from an employee
organization, in the course of collective bargaining.
Section 5. This act shall take effect in 30 days.
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