PRINTER'S NO. 4484
No. 2814 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY SCHRODER, CREIGHTON, CUTLER, FAIRCHILD, GINGRICH, HERSHEY, METCALFE, R. MILLER, MOUL, NAILOR, RAPP, REICHLEY, ROAE, SWANGER AND TRUE, OCTOBER 3, 2008
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON STATE GOVERNMENT, OCTOBER 3, 2008
AN ACT 1 Providing for voluntary payroll deduction for political 2 contributions, for regulation of labor organization political 3 contributions, for enforcement and for penalties; and 4 imposing powers and duties on the Department of State. 5 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 6 hereby enacts as follows: 7 Section 1. Short title. 8 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Voluntary 9 Payroll Deduction for Political Contributions Act. 10 Section 2. Declaration of policy. 11 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows: 12 (1) Political and ideological contributions that are 13 taken from individuals without their knowledge and complete 14 consent create the public perception that individuals play an 15 insignificant role in the political process. 16 (2) It is a violation of an individual's basic 17 constitutional rights to be required to contribute to 18 political causes with which the individual disagrees.
1 (3) This act is intended to prohibit the use of moneys 2 acquired from employee payroll deductions for the support of 3 political causes espoused by employers, or employees' 4 representative labor organizations, without the written 5 consent of the employee. 6 (4) This act is also intended to prohibit the coercion, 7 direct or indirect, of employees into donating portions of 8 their wages or salaries to political causes with which they 9 disagree. 10 (5) This act is not intended to inhibit the right of any 11 individual to voluntarily donate to political or ideological 12 causes espoused by the individual's employer or labor 13 organization. 14 Section 3. Definitions. 15 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall 16 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the 17 context clearly indicates otherwise: 18 "Department." The Department of State of the Commonwealth. 19 "Employee." A natural person who performs services for a 20 public or private employer for valuable consideration. 21 "Employer." Includes a natural person, partnership, joint- 22 stock company, corporation for profit, corporation not-for- 23 profit, municipal corporation, the Commonwealth and any 24 government agency established by it. 25 "Fund." A separate segregated fund established by a labor or 26 business organization for political purposes according to the 27 procedures and requirements of Federal and State election laws. 28 "Labor organization." An association or organization of 29 employees and an agency, employee representation committee or 30 plan in which employees participate that exists, in whole or in 20080H2814B4484 - 2 -
1 part, to advocate the interests of public or private employees 2 related to grievances, labor disputes, wages, rates of pay, 3 hours of employment or conditions of work. 4 Section 4. Employee authorization for payroll deductions. 5 (a) Written authorization required.-- 6 (1) No employer or other person responsible for the 7 disbursement of moneys shall deduct any moneys from an 8 employee's wages or salary for political purposes except upon 9 the written authorization of the employee. This requirement 10 shall include that portion of labor organization dues 11 deductions that are used for political purposes. In order to 12 be valid, the written authorization must have been received 13 by the employer within the previous 12 months. 14 (2) The written authorization shall be provided on a 15 form specified by the department, the sole purpose of which 16 shall be to serve as documentation of the authorization. The 17 form shall at a minimum contain the name of the individual 18 granting the authorization, the organization to which the 19 moneys are to be forwarded, the total amount of the deduction 20 and the signature of the individual authorizing the political 21 deduction. 22 (3) The form's title shall read, in at least 24-point 23 boldface type, "Authorization for Payroll Deduction for 24 Political Purposes" and shall state, in at least 14-point 25 boldface type, the following immediately above the signature 26 line: 27 Signing this form authorizes a deduction 28 from your paycheck of moneys to be used for 29 political contributions or expenditures. 30 You are not obligated to sign this 20080H2814B4484 - 3 -
1 authorization. Your signature below 2 is completely voluntary and 3 cannot in any way affect your employment. 4 (b) Termination of authorization.--An employee may terminate 5 the authorization granted in subsection (a) by providing a 6 written request to do so to the employer. The employer shall 7 terminate the political dues deduction by the next regular 8 payday after the pay period the request is submitted. 9 (c) Waiver prohibited.--The conditions of this section may 10 not be waived by the employee. Waiver of the authorization 11 requirement shall not be a condition of employment or continued 12 employment. 13 (d) Construction.--Nothing in this section shall prohibit an 14 individual from making voluntary contributions to a fund or 15 other political committee. 16 Section 5. Regulation of labor organization political 17 contributions. 18 (a) Fund for political purposes.--A labor organization may 19 only expend moneys for lobbying, electoral and political 20 activities not bearing upon the ratification or implementation 21 of a collective bargaining agreement if the labor organization 22 establishes a fund to be used for political purposes. 23 (b) Duties of labor organization.--The labor organization 24 shall ensure that: 25 (1) Contributions to the fund are solicited 26 independently from any other solicitations by the labor 27 organization. 28 (2) Dues or other fees for membership in the labor 29 organizations are not used for political purposes, 30 transferred to the separate fund or intermingled in any way 20080H2814B4484 - 4 -
1 with the fund moneys. 2 (3) The cost of administering the fund is paid from fund 3 contributions and not from dues or other fees for membership 4 in the labor organization. 5 Section 6. Additional protections. 6 (a) Source of contributions.--It is unlawful for an employer 7 or labor organization to make a political contribution by using 8 money or anything of value: 9 (1) Secured by physical force, job discrimination, 10 membership discrimination or financial reprisals or threat of 11 force, threat of job discrimination, threat of membership 12 discrimination or threat of financial reprisals. 13 (2) From dues, fees or other moneys required as a 14 condition of membership in a labor organization or as a 15 condition of employment. 16 (3) Obtained in any commercial transaction. 17 (b) Solicitation of contributions.--At the time an employer 18 or labor organization solicits money for a fund from an 19 employee, it is unlawful for an employer or labor organization 20 to fail to: 21 (1) Inform an employee of the fund's political purpose. 22 (2) Inform an employee of the employee's right to refuse 23 to contribute without fear of reprisal. 24 (c) Reimbursement of contributions.--It is unlawful for an 25 employer or labor organization to reimburse an employee or 26 member for a contribution to the fund by providing a bonus, 27 expense account, rebate of dues or other membership fees or any 28 other form of direct or indirect compensation. 29 (d) Increase of core fees.--It is unlawful for a labor 30 organization to raise a member's core fees in lieu of that 20080H2814B4484 - 5 -
1 member not authorizing the deduction specified in section 4(a). 2 Section 7. Employer and labor organization responsibilities. 3 (a) Record of authorizations.--An employer or labor 4 organization subject to this act shall maintain records that 5 include a copy of each authorization obtained under section 4. 6 (b) Record of collections and transmittals to fund.-- 7 Employers and labor organizations shall maintain a record of 8 moneys collected under section 4 and a record of the moneys that 9 were transmitted to a fund. 10 (c) Department access to records.--Records shall be provided 11 to the department within ten business days when requested in 12 writing by the department. 13 (d) Copy of authorization for employee.--An employee shall 14 be provided with a copy of the authorization submitted under 15 section 4 when the form is submitted. 16 Section 8. Department enforcement and regulatory authority. 17 The department shall enforce the provisions of this act and 18 shall promulgate the necessary regulations to enforce this act. 19 These regulations shall include procedures for employees to file 20 allegations of violations of this act and procedures for the 21 expeditious investigation and resolution of those alleged 22 violations. The department shall refer apparent violations of 23 this act to the Office of Attorney General for prosecution. 24 Section 9. Penalties. 25 (a) Employers.--An employer that violates the provisions of 26 this act shall be subject to a maximum fine of up to $5,000 for 27 each violation. 28 (b) Labor organizations.--A labor organization that violates 29 the provisions of this act shall be subject to a maximum fine of 30 up to $5,000 for each violation. 20080H2814B4484 - 6 -
1 Section 10. Severability. 2 The provisions of this act are severable. If any provision of 3 this act or its application to any person or circumstance is 4 held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions 5 or applications of this act which can be given effect without 6 the invalid provision or application. 7 Section 11. Repeals. 8 All acts and parts of acts are repealed insofar as they are 9 inconsistent with this act. 10 Section 12. Effective date. 11 This act shall take effect in 60 days. F20L25JAM/20080H2814B4484 - 7 -