PRINTER'S NO. 1022
No. 899 Session of 2005
INTRODUCED BY GANNON, CAPPELLI, O'NEILL, WALKO, BELFANTI, SHANER, HENNESSEY, KENNEY, BARRAR, E. Z. TAYLOR, SURRA, GOODMAN, GEORGE, FREEMAN AND B. SMITH, MARCH 14, 2005
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON CONSUMER AFFAIRS, MARCH 14, 2005
AN ACT 1 Amending Title 66 (Public Utilities) of the Pennsylvania 2 Consolidated Statutes, providing for utility industry 3 restructuring. 4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania 5 hereby enacts as follows: 6 Section 1. Title 66 of the Pennsylvania Consolidated 7 Statutes is amended by adding a chapter to read: 8 CHAPTER 20 9 UTILITY INDUSTRY RESTRUCTURING 10 Sec. 11 2001. Applicability. 12 2002. Findings and purposes. 13 2003. Requirements. 14 2004. Requirements related to workforce reduction. 15 2005. Displaced employee program. 16 2006. Transfers of ownership. 17 2007. Transfers to certain subsidiaries. 18 2008. Existing sales agreements.
1 § 2001. Applicability. 2 In addition to any other specific requirements contained in 3 this title, the provisions of this chapter shall apply to the 4 restructuring or deregulation of any public utility industry. 5 § 2002. Findings and purposes. 6 The General Assembly finds and declares as follows: 7 (1) The reliability and safety of the public utility 8 industries subject to this title have depended on a workforce 9 of skilled and dedicated employees equipped with technical 10 training and experience. 11 (2) The integrity and reliability of their systems also 12 have depended on each industry's commitment to invest in 13 regular inspection and maintenance, to assure that they can 14 withstand the demands of heavy service requirements and 15 emergency situations. 16 (3) It is in the Commonwealth's interest to protect the 17 interests of public utility employees who have dedicated 18 themselves to assuring reliable service to the citizens of 19 this Commonwealth and who otherwise might be economically 20 displaced in a restructured industry. 21 § 2003. Requirements. 22 The General Assembly further finds that it is necessary to 23 assure that employees operating in a restructured or deregulated 24 public utility industry have the requisite skills, knowledge and 25 competence to provide safe, adequate and reliable service and, 26 therefore, all public utilities and all other persons providing 27 services to consumers using the facilities of a public utility 28 shall be required to demonstrate the competence of their 29 employees to work in the public utility industry. The knowledge, 30 skills and competence levels to be demonstrated shall be 20050H0899B1022 - 2 -
1 consistent with those generally required of or by comparable 2 public utilities in this Commonwealth with respect to their 3 employees. Adequate demonstration of requisite knowledge, skills 4 and competence shall include such factors as completion by the 5 employee of an accredited or otherwise recognized apprenticeship 6 program for the particular craft, trade or skill, or specified 7 years of employment with a public utility or similar business 8 performing the particular work function. To implement this 9 requirement, the commission, in determining that a person or 10 public utility meets the standards required by this chapter, 11 shall require the person or public utility to demonstrate that 12 the person or public utility is licensed to do business in this 13 Commonwealth and that the employees of the person or public 14 utility who will be installing, operating and maintaining 15 facilities and services within this Commonwealth, or any other 16 entity which the person or public utility has contracted to 17 perform those functions within this Commonwealth, have the 18 requisite knowledge, skills and competence to perform those 19 functions in a safe and responsible manner in order to provide 20 safe, adequate and reliable service in accordance with the 21 criteria stated in this section. 22 § 2004. Requirements related to workforce reduction. 23 (a) Workforce reduction plan.--The General Assembly finds 24 based on experience in industries that have undergone 25 deregulation, restructuring and transition, that the 26 introduction of competition into this Commonwealth's regulated 27 industries may result in workforce reductions by public 28 utilities which may adversely affect persons who have been 29 employed in this Commonwealth's regulated industries in 30 functions important to the public convenience and necessity. The 20050H0899B1022 - 3 -
1 General Assembly further finds that the impacts on employees and 2 their communities of any necessary reductions in the industry's 3 workforce directly caused by the restructuring or deregulation 4 of an industry subject to this title shall be mitigated to the 5 extent practicable through such means as offers of voluntary 6 severance, retraining, early retirement, outplacement, 7 continuation of medical benefits and related benefits. 8 Therefore, before any such reduction in the workforce, a public 9 utility shall present to its employees or their representatives 10 a workforce reduction plan outlining the means by which the 11 public utility intends to reasonably mitigate the impact of such 12 workforce reduction on its employees. 13 (b) Employee termination.--If a public utility lays off or 14 terminates any of its employees, except for just cause, the 15 public utility shall: 16 (1) provide the commission with sufficient information 17 to show that with the reduction of employees the public 18 utility will still be able to ensure the safety, adequacy and 19 reliability of service to all customers; and 20 (2) provide at least 60 days' written notice of such 21 layoff or termination to the public utility's employees or 22 the employees' authorized bargaining representative. 23 § 2005. Displaced employee program. 24 The Department of Labor and Industry shall establish and 25 implement a program to assist the employees of a public utility 26 who are displaced by restructuring or deregulation. The program 27 shall be designed to assist employees in obtaining employment 28 and shall consist of utilizing the Federal funds available for 29 the purpose of retraining and outplacement services for such 30 employees. 20050H0899B1022 - 4 -
1 § 2006. Transfers of ownership. 2 In the event of a sale, purchase, or any other transfer of 3 ownership of a public utility, or of one or more Pennsylvania 4 divisions or business units of a public utility, the existing 5 public utility's contracts with the acquiring person must 6 require that the acquiring person hire a sufficient number of 7 nonsupervisory employees to operate and maintain the facilities 8 and services of the public utility by initially making offers of 9 employment to the nonsupervisory workforce of the public 10 utility, or the division or business unit of the public utility 11 being transferred, at no less than the wage rates and 12 substantially equivalent fringe benefits and terms and 13 conditions of employment which are in effect at the time of 14 transfer of ownership and that the wage rates and substantially 15 equivalent fringe benefits and terms of and conditions of 16 employment continue for at least 30 months from the time of 17 transfer of ownership unless the public utility, the acquiring 18 person and the affected employees mutually agree to different 19 terms and conditions of employment within that 30-month period. 20 The public utility shall offer a transition plan to those 21 employees who are not offered jobs by the acquiring person 22 because that person has a need for fewer workers. If there is 23 litigation concerning the sale or other transfer of ownership of 24 the public utility, or the division or business unit of the 25 public utility, the 30-month period shall begin on the date the 26 acquiring person takes control or management of the public 27 utility or the division or business unit of the public utility. 28 § 2007. Transfers to certain subsidiaries. 29 If a public utility transfers ownership of one or more 30 Pennsylvania divisions or business units to a majority-owned 20050H0899B1022 - 5 -
1 subsidiary of the public utility or to any affiliated interest 2 of the public utility as defined in section 2101 (relating to 3 definition of affiliated interest), that subsidiary or 4 affiliated interest shall continue to employ the public 5 utility's employees who were employed by the public utility at 6 such division or business unit at the time of the transfer under 7 the same terms and conditions of employment as those employees 8 enjoyed at the time of the transfer. If ownership of the 9 subsidiary or affiliated interest is subsequently sold or 10 transferred to a third party, these provisions shall continue to 11 apply. 12 § 2008. Existing sales agreements. 13 The provisions of sections 2006 (relating to transfers of 14 ownership) and 2007 (relating to transfers to certain 15 subsidiaries) shall not apply to the transfer of any division or 16 business unit of a public utility which was the subject of an 17 executed sales agreement entered into before January 1, 1999. 18 Section 2. This act shall take effect immediately. B18L66VDL/20050H0899B1022 - 6 -