Legislative Brief of 2011 PART 1 IP: 72.185.171.1 Posted on May 9, 2011 at 07:51:39 PM by webmaster
A Legislative Brief Of The 2011 Legislative Session
Listed below are the issues and brief synopsis of their effects. A more detailed play by play report will be given at the June Conference and any specific questions regarding these issues can be sent to Lisa Henning at 850-766-8808 or foplegislative@aol.com.
We entered this session with the Governor and Republican Leadership of the House and Senate demanding changes to your pensions and your ability to be politically active. We ended the session having blocked more than a few union busting bills and avoidance of a complete decimation of the earned pensions.
This was a very bitter and ugly session, with enemies found and new friends coming together in an alliance that worked and coordinated like a well oiled machine. Make no mistake we had a huge participation from our members and we can be proud of the work that was accomplished. Members sacrificed not just days but weeks to come and work the legislative session, and it is inspiring to know that the thin blue line is alive and well.
The Bills We Worked
The Top Priority Issues:
HB 303 by Representative Fred Costello: This issue was the first bill on local government pensions to arrive on the scene and though we went and worked with the bill sponsor, which led to his withdrawal of the bill, he later worked diligently against us on the committee bill, even going and testifying at a committee that he did not sit on. This bill would have destroyed the local pensions that are presently in place and would have given the cities complete control of all premium tax dollars. Failed
HB 825 by Representative Ritch Workman: This bill was a single stand alone bill that would have done away with DROP. This bill was assigned to committees but never heard. Failed
SB 830 by Senator John Thrasher: Known by several different names “Workers Gag Bill” and “Paycheck Protection”, this is the bill that would have done away with payroll deduction of dues and more importantly would have denied any dues (payroll deducted or not) to be used directly or indirectly for any political activities. There were statements that the legislature wanted to get out of the dues collection business but since there were over 360 payroll deduction in state payroll alone, it became evident that the bill was more about limiting the voice of the union members than it was about payroll deduction. This bill was backed by Republican Leadership, The Governor, Former Governor Jeb Bush, The Tea Party, The Florida Chamber Of Commerce, The Florida Sheriffs Association, and Associated Industries Of Florida. This battle was ugly, but in the end the Coalition Of Labor Unions prevailed with the guidance and fierce fighting of the Fabulous 24 of the Florida Senate. This group led by Jack Latvala and Greg Evers, managed to keep a coalition of Republican and Democratic Senators focused and they never waivered in their support of public employee rights. The bill died in the Senate and we will forever owe the Republican legislators that stuck out their necks , risking all to protect us. And of course the Democrats who stuck by us. Please note that up until the last hour of session the Governor had his Lt. Governor working the floor of the senate threatening members regarding the union dues issue. Failed
House Bill 1021 by Representative Chris Dorworth: This was the companion bill of senate bill 830 and though it passed the house it died in Senate Messages. The House Democrats fought a hard battle trying to protect us, but leadership strong armed all their Republican members into voting for the bill. Failed
House Bill 1023 by Representative Plakon: This bill was a recertification requirement bill, which would have financially devastated the lodges, requiring annual membership sign up. Thomas Grigsby worked very hard on blocking this bill, and was very successful in keeping this issue quashed. Failed
House Bill 1025 by Representative Broeder: This bill was the decertification bill and would have caused problems if membership of a unit fell below 50%. It would have automatically decertified the bargaining unit. We managed to block this bill as well. Failed
HB 1031 by Representative Frishe: This bill is no newcomer, we have been fighting the Sheriffs as a legislative body issue for four years. With the help of Representative Patronis and Thomas Grigsby we were successful in blocking the bill from being heard in House Governmental Operations. Failed
SB 1098 by Senator Hays: This was the companion bill to HB 1031 and was the Sheriffs Legislative Body Bill. This bill was heard in it’s first committee of reference, but thanks to Senator Anitere Flores and Brother Armando Aguilar the bill was blocked from being heard in the Senate Judiciary Committee. Failed
SB 1128 by Senator Ring: This was the local pension bill, that was testified on, amended, and debated for hours . We worked arm and arm with the FPFF (Firefighters) on this issue and the though most of our coalition partners were not effected by this issue, they worked against the issue as well. This bill started out devastating the local pension plans and would have allowed the cities unlimited power over the pensions. Senator Ring worked with all of us, and came to compromise that later was sent to conference. It is important that we note some of the people who dedicated a lot of time and energy to defeating this bill, Thomas Grigsby worked with Representative Patronis, who delayed doing a local pension bill until forced in his last meeting of the session by House Leadership. Thomas Grigsby worked with Representative Patronis daily to make certain that staff understood our position and what the most important things to focus on were. Attorney Bob Klausner walked us thru each rewrite of the bill, making certain that we did not over look and “tricks” from the Florida League Of Cities. Miami Beach police and fire hired Bill Helmich to work the local pension bill and he made a determined effort to save the three hundred hours of overtime. Rep. Patronis and McKeel kept their door open and allowed a free flow of information and in the end came up with what is considered a fair bill. Representative Clemens, Taylor and Williams fought for us every step of the way and deserve a thank you from us. Senator Jeremy Ring held fast to protecting the use of premium tax dollars and deserves a strong thanks for all of his efforts. : From conference the following issues came out:
No change to premium tax dollars use for enhancement of pension benefits
Cities may not lower their contribution during the good years any longer.
300 hr cap on overtime annually for the AFC
The pension board language was changed to our suggested language which protected the ratio and autonomy of pension boards.
Upon agreement of both parties the contribution of the employee may be increased without a new benefit.