SB 1553 Summary

• Establishes a new Public Employee Bargaining Act creating a Public Employee Labor Relations Board (PELRB) to oversee collective bargaining between public employers and labor organizations representing public employees.

• Grants public employees rights to form labor organizations, engage in collective bargaining, and be represented by exclusive representatives for wages, hours, and conditions of employment.

• Designates appropriate bargaining units based on occupational groups and establishes procedures for representation elections, certification, and decertification of labor organizations with 30% employee petition threshold for elections.

• Prohibits strikes and lockouts by public employees and employers respectively; authorizes decertification of labor organizations that cause, instigate, or support strikes for up to one year.

• Establishes impasse resolution procedures including mandatory mediation and arbitration if negotiations deadlock, with mediation through federal mediation and conciliation service and three-member arbitration panels.

• Sunsets the entire Public Employee Bargaining Act on January 1, 2031, with the PELRB terminating on July 1, 2030.