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9 . A -20 Legislative Bill Action ................................ ............................... HUMAN RESOURCES AB 1156 (Nunez) Meyers - Milias -Brown Act. local public agencies. This bill would revise the definition of "employee organization" for the purposes of the act to include any organization that seeks to represent employees of a public agency. The Meyers- Milias -Brown Act (MMBA) authorizes a local public agency to adopt reason- able rules and regulations after consultation in good faith with representatives of an employer - employee organization or organizations for the administration of employer - employee relations. The bill would authorize a public agency to adopt reasonable rules and regulations after consultation in good faith with representatives of a recognized employer - employee organization or organizations. It would specify that employees of a local public agency and employee organizations may challenge a rule or regulation of a public agency as a violation of the act. The MMBA cur- rently delegates jurisdiction to the Public Employ- ment Relations Board (PERB) to resolve disputes and enforce the statutory duties and rights of local public agency employers and employees, includ- ing processing unfair labor charges. The act prohibits the board from finding it an unfair labor practice for an employee organization to violate a rule or regulation adopted by a public agency if that rule or regulation is in violation of the act, based on legislation that was passed in 2000, SB 739. The bill specifies that the powers of the board include the power to order elections, to conduct any election it orders, and to adopt rules to apply in areas where a public agency has no rule. The bill would require that a complaint alleging any violation of any rules and regulations adopted by a public agency regarding the designation of man- agement and confidential employees of a public agency and restricting those employees from reprELsenting any employee organization that represents other employees of the public agency be processed as an unfair practice charge and that a complaint raised in the context of a board investigation into unit determination, representa- lion, recognition, or elections be processed as part of that proceeding. Staff: Amy Brown, Status: AsPubEmpRetBSS 5/7, Position: Oppose. AB 136 (Kehoe) Workers' Compensation. Disability. Leave of Absence. This bill passed out of the Assembly Insurance Committee on Wednesday, April 2, 2003. Approximately twenty city and county representatives testified in opposk ton which prompted a lot of debate. Unfortunately, the bill has now been sent to the Assembly Appro- priations Committee and will be heard in the coming weeks. This bill would extend temporary disability (Labor Code 4850) for safety officers to two years. This bill would have dramatically adverse effects on our local agency budgets in a time where layoffs, local service cutbacks and an enormous state budget is a part of our reality. Under current law, firefighters and police officers are entitled to up to one year of temporary disabil- ity time off while receiving tax -free payments of their full salary. Because the benefit is full salary, but tax free, the amount received by the injured officer significantly exceeds their normal take - home compensation. A temporarily injured safety employee under this law cannot retire until their "4850" time is exhausted. The local agency cannot permanently fill that position until the injured worker returns to modified work or retires. One missing employee severely hampers response models and emergency operations so overtime personnel are hired back to sustain staffing levels. Typically, a local agency backfilis positions for the entire year, which increases costs extensively (full salary for the injured officer, time and a half for the replacement who is out on "4850" time). This occurs even when the agency is aware that the injured worker will eventually retire on disability. Because of the law, the agency cannot retire the injured worker without his or her consent, prior to the exhaustion of the 4850 benefits unless they are permanent and stationary as found by the Workers' Compensation Appeals Board. Staff: Amy Brown Status: AsApps, Position: Oppose. PAGE 20/PRIORITY FOCUS Visit the League's Official Web Site -- www.cacities.org