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Amendments › HF 2559

Amendment H-8204 to HF 2559

Relating to appropriations to the justice system

Ruled not germane · March 22, 2022

Filed March 21, 2022 in the House by

What it changes

AI summary This amendment adds several types of justice system workers, such as correctional officers, jailers, emergency dispatchers, and probation or parole officers, to the list of employees eligible for collective bargaining. It also updates rules regarding how bargaining units are determined, how elections are conducted, and how long collective bargaining agreements with the state last.1

Read the amendment’s wording
  1. Page 21, after line 27 by inserting: “DIVISION ___ COLLECTIVE BARGAINING Sec. ___. Section 20.1, subsection 2, paragraph a, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows: a. Determining appropriate bargaining units , amending the composition of previously determined bargaining units represented by a certified employee organization, reconsidering and altering the composition of previously determined bargaining units which are not represented by a certified employee organization, and conducting representation elections. Sec. ___. Section 20.3, subsection 11, Code 2022, is amended by adding the following new paragraphs: NEW PARAGRAPH . g. An employee of the Iowa department of corrections who is responsible for the custody and supervision of inmates through ongoing direct inmate contact, to enforce and maintain discipline, safety, and security within a correctional facility. NEW PARAGRAPH . h. A jailer or detention officer who performs duties as a jailer, including but not limited to the transportation of inmates, who is certified as having completed jailer training pursuant to chapter 80B, and who is employed by a county as a jailer. NEW PARAGRAPH . i. An emergency dispatcher for a county sheriff. NEW PARAGRAPH . j. A probation or parole officer employed by the Iowa department of corrections. NEW PARAGRAPH . k. A residential officer employed by the department of corrections working at a community-based corrections residential facility. Sec. ___. Section 20.13, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows: 20.13 Bargaining unit determination , amendment, and reconsideration .
  2. Board The board’s determination of an appropriate bargaining unit shall be upon petition filed by a public employer, public employee, or employee organization. Except as provided in subsection 4, the board’s amendment of the composition of a represented bargaining unit shall be upon petition filed by the employer or certified representative of the bargaining unit. The board’s reconsideration of the composition of a previously determined bargaining unit which is not represented by a certified representative shall be upon the combined petition of an employee organization which also seeks a representation election pursuant to section 20.14, subsection
  4. Within thirty days of receipt of a petition, the board shall conduct a public hearing, receive written or oral testimony, and promptly thereafter file an order defining the appropriate bargaining unit , amending or refusing to amend the composition of a represented bargaining unit or reconsidering and altering or refusing to alter the composition of an unrepresented bargaining unit . In defining the unit, or determining whether a unit should be amended or altered in response to a petition for amendment or reconsideration, the board shall take into consideration, along with other relevant factors, the principles of efficient administration of government, the existence of a community of interest among public employees, the history and extent of public employee organization, geographical location, and the recommendations of the parties involved.
  5. Appeals from such order shall be governed by the provisions of chapter 17A .
  7. Professional and nonprofessional employees shall not be included in the same bargaining unit unless a majority of both agree.
  8. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1, a petition to amend the composition of a represented bargaining unit by the removal of public safety employees may be filed by a public safety employee who is a member of the bargaining unit. If the petition is accompanied by evidence satisfactory to the board that the public safety employees in the bargaining unit do not constitute at least thirty percent of the employees in the unit and that a majority of the public safety employees in the unit support the petition, the board shall conduct a hearing within thirty days of its finding such evidence satisfactory and shall promptly thereafter issue an order granting or denying the requested amendment. If the board amends the composition of the bargaining unit by removing public safety employees, those employees may immediately be the subject of a separate bargaining unit determination petition filed in accordance with subsection
  10. Appeals from such orders shall be governed by the provisions of chapter 17A. Sec. ___. Section 20.15, Code 2022, is amended by striking the section and inserting in lieu thereof the following: 20.15 Elections.
  11. Upon the filing of a petition for certification of an employee organization, the board shall submit a question to the public employees at an election in the bargaining unit found appropriate by the board. The question on the ballot shall permit the public employees to vote for no bargaining representation or for any employee organization which has petitioned for certification or which has presented proof satisfactory to the board of support of ten percent or more of the public employees in the appropriate unit.
  12. If a majority of the votes cast on the question is for no bargaining representation, the public employees in the bargaining unit found appropriate by the board shall not be represented by an employee organization. If a majority of the votes cast on the question is for a listed employee organization, then that employee organization shall represent the public employees in the bargaining unit found appropriate by the board.
  13. If none of the choices on the ballot receives the vote of a majority of the public employees voting, the board shall conduct a runoff election among the two choices receiving the greatest number of votes.
  14. Upon written objections filed by any party to the election within ten days after notice of the results of the election, if the board finds that misconduct or other circumstances prevented the public employees eligible to vote from freely expressing their preferences, the board may invalidate the election and hold a second election for the public employees.
  15. Upon completion of a valid election in which the majority choice of the employees voting is determined, the board shall certify the results of the election and shall give reasonable notice of the order to all employee organizations listed on the ballot, the public employers, and the public employees in the appropriate bargaining unit.
  16. a. A petition for certification as exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit shall not be considered by the board for a period of one year from the date of the noncertification of an employee organization as the exclusive bargaining representative of that bargaining unit following a certification election. A petition for certification as the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit shall also not be considered by the board if the bargaining unit is at that time represented by a certified exclusive bargaining representative. b. A petition for the decertification of the exclusive bargaining representative of a bargaining unit shall not be considered by the board for a period of one year from the date of its certification, or within one year of its continued certification following a decertification election, or during the duration of a collective bargaining agreement which, for purposes of this section, shall be deemed not to exceed two years. However, if a petition for decertification is filed during the duration of a collective bargaining agreement, the board shall award an election under this section not more than one hundred eighty days and not less than one hundred fifty days prior to the expiration of the collective bargaining agreement. If an employee organization is decertified, the board may receive petitions under section 20.14, provided that no such petition and no election conducted pursuant to such petition within one year from decertification shall include as a party the decertified employee organization.
  17. A collective bargaining agreement with the state, its boards, commissions, departments, and agencies shall be for two years. The provisions of a collective bargaining agreement or arbitrator’s award affecting state employees shall not provide for renegotiations which would require the refinancing of salary and fringe benefits for the second year of the term of the agreement, except as provided in section 20.17, subsection
  18. The effective date of any such agreement shall be July 1 of odd-numbered years, provided that if an exclusive bargaining representative is certified on a date which will prevent the negotiation of a collective bargaining agreement prior to July 1 of odd-numbered years for a period of two years, the certified collective bargaining representative may negotiate a one-year contract with the public employer which shall be effective from July 1 of the even-numbered year to July 1 of the succeeding odd-numbered year when new contracts shall become effective. Sec. ___. Section 22.7, subsections 69 and 70, Code 2022, are amended to read as follows:
  19. The evidence of public employee support for the certification , retention and recertification, or decertification of an employee organization as defined in section 20.3 that is submitted to the public employment relations board as provided in section 20.14 or 20.15 .
  20. Information indicating whether a public employee voted in a certification , retention and recertification, or decertification election held pursuant to section 20.15 or how the employee voted on any question on a ballot in such an election. Sec. ___. Section 602.1401, subsection 3, paragraph b, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows: b. For purposes of chapter 20 , the certified representative, which on July 1, 1983, represents employees who become judicial branch employees as a result of 1983 Iowa Acts, ch. 186 , shall remain the certified representative when the employees become judicial branch employees and thereafter, unless the public employee organization is not retained and recertified or is decertified in an election held under section 20.15 or amended or absorbed into another certified organization pursuant to chapter 20 . Collective bargaining negotiations shall be conducted on a statewide basis and the certified employee organizations which engage in bargaining shall negotiate on a statewide basis, although bargaining units shall be organized by judicial district. The public employment relations board shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to implement this subsection . Sec. ___. Section 905.4, subsection 2, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
  21. Employ a director having the qualifications required by section 905.6 to head the district department’s community-based correctional program and, within a range established by the Iowa department of corrections, fix the compensation of and have control over the director and the district department’s staff. For purposes of collective bargaining under chapter 20 , employees of the district board who are not exempt from chapter 20 are employees of the state, and the employees of all of the district boards shall be included within one collective bargaining unit. Furthermore, employees of the district board shall be considered state employees for purposes of section 8A.415, subsection
  22. Sec. ___. DIRECTIVES TO PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT RELATIONS BOARD.
  23. The public employment relations board shall cancel any elections scheduled or in process pursuant to section 20.15, subsection 2, Code 2022, as of the effective date of this division of this Act.
  24. Notwithstanding section 20.15, subsection 1, paragraph “c”, Code 2022, the public employment relations board shall consider a petition for certification of an employee organization as the exclusive representative of a bargaining unit for which an employee organization was not retained and recertified as the exclusive representative of that bargaining unit regardless of the amount of time that has elapsed since the retention and recertification election at which an employee organization was not retained or recertified. DIVISION ___ HEALTH INSURANCE COVERAGE —— SURVIVING SPOUSE AND CHILDREN OF CERTAIN DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS EMPLOYEES Sec. ___. Section 509A.13D, subsection 3, Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
  25. The governing body of the state shall not be required to pay for the full cost of the health insurance under this section ; however, the governing body of the state may pay the full cost or a portion of the cost of the health insurance . If the full cost or a portion of the cost of the coverage is not paid by the governing body of the state, the surviving spouse and each surviving child who is eligible for health insurance under this section may elect to continue coverage by paying that portion of the cost of the health insurance not paid by the governing body of the state. DIVISION ___ ASSAULTS ON PERSONS ENGAGED IN CERTAIN OCCUPATIONS Sec. ___. Section 708.3A, subsections 3 and 4, Code 2022, are amended to read as follows:
  26. A person who commits an assault, as defined in section 708.1 , against a peace officer, jailer, correctional staff, member or employee of the board of parole, health care provider, employee of the department of human services, employee of the department of revenue, civilian employee of a law enforcement agency, civilian employee of a fire department, or fire fighter, whether paid or volunteer, who knows that the person against whom the assault is committed is a peace officer, jailer, correctional staff, member or employee of the board of parole, health care provider, employee of the department of human services, employee of the department of revenue, civilian employee of a law enforcement agency, civilian employee of a fire department, or fire fighter, and who causes bodily injury or mental illness, is guilty of an aggravated misdemeanor a class “D” felony .
  27. Any other assault, as defined in section 708.1 , committed against a peace officer, jailer, correctional staff, member or employee of the board of parole, health care provider, employee of the department of human services, employee of the department of revenue, civilian employee of a law enforcement agency, civilian employee of a fire department, or fire fighter, whether paid or volunteer, by a person who knows that the person against whom the assault is committed is a peace officer, jailer, correctional staff, member or employee of the board of parole, health care provider, employee of the department of human services, employee of the department of revenue, civilian employee of a law enforcement agency, civilian employee of a fire department, or fire fighter, is a serious misdemeanor an aggravated misdemeanor . Sec. ___. Section 708.3A, Code 2022, is amended by adding the following new subsections: NEW SUBSECTION . 4A. Any person who commits an assault, as defined in section 708.1, against a jailer or correctional staff while the person is in the custody and control of the department of corrections in a correctional institution, community-based correctional facility, or an institution under the management of the Iowa department of corrections which is used for the purposes of confinement of persons who have committed public offenses, or a county jail or other facility used for purposes of confinement of persons who have committed public offenses, shall, upon conviction of a violation of this section, in addition to any other sentence imposed, lose one-half of all earned time accumulated pursuant to section 903A.2 for a first conviction, and shall lose all earned time accumulated pursuant to section 903A.2 for a second or subsequent conviction. NEW SUBSECTION . 4B. If the county attorney of the county where a violation of this section occurs against a jailer or correctional staff by a person who is in the custody and control of the department of corrections while in any correctional institution or a county jail or other facility used for purposes of confinement fails to prosecute the case against the person, the area prosecutions division of the attorney general’s office may elect to prosecute the case. DIVISION ___ DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS Sec. ___. Section 904.108, subsection 1, Code 2022, is amended by adding the following new paragraphs: NEW PARAGRAPH . p. Establish a training program for employees of the department with ongoing direct contact with inmates in self-defense and other de-escalation techniques when confronted with potentially violent interactions involving inmates. The training program shall include an in-person component. NEW PARAGRAPH . q. Establish uniform safety practices to be implemented at all correctional institutions under the control of the department that provide guidelines designed to protect the safety of employees and inmates at correctional institutions. NEW PARAGRAPH . r. Adopt rules to allow an employee of the department who has witnessed a trauma event to take between five and thirty days of paid leave depending upon the severity of the trauma event. If the appointing authority of a correctional institution determines that an employee has been held hostage, the employee shall be eligible for a paid leave of absence of up to ninety days, as determined by a licensed physician, to allow for recovery from mental and physical stress and any related conditions. Such paid leave shall not be charged against the employee’s sick leave account. NEW PARAGRAPH . s. Establish protocols for allowing employees of the department with ongoing direct contact with inmates access to information identified in section 904.602, subsection 2, for purposes of the administration of the department’s programs of services or assistance to inmates. Sec. ___. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS —— CONTRACT EMPLOYEES. The Iowa department of corrections shall not enter into an employment contract with a person to perform a function of the department and provide the contract employee with pay or benefits in excess of pay and benefits provided an employee of the state performing similar work. Sec. ___. DEPARTMENT OF CORRECTIONS —— CONTRABAND AND SURVEILLANCE CAMERAS —— TRAUMA EVENTS.
  28. For fiscal years beginning on or after July 1, 2022, the department of corrections shall increase funding for screening for contraband and surveillance cameras at all state correctional facilities and for upgrades to provide for an enhanced technology system to improve the safety and efficiency of operations at all state correctional facilities.
  29. The department of corrections shall amend its administrative rules pursuant to chapter 17A to allow an employee of the department who has witnessed a trauma event to take between five and thirty days of paid leave depending upon the severity of the trauma event. If the appointing authority of a correctional institution determines that an employee has been held hostage, the employee shall be eligible for a paid leave of absence of up to ninety days, as determined by a licensed physician, to allow for recovery from stress and any related conditions. Such paid leave shall not be charged against the employee’s sick leave account.”
  30. Title page, line 1, after “system” by inserting “, and certain department of corrections matters including collective bargaining, health insurance coverage for surviving spouses and children, and assaults on persons engaged in certain occupations”
  31. By renumbering as necessary.

Official amendment (PDF) · In the Bill Book