HOUSE BILL REPORT

SSB 5312

BYSenate Committee on Commerce & Labor (originally sponsored by Senators Talmadge, Pullen, Warnke, West, Vognild, von Reichbauer, Lee, Johnson, Bender, Moore, Fleming, McDermott, Halsan, Williams, Smitherman and Bauer)

Providing for collective bargaining for the Washington state patrol.

House Committe on Commerce & Labor

Majority Report:  Do pass.  (9)

      Signed by Representatives Wang, Chair; Cole, Vice Chair; Fisch, Fisher, R. King, O'Brien, Patrick, Sayan and Walker.

Minority Report:  Do not pass.  (2)

      Signed by Representatives Sanders and C. Smith.

House Staff:Chris Cordes (786-7117)

AS PASSED HOUSE APRIL 1, 1987

BACKGROUND:

Officers of the Washington State Patrol are appointed to their positions under statutory authority.  They are exempt from the state civil service system and are not covered by any of the state's public employee collective bargaining statutes.  The Department of Personnel is required to conduct periodic salary and fringe benefit surveys for state patrol officers.

SUMMARY:

The Washington State Patrol is deemed a public employer of the appointed state patrol officers for the purposes of collective bargaining.  Wages and wage related matters are excluded from the definition of collective bargaining in the case of the state patrol.

The dispute resolutions provisions applicable to uniformed personnel for mediation, prohibition of strikes, and the legislative statement of policy, are made applicable to state patrol officers. Under these mediation procedures, the employer and the bargaining representative are required to begin negotiations at least five months prior to the submission of the budget to the legislative body of the public employer.  If the parties are unable to agree within sixty days, either party may declare an impasse and submit the dispute to the Public Employment Relations Commission for mediation.  The parties may, however, agree to substitute other impasse resolution procedures.

The mediator may not consider wage related matters.  Mediator services will be provided to the parties by the commission.

If mediation does not resolve the dispute, either party may request the appointment of a fact-finder, or the executive director of the commission may initiate fact-finding if the parties remain at impasse after a reasonable period of time.  The fact-finder may hold hearings and make appropriate investigation.  Within 30 days of the conclusion of the hearing, the fact-finder must make written findings of fact and recommendations to the parties.  If the parties remain in dispute for seven days following issuance of the fact- finding report, the report may be made public.  The parties will share equally in the expenses of the fact-finder.

If any provision of the act is held invalid, the remainder of the act is not affected.

Fiscal Note:      Attached.

House Committee ‑ Testified For:    Senator Talmadge, prime sponsor; Dan Davis, State Patrol Trooper's Association.

Neutral:  Marv Schurke, Public Employment Relations Commission.

House Committee - Testified Against:      None Presented.

House Committee - Testimony For:    The state patrol officers should have the opportunity to participate in determining their employment conditions through collective bargaining procedures.

House Committee - Testimony Against:      None Presented.