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2008 CITY/COUNTY
LEGISLATIVE
ISSUES
PUBLIC CONSTRUCTION WORKS — OPPOSE
HB 683 by Rep. Will Weatherford, R-Wesley
Chapel, and others
SB 2148 by Sen. Mike Haridopolos,
R-Melbourne
These bills would requirements for
county, municipality, special district, or other
political subdivision of state to competitively award
contracts for certain construction projects. The
legislation would require that maintenance and repair
projects be competitively bid and would prevent counties
and cities from using their own employees to repair and
maintain existing infrastructure. The bill contains
other giveaways to the construction industry. These
bills will force closure and layoffs in the public works
departments across the state, will prevent local
officials from providing cost effective services and
cost taxpayers more money in the long run.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
IMPASSES/LEGISLATIVE BODY — OPPOSE
SB 368 by Sen. Steve Oelrich,
R-Gainesville
These bills would designate the county
constitutional officers (sheriff, tax collector,
property appraiser, supervisor of elections, and clerk
of the circuit court) each as the legislative body in
resolutions of collective bargaining impasses where that
elected official is the employer. If this bill passed, a
union at impasse in negotiations with a sheriff would
have to appeal to the sheriff to resolve the problems,
rather than the county commission. This would enshrine
in law a conflict of interest in which the elected
official negotiates and then sits as the legislative
body to resolve the problems he or she created at the
bargaining table.
COLLECTIVE BARGAINING
IMPASSES/LEGISLATIVE BODY — SUPPORT
HB 493 by Rep. Michael Grant, R-Port
Charlotte
SB 1306 by Sen. Burt Saunders, R-Naples
These bills would designate the county
commission as the legislative body for the resolution of
collective bargaining impasses involving a sheriff. This
would prevent a conflict of interest occurring where a
sheriff first negotiates and then later resolves the
resulting impasse. The county commission is neutral and
better suited to hear both sides of the dispute.
TASK FORCE ON WORKPLACE SAFETY — SUPPORT
SB 652 by Sen. Evelyn Lynn, R-Daytona
Beach
SB 967 by Rep. Audrey Gibson,
D-Jacksonville
In 1999, Gov. Jeb Bush and the Florida
Legislature eliminated the Division of Safety in the
Florida Department of Labor and Employment Security and
repealed all of the safety laws covering public sector
employees. Florida law currently contains no provisions
regarding the general health and safety of public sector
workers at any level. Public employees are not covered
by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Act
(OSHA). This has had tragic consequences. On January 11,
2006, an methanol explosion and fire occurred at the
Wastewater Treatment Plant (Bethune Point WWTP) in
Daytona Beach, killing two employees and severely
burning a third. The US Chemical Safety Board (CSB)
investigated and determined that the lack of federal,
state, and local safety oversight and programs was a
significant factor causing the fatal accident. The CSB
recommended that the state enact safety laws and rules
for public employees that at least meet the federal OSHA
minimum.
The safety task force bill is a first
step in bringing back safety laws for Florida public
employees. The 15 member task force will make a report
to the governor and Legislature with recommendations for
enacting workplace safety and health laws for the
state’s public sector employees.
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