(1) Any district school board or political subdivision, other than the state or a state public authority, may elect to adopt, by ordinance, resolution, or charter amendment, its own local option in lieu of the requirements of this part, provided such provisions and procedures thereby adopted effectively secure to public employees substantially equivalent rights and procedures as set forth in this part. However, notwithstanding any provision of s. 447.205 to the contrary, members of local commissions established pursuant to this section shall be appointed so that the composition of the local commission is as follows: One appointee shall be a person who, on account of previous vocation, employment, or affiliation, is or has been classified as a representative of employers; one appointee shall be a person who, on account of previous vocation, employment, or affiliation, is or has been classified as a representative of employees or employee organizations; and all other appointees, including alternates, shall be persons who, on account of previous vocation, employment, or affiliation, are not or have not been classified as representatives of employers, employees, or employee organizations. The chair and all members of any such local commission shall be appointed for 4-year staggered terms. Neither the chair nor any member shall be employed by, or hold any commission with, any governmental unit in the state or any employee organization while serving in such office.
(2) The public employer shall apply to the commission for review and approval as to whether the local provisions or procedures, or both, are substantially equivalent to the provisions and procedures set forth in this part. No ordinance, resolution, charter amendment, rule, or regulation incorporating such provisions and procedures shall take effect until approved by the commission. Upon approval of the local option and the rules relating thereto, the local commission shall perform the duties set forth under its local option, and the commission may transfer any pending cases, and shall transfer any cases or other matters filed after the approval of the local option that are within the local commission’s jurisdiction, to the local commission for disposition. All public employee agreements now in existence shall remain in effect until their expiration. However, if a local commission is not properly constituted, fails to act or respond to a filing of an employee organization or public employer or public employee within a reasonable and timely period, or acts in a manner clearly inconsistent with the precedent of the commission, the employee organization or public employer or public employee may file a petition with the commission setting forth such circumstances. The commission or one of its designated agents shall investigate the petition to determine its sufficiency, and, if it has reasonable cause to believe the petition is sufficient, the commission shall provide for an appropriate hearing upon due notice. Such a hearing shall be conducted by the commission or its designated agent pursuant to s. 447.503(5). Upon a finding by the commission that the local commission is not properly constituted, has not acted or responded to a filing of the employee organization or public employer or public employee within a reasonable and timely period, or has acted in a manner clearly inconsistent with the precedent of the commission, the commission shall assume jurisdiction of the case, and the decision and findings of the commission in such case shall be binding upon the local commission, the public employer, and the employee organization or public employee. The provisions of this subsection pertaining to the assumption of jurisdiction by the state commission shall have no application to final orders of a local commission which are reviewable by a district court of appeal pursuant to chapter 120.
(3)(a) In order to continuously secure substantially equivalent rights and procedures, the commission may require that any amendment to this part be incorporated into the local option. The commission shall notify the local legislative body or the local commission of any such required amendment by certified mail, return receipt requested. The local legislative body or local commission shall have 60 days from the date of receipt of such notification from the commission within which to submit the required amendment. If the local legislative body or the local commission fails to submit the required amendment within the 60-day period, the commission may suspend the operation of the local commission until the required amendment is submitted. After 50 days of any such suspension, the commission may transfer to itself any cases or other matters pending before the local commission.
(b) No amendment or revision of any ordinance, resolution, charter amendment, rule, or regulation relating to a local option shall become effective without prior approval by the commission. The commission shall act on such amendment or revision within 45 days of receipt of a request.
(4) The provisions of chapter 120 shall apply to local commissions to the same extent that they apply to the commission, except that for purposes of s. 120.545 the “committee” shall be the local legislative body. Notice to the commission shall be provided by any party seeking judicial review of any order of a local commission.
(5) No district school board or political subdivision which has not filed an application for approval by the commission of local provisions or procedures on or before June 1, 1977, shall be permitted to adopt the local option provided in this section.
Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 1st District Court of Appeal | 100 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2130
...Parker, Tallahassee, for respondent. BOYER, Acting Chief Judge. By this petition for review, the City of Panama City (City) seeks review of an order of the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) denying approval of the City's local option ordinance. F.S. 447.603 provides that municipalities may adopt local ordinances governing collective bargaining relationships between the municipality and its employees....
...bstantial equivalency of the ordinance. Thereafter, the Commission entered its order denying approval. The City raises as its first error the question of whether PERC erroneously rejected the City's local option ordinance by incorrectly construing F.S. 447.603 to require a "substantial departure" standard of review....
...fication clause which failed to honor certifications already issued by the Commission; a clause providing that all rules of the local Commission became effective upon City Commission approval, without providing for Commission approval as required by Section 447.603 of the Act and Fla....
...to accept jurisdiction of cases pending before the Commission and to grant such cases expedited treatment; a clause providing that the local option will become effective upon submission to the Commission, which is contrary to both the mandates of F.S. 447.603 and established case law; and the lack of any provision requiring Commission approval of any subsequent amendment to the ordinance, which is inconsistent with the Commission's continuous duty to insure that a local option grants public employees rights and procedures substantially equivalent to those found in the act....
...of PERC. It simply was not an unequivocal, unambiguous decision embodied in an official record which would substitute for a written order for the purposes of F.S. 120.52(9) and F.S. 120.68(1). Next, the City raises as error PERC's conclusion that F.S. 447.603 requires approval by PERC of a local option ordinance before it becomes law....
Cited 5 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal | 106 L.R.R.M. (BNA) 2593
...The Board of County Commissioners of Pinellas County (county) seeks review of a final order rendered by the Florida Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC) which denied the County's application for approval of local option ordinance No. 76-20, submitted pursuant to Section 447.603, Florida Statutes (1975)....
...The act established the Public Employees Relations Commission and delegated to it the task of supervising collective bargaining by public employees. On February 4, 1975, Pinellas County submitted local option ordinance No. 75-4 to PERC for approval. The ordinance was drafted under the authority of Section 447.603, Florida Statutes, which provided: 447.603 Local option....
Cited 4 times | Published | Florida 2nd District Court of Appeal
...One of the issues in this interlocutory appeal has been determined in Public Employees Relations Commission v. City of Naples, Florida, Fla.App.2d 1975, 327 So.2d 41 (1976), in which this court held that the City of Naples could not assume jurisdiction over public employees bargaining matters pursuant to Fla. Stat. § 447.603 (1974) until the provisions and procedures of its ordinance were approved by the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC)....
...ing its representation petition because appellant’s registration as an employee organization had expired. We affirm. The Pensacola Public Employees Relations Commission (PPERC) is the local option agency for the City of Pensacola, as authorized by section 447.603....
...The appellant argues that local option agencies, such as PPERC, have no authority to adopt registration requirements of their own, but must instead defer to employee organization’s registration status with the Florida Public Employees Relation Commission. A plain reading of section 447.603 indicates otherwise....
...rth in this part... , 1 Clearly, “this part” refers to Chapter 447, Part II — “Labor Organizations, Public Employees,” which in section 447.305 sets forth procedures for registration of an employee organization. Appellant’s argument that section 447.603 allows for adoption by local option agencies only of substantive rather than procedural rules in lieu of Chapter 447 is completely without support....
...dismissed, 538 So.2d 1255 (Fla.1988) (dismissal of representation petition inappropriate when a defective registration is cured with adequate notice to employees prior to election). Accordingly, the order is AFFIRMED. SMITH, THOMPSON and MINER, JJ., concur. . By amendment, Chapter 77, Section 343, Laws of Florida (1977), now section 447.603(5), Florida Statutes (1987), this local option provision was limited to district school boards or political subdivisions whose application for approval by the commission had been filed on or before June 1, 1977.
...Pensacola now petitions for review of a PERC order directing Pensacola to amend its local option ordinances to bring its provisions and procedures into substantial compliance with amendments to Chapter 447 by Chapter 77-343, Laws of Florida. PERC has authority to enter an order of the character complained of, Section 447.603, Florida Statutes (1977)....
GRIMES, Judge. This case involves an interpretation of when the local option provisions of Fla. Stat. § 447.603 (1974) come into play....
...the City of Naples. The Professional Firefighters of Naples, No. 2174, filed with PERC a certification petition with respect to the Naples firemen on April 11, 1975. On May 7, 1975, the City of Naples passed a local option ordinance under Fla.Stat. § 447.603 (1974) which established its own provisions and procedures for a public employees relations commission....
...gaining. This right was implemented by the legislature in the passage of the Tucker Act (Part II of Chapter 447) in 1974. This act established a Public Employees Relations Commission to supervise the collective bargaining process. However, Fla.Stat. § 447.603 (1974) provided: “447.603 Local option....
...One of the issues in this interlocutory appeal has been determined in Public Employees Relations Commission v. City of Naples, Florida, Fla.App.2d 1975, 327 So.2d 41 (1976), in which this court held that the City of Naples could not assume jurisdiction over public employees bargaining matters pursuant to Fla.Stat. § 447.603 (1974) until the provisions and procedures of its ordinance were approved by the Public Employees Relations Commission (PERC)....
